During the ESPN College Football Playoff rankings reveal show on Tuesday host Rece Davis said "
here's Miami's whole philosophy "We have Cam Ward and you don't." The comment from Davis came during the discussion about Miami who is ranked fourth and projects as the three seed in the CFP.
Ward was frequently discussed during the segment on Miami. The prevailing thought from the ESPN panel was that Ward is the difference for Miami this season. Miami has rallied several times in the second half to win games in 2024. With Ward at quarterback, Miami is always in the game.
ESPN Always College Football host and game analyst Greg McElroy said, "How about last year? I think they were 1-4 in one-possession games. This year they've won three of them and Duke Saturday wasn't a one-possession game, but it was a one-point game in the fourth quarter before at a certain point."
Miami beat Virginia Tech 38-34, California 39-38 with a rally from 35-10 down and Louisville 52-45. After trailing 28-17 in the third quarter versus Duke, Miami rallied to take a 32-28 lead before a field goal made it 32-21. Miami scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 52-31 win.
"I think when you look at Miami...Cam Ward is going to win the Heisman Trophy. He's been that good throughout this college football season...He's got to make up for some of the deficiencies on this team. Defensively, I still have questions about them running the football. Can they do it consistently? But Cam Ward covers up for a multitude of sins for that team and I would not want to face him because he's been the best quarterback in the country at making plays down the stretch for his team."Booger McFarland, ESPN
Travis Hunter of Colorado and Ward are the Heisman Trophy co-leaders at plus 185 per FanDuel. Ward is first nationally with 29 touchdown passes, third averaging 349.6 passing yards per game and fifth with a 175.14 passer rating. The only QB close to Ward in the Heisman Trophy race is Dillon Gabriel of Oregon at plus 350.
Oregon was first in the College Football Playoff Rankings, Ohio State second and Georgia third as the teams ahead of Miami. With the top four conference champions earning byes, Miami projects as the third seed. Quarterback play will be critical in the CFP. Having Ward should give Miami a big advantage in the CFP over potential opponents.
The CFP rankings released on Tuesday have Texas fifth, but the sixth seed and Alabama 11th. Miami would play the winner between Alabama and Texas. Jalen Milroe of Alabama and Quinn Ewers or Arch Manning of Texas have the potential to come close to matching Ward in a high-scoring game.