BERKELEY, Calif. — Cam Ward threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Arroyo with 26 seconds left and No. 8 Miami roared back from a 25-point deficit in the second half to beat California 39-38 on Saturday night.

Ward led four straight touchdown drives to end the game and spoil what looked like the most monumental day in years for the Golden Bears (3-2, 0-2 ACC), who hosted ESPN’s “College GameDay” for the first time and were on the verge of their second win over a top 10 team in the past 21 seasons.

Instead, Ward made sure the rare sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium went home unhappy after overcoming a 35-10 deficit in the third quarter. That gave the Hurricanes (6-0, 2-0) a second straight dramatic victory after needing a replay review to hold off Virginia Tech last week.

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox, when asked afterward about his team’s mood in the locker room, said, “It’s as bad as you can imagine.”

“Football is a humbling game,” Wilcox said. “We had every opportunity to win that game, obviously. We didn’t get it done. So, every individual has to own it. I think this is a pivotal moment for the team. I hope that all coaches, players, administrators, everybody involved will be proud of how they responded in a month or two months or six months or even a year. In this moment right now.”

Ward threw an 18-yard TD pass to Isaiah Horton with 10:28 left to cut it to 38-25 and then scrambled in from 24 yards out to make it a six-point game with 4:04 to play.

The Hurricanes forced a punt after being spared a potential targeting call on instant replay and Ward then hit Xavier Restrepo on a 77-yard pass on the first play on the ensuing drive to get Miami into the red zone.

A personal foul backed up the Hurricanes, but Ward converted a third-and-20 on a short pass to Joshisa Trader that went for 22 yards down to the 3. Two plays later, Ward found Arroyo on a jump pass that gave Miami the lead.

Ward finished 33-for-53 for 437 yards with two touchdown passes and a TD run, overcoming a pick-6 that helped put Miami in the big hole in the third quarter.

Fernando Mendoza delivered several big plays against the team he grew up cheering for as a kid in Miami but it wasn’t enough.

Mendoza threw a 57-yard TD pass to Jack Endries in the first quarter and had a 51-yarder to Trond Grizzell that set up Jaydn Ott’s 5-yard run that gave Cal a 14-7 lead.

Ott scored again on 66-yard catch and run on a fourth-and-1 midway through the second quarter and Mendoza threw a 59-yard pass to Jaivian Thomas in the third quarter that set up Chandler Rogers’ 9-yard TD run.

But Cal punted on its first two drives of the fourth quarter before Mendoza threw an interception in the closing seconds to end it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Inter Miami stands just one victory away from breaking the record for most points earned in a single Major League Soccer regular season after a last-minute 1-0 win over Toronto FC on Saturday at BMO Field.

Forward Leonardo Campana broke the draw in the 93rd minute of the match when finding the back of the net off of a pass from teammate Luis Suárez, scoring his eighth goal of the season and propelling the Herons closer to history.

Despite the significance of the match, head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino chose to rest several key players and rotate the starting lineup after Miami secured the MLS Supporters’ Shield as the best regular-season team last week.

Suárez, Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets only entered the game late in the second half, but still managed to make a positive impact.

“Playing Suarez and Messi late is something that we defined on Friday,” said Martino. “It was logical that after two complete games, as most of them had played, we would make a rotation. It seemed to me that if I made the rotation, I should make it deep … and well we were able to meet the two objectives: one for the players to have some rest and the other to win the game, which is what we wanted.

“We wanted to start from what it represents, especially on a motivational level, and to be able to achieve the points record.”

The New England Revolution currently hold the MLS record after managing 73 points in 2021, but one more triumph in the final game of the campaign would propel Inter Miami to reach 74 points and set a new standard.

Fittingly, Miami will attempt to clinch the title when hosting New England on Oct.19 on the final day of the regular season at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Herons have already made history this season by winning the Supporters’ Shield, their first piece of MLS silverware since debuting as an expansion franchise in 2020.

The triumph also means Inter Miami will have home-field advantage for the entirety of the MLS playoffs.

“Having home-field advantage is amazing, especially with our fans. It’s the perfect situation for us,” said Inter Miami defender Ian Fray.

Miami will kick off the Round One best-of-three game at Chase Stadium on Oct. 25 against the winner of the Eastern Conference Wild Card match.

Right-handed pitcher Yonny Chirinos elected free agency on Friday, according to the official Minor League Baseball transaction log.

Chirinos spent 2024 on a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins, who selected his contract and called him up to the big leagues on June 19. He made six starts with the club before getting designated for assignment on July 23, and he was outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville after clearing waivers.

Because all of the 30-year-old veteran’s options have been used, and the Marlins didn’t add him back to their 40-man roster at the end of the season, he was eligible to elect free agency.

Chirinos went 0-2 with a 6.30 ERA, 1.867 WHIP, 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings and a -0.1 WAR with Miami in 2024. During his time with Triple-A Jacksonville, however, Chirinos went 10-6 with a 3.66 ERA, 1.310 WHIP and 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

That production alone makes Chirinos an viable candidate to provide organizational depth for another team, but he has a strong track record in the majors as well.

Chirinos was once the No. 21 prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays’ farm system entering 2018. He was a spot starter and long reliever for the club for the next three seasons, until he underwent Tommy John surgery midway through 2020.

After returning to the mound for a few MLB outings in 2022, Chirinos made it back to full strength in 2023. He was ultimately designated for assignment by the Rays that July, though, so starting pitcher Shane McClanahan and first baseman Yandy Diaz could come off the injured list.

Chirinos went 19-14 with a 3.64 ERA, 1.161 WHIP and 4.3 WAR across 64 appearances with the Rays, 33 of which were starts. His brief time with the Atlanta Braves didn’t go quite as well, considering he went 1-1 with a 9.27 ERA, 1.791 WHIP and -0.8 WAR in his five starts after getting claimed off waivers.

The Marlins have now had six players elect free agency since the regular season came to a close on Monday. Chirinos joins right-handed pitcher Matt Andriese, outfielder Cristian Pache, left-handed pitcher Kent Emanuel, shortstop José Devers and catcher Ali Sánchez.

On top of all of those players jumping ship heading into 2025, Miami is set to overturn its entire coaching staff and more than 70 organizational staffers. The Marlins finished dead last in the NL East at 62-100 this season, just one year removed from making the postseason.

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