Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward left his mark on the University of Miami football program during his lone season in Coral Gables in 2024. He topped the program’s record books for passing yards and touchdowns in a single season as he led Miami to only its second 10-win season since 2003.

Unfortunately, a disastrously poor defense let him and the rest of his team and all those around the program down, as Miami fell 42-38 to Syracuse in the regular season finale to just miss out on the ACC Championship game and the College Football Playoff.

The prospects for the Hurricanes to take that next step didn’t seem as likely in 2025, as Miami had to replace Ward, all four of their top pass catchers, implement two new starters on the offensive line, and retool an entire secondary that was sub-pedestrian for much of the 2024 season. Oh, and incoming transferee Carson Beck was coming off elbow surgery and missed spring practice.

But oh, what a difference a year makes. Miami – led by a wrecking ball of a defense – repeated its 10-2 record, but this time around, it was just enough to get into the final at large spot in the playoff ahead of Notre Dame and BYU. And the Hurricanes didn’t waste that opportunity, upsetting Texas A&M on Saturday 10-3 in College Station to secure the program’s first ever playoff win.

Cam Ward was asked his thoughts on the win after Tennessee’s 26-9 victory over Kansas City on Sunday, and he had some praise for his former college mates while offering a word of caution to those doubting Miami against Ohio State, the Canes’ opponent in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.

Cam Ward predicts Miami to beat Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl

“Yes, sir. They got some stuff to clean up as well, man, but I mean for them boys to get the get they first ever CFP (College Football Playoff) win in the program history, something I wish I could have did, but I know the guys in that locker room they got us and I plan on them going out there and beating Ohio State,” Ward said during his postgame press conference.

College football is sometimes a game of what-ifs, and that’s the case with this Miami program over the last two years. What if Miami had this meat grinder of a defense last year with the program’s best statistical offense ever that was led by Ward? What if that group on offense had one more year in Coral Gables in 2025? It’s hard to see them losing a game.

But Miami has found its recipe for success this year, and it’s with world beaters putting their hands in the dirt on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Terrific line of scrimmage play travels and matches up well against any opponent. Physical, hard-hitting football, and that’s what Miami has branded as its identity this year.

Ohio State will certainly be a mountain of a challenge, and they’re one of few schools that can potentially match up with or claim a slight edge in athleticism that Miami has. But with the way Miami’s run game is churning and with the way their defense is playing, the Hurricanes have a legitimate chance of proving Ward right on New Year’s Eve in Arlington, Texas.

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