Madison — While Wisconsin was middling through its opener against Buffalo, Washington State was in the process of hanging 50 points on Colorado State off the arm of its star quarterback, Cameron Ward.
The Cougars certainly weren’t flawless, but their gunslinger’s performance — 451 yards through the air, 40 yards on the ground and four total touchdowns — was more than enough to both win the game and pump excitement into Washington State’s fanbase.
Now, the Badgers must hit the road and go toe-to-toe with Ward for a second straight year. Wisconsin’s defense knows all about him, as he led the Cougars into Madison last season and stole a victory.
“I’m not gonna lie, me personally, I kinda underestimated him last year,” Rodas Johnson said.
“He beat us last year, so there’s…” Maema Njongmeta paused briefly. “I don’t wanna say a personal vendetta, but there’s definitely a lot of passion going into this game.”
Last year in Camp Randall Stadium, Ward didn’t have a mind-boggling performance. He completed 17-of-28 passes for 200 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions — one of which was immediately fumbled right back into the Cougars’ hands. Still, Wisconsin knows just how dangerous the gunslinger is.
“I mean, he’s really good,” Johnson said. “I would definitely say he’s the heart of the offense…You have to respect his passing strength as well as his run. He keeps you honest, so you have to keep him in the pocket, make him move a little bit. But you also have to contain him so he doesn’t thrash you in the run.”
“He’s good at going through his progressions. He takes his time, doesn’t let you hurry him up, and he’s smart,” Hunter Wohler said. “You can see the growth that he’s had and how confident he plays. Obviously he’s a great passer, he’s got a heck of an arm. You’ve seen him improvise a little more with his legs this year too, in last week’s game.”
Ward’s story is one that’s becoming very common in college football, and will continue to be as the Deion Sanders effect ripples across the sport. He spent two seasons at FCS Incarnate Word, where he amassed a blistering 71 touchdowns and 6,908 passing yards across two seasons. After destroying FCS competition, the brighter lights of big-time college football called, and Ward transferred to Washington State.
In his first year with the program, the Cougars went 7-6 and Ward had a solid year statistically, amassing 3,231 yards, 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions along with five more scores on the ground.
In Week 1, however, Ward put on a different show than he did in 2022. He scrambled while keeping his eyes downfield and utilized all kinds of arm angles. He’s gotten more inventive as a playmaker, and oozed confidence against Colorado State.
“The guy is super poised. It looks like nothing affects him,” Ricardo Hallman said. “He’s very mobile as well, he can get out there and run…We definitely have to make him uncomfortable.”
“His aggressive nature running the football is probably the one thing I noticed more than anything,” Luke Fickell said in regards to studying his tape from Week 1.
Still, Wisconsin’s defenders are excited for a second crack at Ward, as they have an idea of how they want to slow him down.
“I’m excited to face him,” Njongmeta said. “I feel like when you play a good opponent, they bring out the best in you.”
“I think we’re gonna send a lot of pressure his way so he can be uncomfortable and not just sit there in the pocket,” Hallman said.
“The thing about Colorado State is they didn’t do a good job making him uncomfortable. They just let him sit in the pocket, dictate what he wanted to do with their defense,” he continued. “I think we’re gonna do a good job of giving him different looks, you know, confuse him, and force him to take chances and make throws that he’s uncomfortable making.”
Uncomfortable seems to be the key word when it comes to limiting Ward. When you’re playing a signal caller that can manipulate the pocket, make defenders miss and extend the play, all while keeping his eyes downfield, you have to play incredibly sound fundamentally.
“You just gotta stay in your rush lane. Trust the coaching, squeeze the pocket,” Johnson said. Make him make hard decisions. I mean, it’s gonna be hard regardless. He’s a good athlete, he’s a great quarterback obviously. You’ve gotta give him a lot of respect on the run and the pass, so we have to just make him feel really uncomfortable.”
Ward, for lack of a better phrase, is must-watch television. Saturday night in Pullman promises to be a spectacle — two teams that are familiar with each other battling it out with high stakes and national implications. When Washington State has the football, Ward will be the best player on the gridiron. How Wisconsin fares against him will go a long way in shaping the course of the Badgers’ 2023 season.
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