The Memphis Tigers earned their spot back in the AP Top 25 on Sunday, catapulting back into the poll less than 24 hours after overcoming a 14-point fourth quarter to upend South Florida.
Holding onto a
No. 25 ranking, this wasn’t Memphis’ first time in the AP Poll this season, warranting a No. 22 ranking prior to its Oct. 18 road matchup at UAB. After playing their way back into in the AP Poll, the Tigers understood the responsibilities of boasting that coveted number beside their name and it showed.
On Halloween night, Memphis handled the road environment with a fearless mindset, exorcising all ghosts and demons from their previous road hiccup in Birmingham. The Tigers wholly dominated Rice 38-14, remaining on track to qualify for their first American Conference Championship Game since 2019.
“We did what we said we were gonna do,” Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield said. “We came in as a defense and stopped the gun triple option offense which we knew would possibly give us some issues. I thought the guys played sound and we were able to get two takeaways. Offensively, we were efficient, still left a lot to be desired, but at the end of the day, we found a way to be all in.”
Memphis jumped to a 28-0 lead by the 7:54 mark of the second quarter, out-gaining the Owls 218 to -2 at that point in the game. In its first five series, the Tiger defense forced four three-and-outs and recovered a backward pass for a fumble. The offense capitalized on the defense’s successes with a barrage of touchdowns to ice the game before halftime.
“I was like, ‘Is he gonna pass this ball? I’m gonna try to intercept it,’ but I hit him,” Memphis strong safety Kamari Wilson said on his first quarter fumble recovery. “What we teach is every ball is a loose ball, so I picked the ball up and ran the ball to the end zone because every ball is a loose ball. And it ended up being a fumble, so that was preparation. It was an exciting moment. It was like ‘see ball, get ball.’”
Two weeks after leaving the UAB game with a leg injury, quarterback Brendon Lewis showcased his improved mobility, breaking four tackles on an 18-yard rushing touchdown to launch the Tigers’ 28-0 run. The next three touchdowns were courtesy of running back Frank Peasant who thrived as a short-yardage specialist with a stat-line of 10 carries for 24 yards in his hat trick performance.
“My o-line was just moving them out of the way so it was kind of easy for me,” Peasant said.
Lewis finished with an efficient 225 passing yards on an 18-of-22 showing, while also leading the game with 87 rushing yards. Through the first half of the season, Memphis excelled primarily through stellar running back production, but the Tigers demonstrated their offensive versatility the past two weeks — winning courtesy of Lewis’ dual-threat abilities.
“Teams are blitzing us more than they have ever shown on film,” Silverfield said. “We gotta figure out why that is, and if we can find ways to hit on the deep ball and make them pay for that, then we will. Brendon Lewis is obviously doing a great job making decisions with the football which is huge, and taking care of the ball. I have a feeling we’ll continue to get going in the run game, we’re gonna find ways to clean it up, and execute it at a higher level.”
Defensively, the Tigers feasted in the backfield all night. The Tigers generated 11 tackles for loss, led by three from safety Kamari Wilson, and stymied Rice’s 12th-ranked option rushing attack (226 rushing yards per game) to 112 yards on a 2.4 average.
“I actually want to thank the scout team guys, because they gave us a great look and we knew everything that was coming,” said Wilson, who finished with 11 total tackles. “At the end of the day, we harped on ‘do your one-eleventh and do it as hard as you can,’ because with the read option, one person gets out of their gap and one person doesn’t take their man, it’s a big explosive. That’s what we put a big deal on.”
Rice finally turned its negative yardage total into positive yards on its sixth drive of the first half. The Owls’ offense struggled to jump-start their typically potent run game but found more success through their seldom-utilized passing game. Quarterback Chase Jenkins — who finished 11-of-16 with 100 passing yards and a team-high 34 rushing yards — guided a 12-play, 78-yard drive, firing a touchdown strike to Aaron Turner to prevent the first half shutout.
The second half was far less eventful, featuring one touchdown from each side. However, the most memorable moment transpired with under 12 minutes remaining when Brendon Lewis suffered his second lower-body injury in a two-week span, exiting the game with a noticeable limp. Backup quarterback Arrington Maiden checked in to finish the already-decided contest, and Silverfield provided a postgame update on his starter.
“He had been dealing with a lower leg issue previously,” Silverfield said. “We said, ‘After this drive we’re gonna pull out the one offense out — the skill guys’ — and he kept the ball. It should have actually been out of his hands by then. We’re gonna see, and we’ll monitor him day-to-day like every one of our guys who was banged up tonight.”
Rice (4-5, 1-4 American) dropped its fourth-straight conference matchup. The Owls must win two of their final three outings to qualify for bowl eligibility in head coach Scott Abell’s debut year. Home matchups vs. UAB and South Florida lie ahead before the team closes its season at South Florida.
Memphis (8-1, 4-1 American) attained eight wins for the 10th time in a 12-year span and for the third-straight season under Silverfield. The Tigers continue their chase for that long-awaited American championship, and next on the docket is a Friday night home matchup vs. perennial league contender Tulane.
“We’re always gonna celebrate wins. They’re hard to come by,” Silverfield said. “Let’s call it what it is — we were 1-0 tonight and 8-1 on the season. You know how it is as coaches and players. Tomorrow night we’ll turn the page and we’ll learn from this so we can focus on our next opponent. I’m so appreciative of that with our guys.”
