You want to believe in Miami. You want to believe bad.
You want to believe because Cam Ward was fearless Saturday. And not much about Miami football has been fearless for a while.
You want to believe in Miami because if the remainder of the season even comes close to the thrashing it put on Florida, forget about fearing the spear. The rest of the nation will have to consider the ‘Canes.
You want to believe for the same sappy reason that applies when Notre Dame, Texas and USC slump for extended periods: Love ’em or hate ’em — the game is better when they matter.
No. 19 Miami won 41-17, pinning the most points ever on Florida in its home opener. Now the massive question coming out of one of the most impressive opening days in Miami history is obvious. Forget about believing in the Hurricanes, can we trust them long term?
Two Saturdays into the season, ACC executives may not have a choice but to believe and go all in on the ‘Canes to win the league. Miami is the one not suing the league (at least yet). Miami is the one with the most complete program.
Small sample size, yeah, but the conference needed some feel-good like this. The league’s preseason favorites (Florida State, Clemson) have already lost. The Tigers got strafed back to the Stone Age by Georgia on Saturday. You know what happened to Florida State in Ireland. NC State was mostly awful in a closer-than-expected win over an FCS foe. Trendy pick Virginia Tech was knocked off in overtime at Vanderbilt. North Carolina had a great win at Minnesota but is without quarterback Max Johnson the rest of the way.
Through Week 1, Miami looks like the ACC’s best (and perhaps only) College Football Playoff participant. The ACC might not have any choice but to be all about the U. Miami does have multiple paths to the playoff.
Now, can this impressive collection assembled by Mario Cristobal keep it up? The ‘Canes have found themselves a quarterback, there is no doubt. All those NIL millions(?) were worth it. Ward, the Washington State transfer deemed the best prospect in the portal by some, looks Miami’s best QB since (fill in the blank).
Ward — who has thrown for more yards than anyone in Division I since 2020 — threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns in his first start for the ‘Canes. Even worse (for Florida), Ward had enough time to count the folks in the lower bowl on several of his throws. The kid had more arm angles than Juan Marichal. (Google him, kids).
Based on that debut, it’s OK to whisper the H-word (Heisman), too.
Most games with 350 passing yards, three-plus (past two seasons)
| Player | Games with 350 Pass Yds & 3 Pass TD | School(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Cam Ward | 4 | Washington State/Miami (FL) |
| Dillon Gabriel | 4 | Oklahoma |
| Michael Penix Jr. | 4 | Washington |
| Shedeur Sanders | 4 | Colorado |
| Bo Nix | 4 | Oregon |
The last time a Miami quarterback threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns in an opener was Ken Dorsey was 2001, which of course was the last year the ‘Canes won it all.
The signs are there. But it’s worth repeating: Has Miami as a program found its way back? It’s been 23 years since that last national championship and we’ve been teased before. Randy Shannon, Al Golden, Mark Richt and Manny Diaz all tried. The 2017 team started 10-0, then lost its final three games. Since then, Miami was six games over .500 combined in six years prior to Saturday.
This year 21 without winning the ACC, even once.
“We’ve been looking for a team like this for a while,” former Miami great Devin Hester said from the sideline during the telecast.
Cristobal was never going to be in trouble regardless of the result of this opener. With eight years to go on an $80 million, 10-year contract, Cristobal was going to be given time. But his 12-13 record through his first two years was the worst record by a Miami coach entering Year 3 since 1978.
That’s pre-Kosar, pre-Schnellenberger, pre-swagger. A little bit of all that returned on Saturday afternoon. Cristobal has done what he does best, stack recruiting classes and add talent. 247Sports says Miami has one of the priciest rosters in college football, and you don’t have to squint to see it.
That talent was unleashed on Saturday in a Swamp that turned from drinking up the, uh, atmosphere to being punch drunk.
“You can see the blueprint is working,” said tight end Cam McCormick, who’s in his ninth year of eligibility and scored his fifth career touchdown Saturday.
The win was that complete. The teams hadn’t met since 2019. Miami hadn’t played in Gainesville since 2008. For the first time since 2002, it won in Gainesville.
All the sudden it felt like home.
“We drained The Swamp,” transfer tailback Damien Martinez said. “Everybody could see it on paper. We came out here and put it on tape.”
There is a whole season to go but, gosh, they look cool. They look physical. They look damn good. They look like the old Miami.
Too soon? Perhaps. That’s why on opening day it was OK to believe all of it for just a while.
