Cal loses heartbreaker as No. 8 Miami rallies for 39-38 victory
Halfway through his first season at Miami, Cam Ward has already shown a knack for the dramatic.
Ward threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Arroyo with 26 seconds left and No. 8 Miami roared back from a 25-point deficit in the second half to beat California 39-38 on Saturday night.
A week after rallying the Hurricanes (6-0, 2-0 ACC) from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Virginia Tech, Ward did even more in engineering Miami's biggest comeback since also rallying from 25 down to beat Florida in 2003.
"When 1 has the ball in his hands, the game is never over," receiver Xavier Restrepo said, referring to Ward's uniform number. "We have extreme confidence in that guy."
With good reason.
Ward led four straight touchdown drives to end the game and spoil what looked like the most monumental day in years for the Golden Bears (3-2, 0-2), who hosted ESPN's "College GameDay" for the first time and were on the verge of their second win over a top 10 team in the past 21 seasons.
Instead, Ward made sure the rare sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium went home unhappy after overcoming a 35-10 deficit in the third quarter. That gave the Hurricanes (6-0, 2-0) a second straight dramatic victory after needing a replay review to hold off Virginia Tech last week.
"We just can't put ourselves in these situations to come back," Ward said. "That's two games straight we had to do that. We have to lock in. ... It's good to get a win. We're not going to complain. An ugly win is better than a good loss."
Ward produced 277 yards of offense in the fourth quarter — the most for any player in seven years — and leads the nation in yards passing (2,380) and TD passes (20) in his first season since transferring from Washington State.
Ward threw an 18-yard TD pass to Isaiah Horton with 10:28 left to cut it to 38-25 and then scrambled in from 24 yards out to make it a six-point game with 4:04 to play.
The Hurricanes forced a punt after being spared a potential targeting call on instant replay and Ward then hit Xavier Restrepo on a 77-yard pass on the first play on the ensuing drive to get Miami into the red zone.
A personal foul backed up the Hurricanes but Ward converted a third-and-20 on a short pass to Joshisa Trader that went for 22 yards down to the 3. Two plays later, Ward found Arroyo on a jump pass that gave Miami the lead.
Ward finished 33 for 53 for 437 yards with two touchdown passes and a TD run, overcoming a pick-6 that helped put Miami in the big hole in the third quarter.
Fernando Mendoza delivered several big plays against the team he grew up cheering for as a kid in Miami but it wasn't enough.
Mendoza threw a 57-yard TD pass to Jack Endries in the first quarter and had a 51-yarder to Trond Grizzell that set up Jaydn Ott's 5-yard run that gave Cal a 14-7 lead.
Ott scored again on 66-yard catch and run on a fourth-and-1 midway through the second quarter and Mendoza threw a 59-yard pass to Jaivian Thomas in the third quarter that set up Chandler Rogers' 9-yard TD run.
But Cal punted on its first two drives of the fourth quarter before Mendoza threw an interception in the closing seconds to end it.
"Football's a humbling game," Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. "We had every opportunity to win that game, obviously. We didn't get it done, so every individual has to own it."
Miami: The Hurricanes are off to their third 6-0 start in the past 20 seasons, having previously done it in 2017 and 2013, as they try to establish themselves as a championship contender.
California: The Bears have lost 10 straight games against ranked teams and are 1-26 against top 10 teams since the start of the 2004 season with the lone win coming in 2017 against Washington State.
Miami: At Louisville on Oct. 19.
California: At Pittsburgh on Saturday.