A 10-point fourth quarter deficit to a controversial win is what sums up Miami Hurricanes’ win over Virginia Tech on Friday. Cam Ward led the trailing Miami 70 yards down the field and pulled off a stunning TD with Cam McCormick with eight minutes to go. Then with 1:57 remaining on the clock, the QB charged 57 yards to take a 38-34 lead. However, all hell broke loose as Virginia tried to regain their lost position with three seconds remaining. Hokies QB Kyron Drones attempted a 30-yard ‘Hail Mary’ to WR Da’Quan Felton in the final play, only to fail.

In a purely cinematic sequence: Felton jumped up in the air, came down, wrestled the ball away from multiple defenders and ran into the middle of the field with outstretched hands to roar victory as the crowd erupted in celebration. Moments later, after further review, the call was overturned, making way for an unforeseen victory. As fans cried foul, the ACC later clarified in a statement to ESPN, “During the review process of the last play of the Virginia Tech at Miami game, it was determined that the loose ball was touched by a Miami player while he was out of bounds which makes it an incomplete pass and immediately ends the play.”

However, not just fans, even Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, who’s supposed to be the go-to for all things football, appeared lost over the game’s ending moments. In a now-deleted X update on September 28, as the initial TD was given, he wrote, “Lolol no idea what happened in this game.” A few minutes later, he appeared even more astounded after the call was reversed. “Wow lolol,” read the follow-up tweet. While we’re not sure what led to the deletion, the MVP dropped another reaction—this time for the winning QB, Cam Ward. 

Appreciating the young player’s comeback attempt, Mahomes stated, “Crazy play by cam ward!!” Virginia tech coach brent Fry, on the other hand, was nothing but heartbroken: “That’s a tough one right there, the way the game ended. I hope they got that call right. To take that and overturn it and take that from our kids, our coaches, our fans, I hope they got it right.”

Notably, after the latest win, No. 7 Miami is now first in the ACC with five solid wins as the Hokies fall 2-3. Before this, the Hurricanes recorded a 41-17 win vs Florida, 56-9 victory over Florida A&M, 62-0 win over Ball State and a 50-15  triumph over USF. Hence, Miami coach Mario Cristobal appeared thrilled in the post-match press conference and avoided going deep into negative aspects. When asked about the nail-biting finish, the coach didn’t delve beyond, “I saw an incomplete pass. That’s all I can say.” 

As for how he thought the team fared, he said, “Some of today’s back and forth stuff, again, we caused it. But look, that could be a locker room with an L right now and it’d be a lot worse. We found a way to win. I could sit here and talk about a billion things that we could have done better. I just don’t want to do that…This team found a way to win, so they can take that however they want. I’m proud of the effort…sometimes you’ve just got to find a way to get a W and we found a way to get it.”

But just like Mahomes iterated, the main star has been Cam Ward… 

Ward is living up to his hype

The 22-year-old phenom has had blistering form this season. So far, the QB has a completion rate of 70.2 for 1,782 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also holds the top spot with the most touchdowns with 14 and is currently leading the 2024 College Football leaderboard for Passing Yards, over Ole Miss Rebels’ Jaxson Dart (1,554), TCU’s Josh Hoover (1,418), Washinhgton Huskies’ Will Rogers (1,354) and Colorado Buffaloes’ Shedeur Sanders (1,340).

The young player entered the game ranking second in the nation with an average of 359.8 passing yards. In the last game, he completed 24 of 38 passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns to keep the Hurricanes unbeaten. Their next showdown will take place on October 5 against California. 

Cristobal, in the post-matched conference, also talked about his QBs form, saying, “Look, that guy, you saw all the stuff [Cam Ward] went through and the times he was hit. He had some sacks, had a pick and what did the guy do? He just kept going and going and going. He’s unphased. I’m proud of him for being a tough-ass and finding a way to win.”

Hence, maybe Hurricanes QB Drones—who sits 31st in the Passing Yards leaderboard with 954 yards—spoke too soon when he said ahead of their game at the Hard Rock Stadium, “Cam’s going to see when we play. [I’ll] just show him who the real No. 1 is.” Still, he gave off a good show completing 19 of 33 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns and giving Ward and his team a big scare.

At the end of the day, though, the one sleeping peacefully at night will be Cam Ward and the Miami Hurricanes!