Joel Klatt's Strong Response to Cam Ward’s Controversial Bowl Game Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt De Lima | Last updated Dec 30, 2024 3:53 PM ET

When Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward sat for the second half of his team's matchup against Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, a narrative exploded online deriding the signal-caller's choice.

That point of view grew even louder when the Hurricanes lost to the Cyclones by one point and only scored 14 points in the second half after Ward led Miami's offense to 31 points in the first half.

FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt resisted that narrative, especially since it diminished what should've been a larger conversation about his work for the Hurricanes and his career achievements, such as setting the record for most touchdown passes by a Division I player with 156.

"Everything that the Old Guard doesn't like, they scream about." @joelklatt senses that the people who were frustrated by Cam Ward sitting out the second half of the Pop-Tart Bowl are the same people that yell about everything pic.twitter.com/nV78AWyyI9
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) December 30, 2024

"Unfortunately, we're not talking about this idea that Cam Ward had an incredible career in college football—one of the best we've ever seen," Klatt said. "No, the discourse is going to be about that Cam decided not to play in the second half.

"Who are the people complaining about this?" Klatt said. "... You would expect this is coming from the Miami fan base, teammates and coaches. Yet, that's not the case. Everything you hear, that's the noise ... Everything that the Old Guard doesn't like, they scream about."

This season, Ward was named the ACC Player of the Year and won the Davey O'Brien Award, presented annually to the best of all National Collegiate Athletic Association quarterbacks.

He finished the year with 4,313 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Ward transferred to Miami ahead of the 2024 season after two seasons with the Washington State Cougars and two seasons previous at Incarnate Word.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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