EA Sports College Football 25 Season Simulation: Miami Hurricanes
Predictions season is in full swing as the college football landscape amps up the ante with the season just a few weeks away.
With every expert under the sun weighing in on Miami's 2024 season under head coach Mario Cristobal, very few have turned towards one of the few simulations widely available to the general public - EA Sports College Football 25.
Week One - Florida
Miami - 52, Florida - 36
The Hurricanes took the win in the first installment of one of the Sunshine State's biggest rivalries and flexed its their offensive muscle along the way.
Cameron Ward lit up the gators for 343 yards through the air, four touchdowns and no interceptions while adding in another 23 yards and a score on the ground. Damien Martinez lived up to his 91 overall rating with 11 carries for 89 yards and a single rushing touchdown to lift Miami to 1-0.
Week Two - FCS Southeast (Florida A&M)
Miami - 52, FCS Southeast - 21
As FCS schools have not made the game up to this point, Florida A&M was represented by FCS Southeast, and the result was as to be expected.
Ward yet again lit up the box score with 250 yards through the air and four touchdown passes on a 77% completion rate. He also tacked on 60 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns to boot, which brought his total number of touchdowns on the day to six. The team's rushing leader was none other than Isaiah Horton, who took three jet sweeps for a total of 82 yards and one score.
Week Three - Ball State
Miami - 45, Ball State - 17
Another week, another win for the Hurricanes en route to a 3-0 record to open the season. The ground game ate up the yards, but the pass game found the end zone as Ward tossed another 3 scores on only 128 yards passing.
Martinez shined with 145 yards on the ground on just 12 touches to torch the Cardinals at home.
Week Four - USF
Miami - 42, USF - 35
USF might have made the Hurricanes sweat, but they didn't break in the simulation. A 28 point second quarter fueled Miami's win despite some late heroics from the Bulls.
Ward threw his first two interceptions of the season in the game, but also tossed for 343 yards and four touchdowns, so *insert shoulder shrug*. Martinez racked up another 100 yard game but did not manage to find the end zone in doing so. Thus, Miami sat at 4-0 on the young season.
Week Five - Virginia Tech
Miami - 31, VT - 42
It had to happen eventually. The Hokies managed to hand Miami its first loss of the 2024 season in Hard Rock. The interceptions did bite Ward this go around, as he only tossed three touchdowns to his two picks.
Virginia Tech managed to scratch across a pair of touchdowns in every quarter except a scoreless third for both teams, and powered through to hand Miami the loss and move the Hurricanes to 4-1.
Week Six - California
Miami - 45, Cal - 21
Miami made the dreaded cross country road trip in week six and came away the better for it to move to 5-1.
The rushing attack was yet again Miami's biggest weapon as Ward exited the game late with an injury, leaving Reese Poffenbarger to toss one touchdown on his lone completion in the game. Ward added in another three touchdown passes before exiting and lifted the 'Canes offense well past the Golden Bears.
Week Eight - Louisville
Miami - 31, Louisville - 10
After a much needed bye week to get healthy, Miami was right back at it in week eight in a handy defeat of Louisville to improve to 6-1 and attain bowl eligibility. Ward torched the defense yet again for 333 yards and three scores on the day.
The Miami rushing attack yet again went scoreless, but the Hurricanes rode Ward's arm all the way to the promised land to carry the momentum into week nine.
Week Nine - Florida State
Miami - 41, FSU - 46
The Hurricanes dropped the big one to the Seminoles in week nine, and put a playoff spot further out of reach than they would have hoped for this late in the season.
Ward was bottled up in the game as he only tossed one touchdown to two interceptions, but the Miami ground attack worked its magic in his stead. Martinez finished with 115 yards on the ground and three scores to keep things tight down the stretch, but a 14 point fourth quarter from the 'Noles was all it took to put Miami back at 6-2.
Week 10 - Duke
Miami - 38, Duke - 14
Miami was able to get back to its winning ways in the home bout against the Duke Blue Devils with a comfortable shelacking.
Ward tossed another two scores while rushing for more than 150 yards and another two touchdowns on the ground on just five carries. The Blue Devils had no answer for the option, and it pushed Miami to 7-2.
Week 11 - Georgia Tech
Miami - 30, GT - 28
Things got scary in Atlanta for the Hurricanes, but they were able to pull it out on the road if only by a narrow margin. Former Texas A&M and Auburn quarterback Haynes King lit up the Miami defense for a wopping 407 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
Ward only tossed two scores while rushing for another, which left Andres Borregales the keys to the win as he went 3/3 on field goals for the day while hitting one from 50 yards out. At 8-2, Miami was still in the hunt for a lower seeded playoff spot.
Week 13 - Wake Forest
Miami - 30, Wake Forest - 32
With this loss, the playoff berth went up in smoke in the simulation. Miami dropped a heartbreaker to Wake at home to fall to 8-3 despite Ward having another gem of a game with 332 yards through the air and three touchdowns.
Martinez was able to add in another score on the ground, but it was too little too late for the 'Canes who watched their playoff hopes slip away at the last second.
Week 14 - Syracuse
Miami - 38, Syracuse - 20
Unfortunately, Syracuse was on the receiving end of some frustrations that were taken out by Miami after the week 13 loss to Wake Forest.
Ward threw another three scores and Martinez racked up 117 yards on the ground to throttle the Orange and end Miami's season with as much of an emphasis as possible after such a disappointing ending to the regular season.
Final Results
Miami finished 9-3 (5-3) on the regular season and wound up 13th in the nation when all was said and done. That mark was good enough for 6th in the ACC.
Cameron Ward finished eighth in the country in Heisman voting while Damien Martinez finished third behind Memphis's Mario Anderson and Rutgers' Kyle Monangai.
TANNER MARLAR