Joel Klatt rips critics of Cam Ward sitting second half of bowl game

Cam Ward has received his fair share of backlash for sitting out the second half of Miami’s loss in the Pop-Tarts Bowl to the Iowa State Cyclones, but Joel Klatt isn’t listening to that noise.

The FOX Sports analyst called out critics of the Hurricanes quarterback during the latest episode of The Joel Klatt Show, citing a new era in college football as to why it was more than okay that Ward decided against risking injury and playing the entire game over the weekend.

“Another thing that happened in college football was this Cam Ward issue from the Pop-Tarts Bowl,” Klatt started. “Cam Ward didn’t play in the second half against Iowa State. Iowa State comes back, they win the game. What was it? 42-41. Unfortunately, we’re not talking about just this idea that like, Cam Ward had an incredible career in college football. One of the best we’ve ever seen, setting records. No. The discourse is going to be about that Cam decided not to play the second half in that Pop-Tart Bowl.

“I immediately — my antenna perked up, because I’m like, ‘Wait, wait, wait, who are the people complaining about this?’ And as usual, the people that are complaining aren’t necessarily the ones that you would expect to be complaining. You see, you would expect that this was coming from the Miami fanbase and like, teammates and coaches. Yet, that’s not the case. That’s not the case. And if I’m wrong, by the way, and you’re a Miami fan, please like — jump in the comments and tell me like, ‘No, you’re dead wrong. I’m really frustrated.’ I don’t sense that that’s the case with the Miami fans.

“I sense that the people that are frustrated with what happened in the Pop-Tart Bowl, with Cam Ward sitting out the second half, are the same people that like to yell about everything in college football. And they just want a point when anything happens that they don’t like. This is the old guard. It’s like the last of the water circling the drain in the bathtub that is just swirling and swirling and they get louder and louder. It’s all calm and the water is draining. And then at the at the very end, it gets like, all rough.”

Evidently, Klatt believes it’s a select few who are actually frustrated with Ward’s decision, but they’re simply being louder in their discourse than everyone else:

“This is the very end for the old guard in college football, because things are changing and things are changing in a great way,” he added. “But what you hear is the noise and everything that that that old guard doesn’t like, they scream about and they get on Twitter and they’re like, ‘What is this? Play for your teammates,’ all this stuff. And it’s like, what do his teammates say? What do his coaches say? What does the fan base say?

“And I’ll just tell you this, if I’m a Miami fan, I’m thankful that Cam Ward chose Miami, because we didn’t have nearly the season we were going to have if he wasn’t there. Not even close. Look at what this guy had to do and overcome, from a defense that was giving up copious amounts of points, in particular, in the middle of the year, games against Virginia Tech and Cal and so on and so forth. Yet, he kept them in it. What an incredible run.

“By the way, it was real at Miami. Like, you had a chance. You had a real chance at the College Football Playoff. That’s exactly what they wanted from Cam Ward. He delivered on that. You see, he gave Miami what they expected. Tell me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am — I don’t think they care about the second half of the Pop-Tart Bowl. I just don’t. I just really don’t.”

Moving forward, Klatt is choosing to focus on college football fans and pundits who are trying to push the game forward, not the group who would try to tear down a player like Ward for not playing in the second half of a borderline meaningless bowl game.

“I just always think of it, and I would encourage you all too, is like — really take a look at the people who are complaining,” Klatt stated. “Are they the last of the water in the bathtub, circling around, being as loud as they possibly can, because they don’t like change? They’re sinking. College football is going in a different direction. Bowl season will look different in the future. There might be a situation where we don’t have conference tie-ins, right? And so we can have like, a tiered bowl system outside of the playoff that actually could be pretty cool. It actually could be pretty cool.

“We need to expand our minds, get outside of the box, and don’t listen to the water that circles the drain at the bottom of the bathtub.”

All told, Cam Ward will likely be remembered for his incredible college football journey, not sitting out the second half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl. As the quarterback moves on to the professional level, the soon-to-be-former Miami Hurricanes star deserves his flowers, and Joel Klatt is giving them to him.