Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin channels his inner Allen Iverson to explain backlash over Cam Ward's move

Cam Ward played the final game of his collegiate career on Saturday. He played only the first half, throwing for 190 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, while completing 63.2% of his pass attempts in the Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes’ 42-41 loss to the Iowa State Cyclones in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Ward faced plenty of backlash after breaking the NCAA Division I passing touchdowns record before being sidelined for the second half.

Michael Irvin, who also played college football for the Hurricanes, recently defended the quarterback from critics. Speaking to Colin Cowherd of "The Herd," the Pro Football Hall of Famer stated:

"These things that come out, 'Cam Ward played just to get a record,' stop. Stop. The man played all year long so it isn't just to get a record," Irvin said.

"You know the first thing I thought about when I heard this? I thought about Allen Iverson. I said, 'this the Pop-Tarts Bowl? We're talking about the Pop-Tarts Bowl? The Pop-Tarts Bowl?' We ain't talking about the 12-team playoff. We ain't talking about the College Football Playoff. We're talking about the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The man popped in the Pop-Tarts Bowl."

Irvin's comments referenced Iverson's famous "practice" statement, where Iverson expressed frustration over questions about practice during an interview in 2002. The remark became iconic as Iverson passionately stated, "We're talking about practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game — practice."

"That's all you can expect from him," Irvin added. "It's the Pop-Tarts Bowl and he's going to be (one of) the top four, five picks in the draft and he put it all on the line and popped in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Stop popping it. Just leave it alone. Let it go. Cut it out."

Check out Michael Irvin's full comments on Cam Ward below:

Irvin added that he doesn’t like the way analysts build players up all season, only to start looking for critiques after their collegiate careers have ended. He claimed that analysts need to stop finding ways to bring players down ahead of the biggest moment of their lives.

Robert Griffin III among those who backed Cam Ward's decision

Cam Ward has received plenty of criticism for not playing in the second half of the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Robert Griffin III was among those who defended his decision to only play one half. The 2011 Heisman Trophy tweeted on Saturday:

"Same people criticizing Cam Ward for sitting out the 2nd half of the Pop Tarts Bowl, would be saying how dumb it was for him to play if he got hurt. He didn’t have to play AT ALL. Instead he gave us a half of jaw dropping plays. Stop villainizing these student athletes."

Check out Robert Griffin III's tweet below:

Ward finished the 2024 season with 4,313 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He completed 67.2% of his pass attempts while adding 204 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 60 carries.

The Hurricanes quarterback led the nation in passing touchdowns and ranked second in passing yards. He finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting.