Cameron Ward’s halftime exit of bowl game was always Miami’s plan — not that it told anyone

Cameron Ward’s halftime exit from the Pop-Tarts Bowl created a media firestorm. 

Everyone from Ringer NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay to College Football Hall of Fame head coach Steve Spurrier criticized the move, joining thousands of others on social media as Ward stood on the sidelines during the second half a 42-41 loss to Iowa State. From one perspective, it looked like a snap decision to opt out.  

Ward playing a half or a quarter was the plan all along behind the scenes at Miami, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Ward wanted to play, setting Division I career records for passing touchdowns (158) in the process. And Miami wanted to look at his backup quarterback Emory Williams for an extended period to see what it could have for the 2025 season.

Thus, both were always supposed to see time in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

“(It was) first quarter to a half max and turn the keys over to Emory for the second half,” a source said. “As they did.”

That plan wasn’t communicated publicly by Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal, who added fuel to the fire postgame by declining to comment on the situation.

“I think all meetings with players and decisions like that, we should make them in private and keep them in private,” Cristobal said.

Miami always intended to get a longer look at Williams. After he went 5 for 14 with an interception as Miami squandered a 31-28 halftime lead, it appears the fact-finding mission has paid off. Miami, which already went after Washington State QB John Mateer earlier in the cycle, is expected to pursue other options at quarterback, reports David Lake of 247Sports’ Inside the U. Though rolling with Williams in 2025 remains an option. 

There was talk that Ward only wanted to play in the game to break Case Keenum’s D-I all-time passing touchdown record, which he did in with 4:12 in the first quarter with a four-yard pass to Jacolby George. But Ward, a possible No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, did not exit the game at that point. He played four more series, helping the Hurricanes secure a halftime lead.  

Still, the discourse surrounding the game centered almost solely on Ward exiting the game early despite several other Hurricanes starters sitting out the game and every top quarterback draft pick from last season (Drake Maye, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels) opting out of their bowl game. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Ward’s competition to be QB1 in the 2025 NFL Draft, played the entirety of the Buffaloes’ loss to BYU in the Alamo Bowl. 

By any measure, Ward’s story is one of the most successful no-star to college superstar narratives in college football history. It ends with an odd twist of the narrative. 

MORE: An insider look at Miami’s QB options in 2025, according to 247Sports