The Swamp — home of the Florida Gators, able to pack more than 90,000 on game day — is supposed to be one of the loudest, most raucous stadiums in college football.
Don’t tell that to Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward and defensive back Mishael “Meesh” Powell.
After the No. 19 Hurricanes dismantled the Gators 41-17 on Saturday to begin the 2024 season, both said that they have played in louder venues during their college football careers.
When asked about the stadium being “loud as hell” — the announced attendance was 90,544 — and if it was “the loudest environment he played in, Ward said “it wasn’t.”
“I played at USC. USC wasn’t packed but it was louder than this,” said Ward, who spent the past two seasons at Washington State. “I played at Oregon, and it was louder than this. The Pac-12 is misspoken for. The Pac-12, that’s where I believe real football is played. … Washington was one of the loudest environments I played.”
Added Powell, who spent five seasons at Washington: “They’ve got some some good fans. When they got the touchdown [in the second quarter], they got pretty loud … [but] wasn’t anything that shook me.”
And with that said, Ward had some advice for Florida fans…
“If you’re gonna be loud, you have to be loud when we’re huddling,” said Ward, who threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns with one interception on Saturday. “You can’t just be loud once we break the huddle. By that time, there’s no point. We hear the play. We communicated already. It was a good atmosphere to play in. I’m just excited that we were able to get a victory.”
