By MARK LONG
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Cam Ward threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns — looking cool, calm and collected on a sweltering Saturday in the Swamp — and No. 19 Miami dominated Florida 41-17 to give coach Mario Cristobal a signature victory to start his third season at his alma mater.
The Hurricanes controlled both lines of scrimmage and never trailed in the renewal of a once-heated rivalry. The latest iteration was a one-sided beatdown, the kind that sent Florida fans scurrying for the exits in the third quarter and raised speculation about coach Billy Napier’s job security.
Napier fell to 11-15 in Gainesville, including 2-10 against ranked opponents and 1-8 against rivals Miami, Florida State, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee. The Gators lost their sixth consecutive game overall and witnessed the end of their 33-game winning streak in home openers, a run that started with Steve Spurrier’s arrival in 1990.
Now, Napier has the same number of losses at Florida Field in two-plus seasons (five) as Spurrier had in a dozen years.
Napier’s buyout would be a little more than $25 million for the Gators to fire him during or after this season. But that fact his buyout is common knowledge points to how dysfunctional his tenure has been.
This year was supposed to be different. He layered nearly every aspect of the program, hiring a new defensive coordinator, a new special teams coordinator, a new strength and conditioning coach and a new nutritionist.
Little looked different to begin Year 3 and now Napier has to hope “The U” is a legit national championship contender to soften his worst home loss.
Among the most egregious miscues: Napier, who retained play-calling duties despite outside cries for him to give them up, dialed up runs on two third-and-5 plays. And his defense committed two roughing the passer penalties to extend first-half drives that led to touchdowns.
Miami had no such issues.
Ward, the former Incarnate Word and Washington State starter, showed why he was the Atlantic Coach Conference’s preseason Player of the Year before ever playing a down in a Miami uniform. He completed 25 of 33 passes, with an interception.
Ward became the first Miami QB since at least 1979 to throw for 300 yards in his first start with the team. Scott Covington threw for 295 against Boston College in in 1996, which had been the most by a Miami quarterback in his debut over the last 45 seasons.
Xavier Restrepo caught seven passes for 112 yards, including a 24-yarder for a touchdown. Ward’s best throw, though, was a 23-yarder in the back of the end zone to Jacolby George.
Mertz injured
Florida quarterback Graham Mertz headed to the locker room at the end of the third quarter after getting drilled while throwing an interception. Mertz stayed on the ground for a couple of minutes before walking off the field under his own power.
Highly touted freshman DJ Lagway replaced Mertz on the next series. Lagway’s first run lost 4 yards and his first pass was incomplete.
Mertz completed 11 of 20 passes for 91 yards, with an interception. He was sacked three times.
Bain hurt
Miami star defensive end Reuben Bain left the field after the first series and never returned. Bain had 7½ sacks last season and was projected to be one of the best defenders in the country as a sophomore.
The takeaway
Miami: The Hurricanes finally have a quarterback, maybe their best since Heisman Trophy finalist Ken Dorsey. Ward was widely considered the best QB available in the transfer portal and looked the part against Florida, changing arm slots and throwing receivers open all over the field. He could be the difference for a proud program trying to return to glory.
Florida: The Gators showed no progress on the defensive side of the ball despite spending significant capital to upgrade that side of the ball. The unit allowed 38.3 points a game during the team’s five-game losing streak to end 2023 and picked up where it left off, allowing 529 yards to Miami at home.
Up next
Miami: hosts Florida A&M next Saturday.
Florida: hosts Samford next Saturday.