Cam Ward can reestablish himself as Heisman favorite in remaining games

Cam Ward has spent most of this season as a Heisman Trophy favorite, and deservedly so. Through 10 games, Ward has Miami squarely in play for an ACC Championship berth and a potential College Football Playoff berth at 10-1.

Ward has thrown for 3,773 yards with 32 passing touchdowns and six interceptions in 2024. Match those stats up with recent Heisman winners through 10 games and he sits with or above almost all of them.

Ward hasn't been the clear-cut Heisman Trophy favorite this year, though. Even when he had the best odds to win earlier this year, closely behind him were Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and wide receiver-cornerback Travis Hunter.

Both Jeanty and Hunter now lead Ward in the Heisman Trophy race, with Hunter seen as the clear frontrunner. According to FanDuel, Hunter is -900 to win, Jeanty is +700, and Ward is +1400. How could this be? What Jeanty and Hunter are doing is undeniably impressive, but it feels a bit like Ward's odds should be better.

Perhaps a reason for this was the two weeks for the Miami football program before beating Wake Forest 42-14 on Saturday. Miami had a demoralizing loss to Georgia Tech followed by a bye. The Hurricanes won their first game on Saturday since beating Duke on November 2. Three weeks have passed since then.

It's been a while since the Hurricanes have been deserving of praise, but that shouldn't apply to Cam Ward. The offense only scored 23 points in their loss to Georgia Tech, but Cam Ward threw for 348 yards with three touchdowns. That loss certainly doesn't fall on him.

Ward was 27-38 for 280 yards with two TDs, an interception and one rushing TD in the penultimate game of the regular season for Miami on Saturday. How well Hunter and Jeanty play on Saturday will determine if Ward reestablished himself as the Heisman Trophy favorite.

Ward needs 227 yards to become the first Miami QB with 4,000 passing yards and now has 34 TD passes and is within one win of leading Arizona to the ACC Championship Game for the first time since 2017. That should mean a lot, considering Miami finished 7-6 a year ago.

Ward has (almost) singlehandedly propelled a once-great college football program back into the spotlight after years of mediocrity and disappointment. He's been far and away the best QB in the country and for that, he deserves his flowers.

With a couple more strong performances and a chance to play in the ACC Championship Game as well as the College Football Playoff, Ward will almost certainly rejoin Hunter and Ashton among the Heisman Trophy favorites, if not eclipse them. He and his team just need to execute in this crucial stretch of the season.