Memphis Wins Shootout Against a Game South Florida, 59-50

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A beautiful day in Memphis for Homecoming saw the Bulls of South Florida (4-5, 2-3) in town for a conference matchup between two teams still playing for the AAC title. For the Tigers of Memphis (7-2, 4-1), the task at hand would be simple. Give the Bulls a big dose of the running game and come out the victor.

If the Bulls came out prepared for the Memphis running game we didn’t find out early. QB Seth Henigan (23-40 for 349 yards and 4 TDs passing and 1 TD rushing) came out firing and firing often. He would open the game’s first possession by throwing an incomplete pass. He followed that up with completions to Demeer Blankumsee for 26 and 17 yards, then one to Roc Taylor for 29 to make it first-and-goal from the four just like that. He would run it in from there and it was 7-0 Memphis in a flash.

A USF fumble would bring more points for Memphis but the Bulls answered with a seven-play, 75-yard drive to make it 14-7. A big answer from the Bulls when one was needed. Just before that drive, the air seemed to have been taken out of USF a bit too early. They would put that sentiment to bed.

Each team would respond to these scores and it was 21-14 with 9:34 left in the half. A half that had seen USF look like turnovers and bad pass coverage was going to cost them the game. Where Memphis let their foot off the gas pedal.

Memphis struck again on the arm and legs of Henigan. An eight-play, 75-yard drive ended with a Henigan to Anthony Landphere 10-yard strike to make it 28-14 Tigers. At this point, Memphis was over 300 yards of offense already. But the South Florida speed and some precision passing from Freshmen QB Byrum Brown (31-39 for 357 yards and 5 TDs, 23 carries for 100 yards) hit right back and this scoring affair was a one-score game again, 28-21 late in the half.

The half would end with a bang. Henigan would hit a step-up, looping pass to make it 35-21. Then, a blocked punt by USF turned into points to end the half when Brown hit Jayson Littlejohn from 2 yards out to send both teams into the locker room with Memphis up 35-28 and USF getting the ball to start the second half. At the half, it was the Byrum Brown (14-16, 180 yards and three TDs) and Seth Henigan (19-29 304 yards and four TDs) show.

The USF offense came out firing in the third and they would tie it at 35 on a 9-yard score from Brown to Jaden Alexis. It was Brown’s fourth touchdown pass of the day. Memphis would answer with the first field goal of the game to make it 38-35 Tigers.

Senior, Kelley Joiner Jr scored his first touchdown of the year on a nine-yard touchdown run and USF had its first lead of the game at 42-38. This was a game that would be about offense and offense only. There would be nothing the defense could do on this day. That was proven again when Memphis RB Blake Watson finally broke one and scored from 34 yards out to put the Tigers back up 45-42.

The third ended with a few drives that amounted to nothing for both teams. With 13:29 left in the game, Henigan went down hard and stayed down for a moment. He would walk off favoring his left arm and Tevin Carter came in to spell him. On his first play, Carter would hit Roc Taylor in stride and 85 yards later it was 52-42 Memphis. What a game the crowd was being treated to.

The two teams traded possessions and kept the clock running. Neither could figure out a way to muster some of the spark that was the first half. The biggest play of the game came at 7:11 when USF was stopped on a fourth down attempt at the Memphis 12. The Tigers got the ball back and all they had to do was execute and run the clock. But they would have to do that with their backup QB and RB and it failed as they turned the ball over on downs.

A turnover on downs right behind that from USF all but ended the night for South Florida. A night that saw two offenses come out the gates out fire. A game that saw the defense, which had done nothing all day finally come up big for Memphis in the fourth quarter. A couple of traded scores would make the final 59-50 Memphis.

With the win, the Tigers move to 4-1 in the American one game behind the three leaders, Tulane, SMU, and UTSA all at 5-0. A matchup in two weeks with SMU at home looms large on the schedule if Memphis stands any chance of winning the Conference. Of course, the loss to Tulane will make that goal a steep hill to climb.

Game Notes:

Both teams combined for 1163 of total offense with 798 of that coming through the air
USF ran for 226 showing off their speed as one of the fastest, if not the fastest, football programs in the country
Blake Watson had a 34-yard score but never really figured into the offense finishing with 64 yards on 10 carries
USF QB Byrum Brown was just spectacular accounting for nearly 500 yards of offense. A pick was his only flaw in this game
Roc Taylor showed up with five catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns
USF was just 1-4 on 4th down and it played a role in the loss