Heartbreak Hotel.
By now it must feel more like home than a temporary residence for The University of Memphis football program after suffering another close loss Saturday, this one a 19-17 nail-biter against Tennessee at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium before 63,121 rain-soaked fans.
The Volunteers (5-3, 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference) got a 34-yard field goal from Alex Walls with 13 seconds remaining to lift them over Memphis, which had taken a 17-16 lead just minutes before when quarterback Scott Scherer found senior tight end Billy Kendall streaking down the left sideline for a 24-yard score.
"I was proud of the way our guys fought, the way they played and how hard they played," head coach Rip Scherer said Monday. "It's unfortunate that when you put so much into something like that, that somebody's got to lose the game. Their players played hard and their players put a lot into it too."
As it stands, eight of the last nine Memphis losses have been decided by less than a touchdown. Over its current three-game losing streak, Memphis has lost by a combined total of just nine points.
Saturday the Tigers seemed to be in good position after Kendall's touchdown - Memphis's only second-half score - but a 44-yard kickoff return by Tennessee's Leonard Scott put the Vols at their own 47-yard line with 2:43 remaining. From there, UT freshman quarterback Casey Clausen directed a 10-play drive to the Tiger 17-yard line that ended in Walls' field goal. Clausen finished the contest 19-of-30 for 224 yards with one interception and no touchdowns.
In the second quarter with Memphis down 3-0, Scott Scherer led the Tigers on a 14-play, 82-yard drive that resulted in junior Dernice Wherry's first career TD and a 7-3 advantage. Memphis would stretch its lead to 10-3 just before the half on a 43-yard Ryan White field goal.
But in the third quarter, the Vols stormed back, getting a 30-yard field goal and a 1-yard touchdown run by Travis Stephens on its first two possessions of the second half to make the score 13-10 late in the third.
That set up Scott Scherer's fourth-quarter heroics. He finished the game 15-of-27 for 137 yards and two TDs.
"The thing about football is it's a lot like life," the elder Scherer said. "You always don't get what you deserve. You always don't get what you put into it and maybe the rewards are not as immediate as you would like them to be. But the reality is that our rewards, our goals and objectives are still out there and attainable."
For Memphis (4-5, 2-3 in Conference USA), those goals include winning its final two conference games against Cincinnati (Saturday) and Tulane.
Two wins would make the Tigers 6-5 and therefore eligible for post-season play, something Scherer said his team has had on its mind since spring practice.
