Steve Spurrier believes Cam Ward sitting second half of bowl game was 'a bad look'

Many were confused when Cam Ward did not take the field for Miami during the second half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl against Iowa State on Saturday.

Opting to sit out for the final two quarters of his collegiate career after preparing for the game and starting in the first half, the unusual decision has drawn criticism throughout the college football world.

Recently, Steve Spurrier threw his two cents into the hat, explaining his perspective on the Miami quarterback’s choice.

“Yeah, it was a bad look,” Spurrier said during the latest episode of Another Dooley Noted Podcast. “I think the average person out there said he played whole first half. Played 12 games during the season. He hadn’t got hurt, surely he could have gone the other half without getting hurt.”

Ward left the game when the score was 31-28. Perhaps if the score was more lopsided, or if he was having an off day then the decision would have been met with less criticism. Instead, he threw three touchdown passes on 12 completions and passed for 190 yards.

All signs pointed toward another superstar performance for the Hurricanes, but instead was on the sideline as his team struggled during the second half. Eventually outscored 14-10 in the two quarters that Ward was sidelined, Iowa State would go on to beat Miami 42-41 to win the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Regardless of the fallout and talk over Ward’s decision on social media, he’s still largely accepted to be one of the two best quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft cycle. He sits behind Colorado‘s Shedeur Sanders, who Spurrier commended alongside Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, for playing through their bowl game despite being blown out by BYU.

Ward finishes his single season at Miami having been responsivle for 43 touchdowns (39 passing) to go with 4,313 passing yards while finishing with the No. 1 QBR (88.8) in the country. In the 12 games that he played all four quarters, Ward threw for 300 yards or more in 10 of those matchups.

He’ll now turn his attention toward pre-NFL Draft workouts, which includes the NFL Combine and Miami’s Pro Day. There, he will look to solidify his posititon as a quarterback who can play in the pros for a years to come.