The final on-field image of Cam Ward as a college quarterback was his declining to play the second half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl for Miami after he set a Division I record for most career touchdown passes during the first half.

Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward has received an abundance of criticism regarding his decision to not play in the second half of the team's bowl game. Prior to receiving the Davey O'Brien Award as the country's top collegiate quarterback,

“OK, you’re either going to draft me or you’re not,” Ward told the Associated Press ahead of receiving the award as the nation’s top college quarterback. “If you don’t draft me, that’s your fault. You’ve got to remember you’re the same team that’s got to play me for the rest of my career, and I’ll remember that.”