Ward throws 5 more TDs, No. 10 Miami piles up stats in 62-0 win over Ball State

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Cam Ward was dominant again, throwing for 346 yards and five touchdowns before getting subbed out early in the second half as No. 10 Miami piled up stats in a 62-0 win over Ball State on Saturday night.

Miami (3-0) outgained Ball State 750-115, setting a school record for yards in a game. It was the biggest shutout win over an FBS opponent in Hurricanes' history, topping the 61-0 win over Rutgers in 2001.

Ward now has three straight 300-yard games to start his season. He connected with Xavier Restrepo on a pair of touchdown passes, and found Jacolby George, Elijah Arroyo and Chris Johnson Jr. with his other scoring throws for the Hurricanes (3-0).

Ward’s five-touchdown game was the 10th by a Miami quarterback, one shy of the school record of six TDs set by Jarren Williams against Louisville in 2019. And it all came on the weekend where Miami celebrated the 35th anniversary of the school’s 1989 team winning the national title — a team that had a young offensive lineman named Mario Cristobal, now the Hurricanes’ coach.

Ajay Allen had a 56-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter for Miami, and Elija Lofton caught a 40-yard scoring pass from Emory Williams with 11:46 left. Jordan Lyle had a rushing score late for Miami.

Kadin Semonza completed 16 of 26 passes for 111 yards for Ball State (1-1). The Cardinals fell to 0-9 all-time when playing Top 10 teams and were shut out for the first time since a 42-0 loss to Temple on Oct. 8, 2011.

Ward's numbers through three games: 1,035 yards, 11 touchdowns and one interception while completing 73% of his passes for the Hurricanes. Excluding a one-play drive to run out the final few seconds of the first half, Ward played seven series — five ending in his touchdown passes, one with a field goal and one with a punt.

The game’s kickoff was delayed for nearly 2 1/2 hours because of lightning in the area.

Ball State: The difference in speed between the Cardinals and the Hurricanes was evident, particularly when Miami had the ball. The Cardinals gave up 20 plays — 17 passes, three rushes — of more than 15 yards.

Miami: If there's a concern for the Hurricanes right now, it's the health of the offensive line. Miami came into the game without left tackle Jalen Rivers and left guard Ryan Rodriguez — both starters — and saw right guard Anez Cooper limp off the field in the first half with what appeared to be a lower-leg issue.

Miami should remain in the Top 10 when the AP Top 25 is released on Sunday.

Ward is the first Miami quarterback to reach 1,000 yards in the first three games of a season since Craig Erickson (1,126 in 1990). Ward is 89 yards away from 15,000 in his career, counting the 13,876 yards he had at Incarnate Word and Washington State.

Ball State: Visits Central Michigan on Saturday.

Miami: Visits South Florida on Saturday.

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Ball State quarterback Kadin Semonza (3) throws during the first half of an NCAA football game against Miami, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Ball State quarterback Kadin Semonza (3) throws during the first half of an NCAA football game against Miami, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami tight end Riley Williams (88) runs for a first down as Ball State defensive back DD Snyder (3), cornerback Myles Norwood (26), and linebacker Keionte Newson (9) defend during the first half of an NCAA football game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Ball State running back Vaughn Pemberton, right, runs past Miami defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor (3) during the first half of an NCAA football game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami wide receiver Samuel Brown (11) congratulates wide receiver Xavier Restrepo (7) after Restrepo scored a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA football game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami place kicker Andres Borregales (30) kicks a field goal during the first half of an NCAA football game against Ball State, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal watches from the sideline during the first half of an NCAA football game against Ball State, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami wide receiver Xavier Restrepo (7) can't make the catch during the first half of an NCAA football game against Ball State, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami running back Chris Johnson Jr. (24) is lifted into the air by center Zach Carpenter after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA football game against Ball State, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami wide receiver Samuel Brown (11) runs for a first down as Ball State defensive back Elijah Davis, left, and defensive back Jalon Jones (30) defend during the first half of an NCAA football game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami wide receiver Xavier Restrepo (7) scores a touchdown past Ball State defensive back Jordan Coleman, left, during the first half of an NCAA football game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami running back Chris Johnson Jr. (24) scores a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA football game against against Ball State, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria in an apparent Israeli operation targeting Hezbollah's communications network but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them.

Pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah exploded near-simultaneously Tuesday in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounding nearly 3,000.

Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack.

