The second season of the Cam Ward era at WSU is nearly over, and his improvement from his debut year to 2023 has been significant, although the team record has not reflected that through eight games.
Although overall, the improvement from last season to the new year has been noticeable, his 2023 has been a story of drastically different thirds of the season. The Cougs have played 66% of their regular season schedule already, and by splitting the season into thirds, there have been two different Wards.
First Four
Starting 2023 4-0 with top-25 wins over Wisconsin and Oregon State at home, this version of Ward was a sneaky Heisman contender and was just as efficient as they come. Through four games, he went 106-of-142 passing (74.7%) for 1,390 yards and 13 passing TDs and an additional three rushing TDs without throwing a single interception.
His pace was a 4,200+ yard 40+ TD season through the first third of the season, which would have firmly had him as a favorite to be a finalist for the Heisman.
Playing at such a high, efficient level was a major factor to the Cougs’ 4-0 start and ranking as high as No. 13 in the nation.
Ward had more confidence than he had ever shown in 2022 and the offensive coordinator and the QB were clicking on another level. He had the offense running well and into the bye week, the Cougs had one of the best offenses in the country.
Then, the bye week happened.
Next Four
The first game out of the bye was against UCLA in the Rose Bowl. The Cougs were playing a tough team in the heat and in a hostile environment, but it was a chance to prove their worth. Ward had yet to throw an interception heading in, with his 142 passes leading the nation in most consecutive attempts without an interception.
Against the Bruins, he threw his first two interceptions of the season, completed just 48.7% of his passes and had arguably the worst performance of his entire career at WSU.
That was a sign of things to come as he struggled against Arizona and has not thrown multiple TDs in a game in his most recent four games.
Over his current stretch, he’s gone 110-of-167 (65.9%) for just 1,142 yards with just three TDs and three interceptions. Over a full season pace, that is just 3,400 yards with nine TDs and nine interceptions.
Arbuckle has seemingly been figured out as a coordinator, and the team is struggling on both sides of the ball, going 0-4 out of the bye week and having their season turned on its head.
2022 vs. 2023
Despite the tale of two-thirds of the season, overall, Ward has improved from 2022, a positive sign for the rest of the season and 2024 if he opts to return. His overall stats look like 216-of-309 passing (69.9%) for 2,532 yards, 16 TD and three interceptions, with an additional five rushing TDs for a total of 21 scores.
Maybe the biggest difference has been her performances against some potent defenses, specifically against Wisconsin, Oregon, and Oregon State. In both seasons, he beat Wisconsin and lost against Oregon, but he beat the Beavers in 2023 after losing in 2023.
Looking at his stat lines in those games, it is clear that he has made an improvement in his decision-making, and the team’s confidence in him has clearly increased with his higher usage in the big games.
There is a higher level of confidence instilled in Ward from head coach Jake Dikert and the rest of the staff, with his attempts going up in the new year, and for the most part, he has not disappointed in his new role.
“I think that he is one of the best QBs in the country as a pure pocket passer,” Dickert said. “He is showing his value, not just for our offense but our team, every game. He is the ultimate competitor.”
Wisconsin:
2022 – 17-of-28, 200 yards, one TD, two INT, 118.2 rating, 52.2 QBR
2023 – 21-of-33, 208 yards, two TD, zero INT, 136.6 rating, 73.4 QBR
Oregon:
2022 – 37-of-48, 375 yards, two TD, two INT, 148.1 rating, 76.4 QBR
2023 – 34-of-48, 438 yards, one TD, zero INT, 154.4 rating, 76.9 QBR
Oregon State:
2022 – 25-of-54, 345 yards, one TD, one INT, 102.4 rating, 41.5 QBR
2023 – 28-of-34, 404 yards, four TD, zero INT, 221.0 rating, 93.9 QBR
WSU
Looking at his ranking in terms of program history, Ward sits ninth in career passing yards, 29th in career completion percentage, sixth in completions, ninth in attempts, ninth in TD and fifth in rating among QBs with at least 500 attempts.
Overall, Ward has been one of the lone bright spots on the field for the Cougs in 2023, and his play has gotten the Cougs to where they are.
With four games left in the 2023 regular season and eligibility left for the 2024 season, he can climb up those ranks and has time to continue to improve, looking for mosre consistency of his first four games of the 2023 season rather than his most recent four.
