After scoring on three of its first four possessions Saturday night, the University of Memphis football team held on for a 17-9 victory over South Florida before a crowd of 26,488 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
First-year head coach Tommy West said regardless of how the game unfolded, though, he’s still glad to have a win.
“That’s got to help our team — to win a game,” West said Monday during the Tigers’ weekly press luncheon at the Athletic Office Building. “We haven’t been a team to hold off a run by another team. That’s the part we have to improve on. Once we’ve got a lead, we need to sustain it.”
The Tigers (2-1) took the game’s opening kickoff and one minute and two South Florida penalties later, Memphis was on the board with a three-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Travis Anglin to running back Sugar Sanders.
On Memphis’ ensuing possession, the Tigers took over at their own 44-yard line before driving the ball to the USF 28-yard line. After Anglin completed a pass to receiver Antoine Harden for no gain on third-and-three, Ryan White booted a 45-yard field goal to give Memphis an early 10-0 lead with 10:39 remaining in the first quarter.
The Tigers continued to dominate the Bulls (1-2) offensively throughout the first quarter.
With just under three minutes left in the first, Memphis defensive back Glen Sumter intercepted a pass by South Florida’s Marquel Blackwell at the Memphis 17-yard line.
Anglin quickly took control with a 56-yard run to the USF 27-yard line before backup quarterback Neil Suber completed a 14-yard pass to Harden.
Running back Dante Brown then made the score 17-0 on a one-yard touchdown run with one minute remaining in the first quarter.
The 17-point gap looked like it would hold for the Tigers going into halftime, but with 34 seconds left in the second quarter, a scrambling Anglin fumbled the ball. The Bulls capitalized on the mistake when defensive end Shurron Pierson recovered the fumble and rumbled 15 yards for South Florida’s only touchdown of the game.
After South Florida’s Santiago Gramatica missed the extra point, the Bulls trailed 17-6 at the break.
Gramatica also provided the Bulls with their only score in the second half — a 27-yard field goal with 11:43 remaining in the third quarter, capping an 11-play, 69-yard USF drive.
Both teams’ offense remained idle for the remainder of the game, with the exception of a last-ditch effort by the Bulls.
With one second left on the clock in the fourth, and USF still trailing 17-9, Tiger defensive back Elijah Bell was called for pass interference at the Memphis 1-yard line, a call West said was off the mark.
The Bulls then had one last shot to pull to within a two-point conversion, but it made no difference, as Bell swatted away Blackwell’s final pass attempt.
West said it was essential for the Tigers to strike first offensively to attain a win.
“I thought it was really critical to play aggressive,” West said. “It was important that we be the aggressor and we score first. The problem was we ran out of tricks.”
West said a lack of strength and several penalties by the offensive line also hindered the Tigers offensively.
“We didn’t play well up front,” West said. “Outside of the dumb penalties, that’s the most disappointing part of the game.”
Anglin had another strong performance, completing 9-of-12 passes for 94 yards and one touchdown. Anglin also rushed for 49 yards, just one yard short of tying the Bull’s leading rusher, Clenton Crossley.
Anglin also caught his first career pass on the game’s most entertaining play. After lateraling the ball to receiver Ryan Johnson along the left sideline, Anglin took off toward the right sideline before Johnson returned the favor with a pass back to Anglin. The Tiger quarterback made the catch and ran 45 yards to the South Florida 21-yard line.
South Florida’s Blackwell threw the ball 61 times, completing 25 passes for 276 yards and three interceptions.
Brown led the Tigers in rushing and receiving with 79 yards on the ground, including a touchdown run, and two receptions for 37 yards.
“He has the ability to make a play,” West said of Brown. “He’s certainly made some big plays. He’s certainly the fastest of our backs.”
Both Brown and Anglin had to leave the field in the second half because of injuries. Brown suffered from a sprained left ankle. According to West, the team hopes to have Brown back in practice by Wednesday.
West said Anglin, who left the game in the fourth quarter with a right shoulder sprain, is participating in practice this week and is expected to be fine.
On the other side of the ball, West applauded his defense, which hasn’t allowed an offensive touchdown in six quarters.
Defensive backs Anthony Harden and Jason Brown recorded their first career interceptions. Harden also had two pass breakups and two tackles, while Brown deflected three passes.
The Tigers will travel to Louisville, Ky., on Saturday for their first conference game of the season.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do before we get to Louisville, who is arguably the best team we’ve played,” West said.
The U of M squad will take on the Cardinals (3-1) at 1:00 p.m. at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
Louisville, which had been ranked 25th by the Associated Press, lost its first game of the season, 34-10, Saturday to Illinois in Champaign.
