The Miami Hurricanes had an extra week to recover from their upsetting loss to Georgia Tech. Dropping their first game of the season put the Hurricanes in a tight spot, leaving no room for error moving forward. While Miami aims to put the defeat behind them, quarterback Cam Ward made a candid admission about what the slip-up taught him and the program.
The Hurricanes have had their fair share of disappointments in recent years. Head coach Mario Cristobal has been under heavy scrutiny and thoroughly evaluated as he has failed to put together complete NCAA seasons. The Canes often seem to run out of steam. After the loss to the Yellow Jackets, fans were quick to draw parallels to recent collapses.
However, Miami is confident this year it’s different. The school in Coral Gables has an elite quarterback under center and when Ward is at his best the Canes look almost unbeatable. They have had their fair share of scares and nail-biters, though. And Ward has admitted the loss to Georgia Tech exposed many issues within the program.
“The game two weeks ago, you could see the stuff we had to work on and we have been lacking pretty much for the past couple of games and we got exposed. Wins hide a lot of stuff but it doesn’t hide everything,” Ward said, via Sports Illustrated. “We got better at what we needed to get in the bye week and we just try and go get the [win] this week.”
Ward’s self-criticism
Cam Ward has become the talk of the town since his arrival in Miami, he has put on a stellar college football season and is among the Heisman Trophy favorites. However, the talented QB keeps a level head, he stays focused on making the Playoffs and bringing silverware back to Coral Gables.
“You have to be able to take coaching, be coachable,” Ward stated. “Be able to take constructive criticism. That’s really it. The main thing is the main thing. We try to win football games, we try to control our destiny and we just have to come out and have high urgency. That is something that we didn’t have two weeks ago but we got better in practice.”
Though the loss in Atlanta didn’t do Miami any favors, the Hurricanes still control their destiny. Winning is a must. The last ACC games of the season are crucial to Cristobal’s program, they have to win both of them and they’ll clinch a place in the conference championship match.
Cristobal’s message to the team on last two games of the season
The Hurricanes can feel the pressure mounting on them. Ghosts from the past may be paying a visit to the team. However, head coach Cristobal has sent a message to the roster, ordering them to stay focused and play smart.
“There’s been opportunities heading into the latter part of the season and for whatever reason, it tailed off or didn’t quite work out,” Cristobal said. “So, we’d like to prevent any avoidable mistakes or mistakes by making sure we’re focused at the task at hand.”