An American official said Israel briefed the United States on Tuesday after the conclusion of the operation, in which small amounts of explosive secreted in the pagers were detonated. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the information publicly.

The AR-924 pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary’s capital, according to a statement released Wednesday by Gold Apollo.

“According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” the statement read.

Gold Apollo chair Hsu Ching-kuang told journalists Wednesday that his company has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years, but did not provide evidence of the contract.

At about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, as people shopped for groceries, sat in cafes or drove cars and motorcycles, the pagers in their hands or pockets started heating up and then exploding — leaving blood-splattered scenes and panicking bystanders.

It appeared that many of those hit were members of Hezbollah, but it was not immediately clear if non-Hezbollah members also carried any of the exploding pagers.

The blasts were mainly in areas where the group has a strong presence, particularly a southern Beirut suburb and in the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon, as well as in Damascus, according to Lebanese security officials and a Hezbollah official. The Hezbollah official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Hezbollah, which has pointed the blame at Israel, said in a statement Wednesday morning that it would continue its normal strikes against Israel “as in all the past days” as part of what it describes as a support front for its ally, Hamas, and Palestinians in Gaza.

“This path is continuous and separate from the difficult reckoning that the criminal enemy must await for its massacre on Tuesday that it committed against our people, our families and our fighters in Lebanon,” it said. “This is another reckoning that will come, God willing.”

Hezbollah began firing rockets over the border into Israel on Oct. 8, the day after a deadly Hamas-led attack in southern Israel triggered a massive Israeli counteroffensive and the ongoing war in Gaza. Since then, Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged strikes near-daily, killing hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and displacing tens of thousands on each side of the border.

At hospitals in Beirut on Wednesday, the chaos of the night before had largely subsided, but relatives of the wounded continued to wait.

Lebanon Health Minister Firas Abiad told journalists during a tour on hospitals Wednesday morning that many of the wounded had severe injuries to the eyes, and others had limbs amputated. Journalists were not allowed to enter hospital rooms or film patients.

The health minister said that the wounded had been distributed among all the area hospitals to avoid any single facility being overloaded and added that Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Egypt offered to help in treating the patients.

Earlier Wednesday, an Iraqi military plane landed in Beirut carrying medical equipment, airport officials said. Abiad said the plane was carrying 15 tons of medicine and medical equipment.

Experts believe explosive material was put into the pagers prior to their delivery and use in a sophisticated supply chain infiltration.

The AR-924 pager, advertised as being “rugged,” contains a rechargeable lithium battery, according to specifications once advertised on Gold Apollo’s website before it was apparently taken down Tuesday after the sabotage attack. It could receive texts of up to 100 characters.

It also claimed to have up to 85 days of battery life. That would be crucial in Lebanon, where electricity outages have been common after years of economic collapse. Pagers also run on a different wireless network than mobile phones, making them more resilient in emergencies — one of the reasons why many hospitals worldwide still rely on them.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs said from the beginning of 2022 until August 2024, Gold Apollo has exported 260,000 sets of pagers, including more than 40,000 sets between January and August of this year. The ministry said the pagers were exported mainly to European and American countries and that it had no records of direct exports of Gold Apollo pagers to Lebanon.

For Hezbollah, the militants also looked at the pagers as a means to sidestep what’s believed to be intensive Israeli electronic surveillance on mobile phone networks in Lebanon.

“The phone that we have in our hands — I do not have a phone in my hand — is a listening device,” warned Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a February speech.

He later added: “I tell you that the phone in your hands, in your wife’s hands, and in your children’s hands is the agent. It is a deadly agent, not a simple one. It is a deadly agent that provides specific and accurate information. Therefore, this requires great seriousness when confronting it.”

Associated Press journalists Bassem Mroue and Abby Sewell in Beirut; Zeke Miller in Washington; and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Civil Defense first-responders carry a man who was wounded after his handheld pager exploded, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.(AP Photo)

Hsu Ching-kuang, chairman of Apollo Gold, talks about the Taiwan company's communication products at the headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)

Hsu Ching-kuang, chairman of Apollo Gold, talks about the Taiwan company's communication products at the headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Johnson Lai)

A police officer inspects a car in which a hand-held pager exploded, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

People gather outside the American University hospital after the arrival of several men who were wounded by exploded handheld pagers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bassam Masri)

Lebanese soldiers stand guard at a street that leads to the American University hospital where they bring wounded people whose handheld pager exploded, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)