The University of Memphis football team may have shocked a few people Monday night during its season opener against 20th-ranked Mississippi State in Starksville — for 40 minutes.
“To be up 10-0, we probably had everybody shocked,” Tigers head coach Tommy West said Tuesday of his team’s third-quarter lead. “We were doing some things pretty well. It wasn’t pretty, but hey, I don’t care whether it’s pretty or not. I would rather it be productive.”
But an offensive display by Mississippi State, which stretched from late in the third quarter into the fourth, destroyed any hopes of the Tigers coming away with their first win over the Bulldogs in eight years as MSU notched a 30-10 win over Memphis before a crowd of 45,662.
“The first three quarters, I felt we played the game the way we had to play it,” West said.
After a defensive first half in which the only scoring came on a 33-yard field goal by Memphis kicker Ryan White, an aggressive Tiger defense took advantage of MSU’s third turnover of the game.
With just over 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter and Memphis leading 3-0, Bulldog quarterback Wayne Madkin completed a pass to sophomore flanker Justin Jenkins along the left sideline. Memphis free safety Dernice Wherry pummeled Jenkins, causing him to fumble the ball before Tiger defensive back Glenn Sumter scooped up the ball and ran 73 yards into MSU territory.
The turnover helped set up Travis Anglin’s 18-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Bunkie Perkins on second-and-eight, giving Memphis a 10-0 lead with 10:43 to play in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs, though, would finally get their offense on track two series later, answering Memphis with a 49-yard touchdown pass from Madkin to tailback Dicenzo Miller to make the score 10-7.
On the Tigers’ ensuing possession, MSU sophomore linebacker Curtis Stowers blocked a punt attempt by Tiger freshman James Gaither before Nathan Jackson returned the ball six yards for a 14-10 Bulldog lead.
Mississippi State didn’t let up in the fourth quarter.
Miller scored a second time on a six-yard run into the endzone with 10:18 remaining in the game. MSU would go on to score on a 22-yard TD pass from Madkin to Jenkins with 8:32 remaining and a John Marlin 24-yard field goal three minutes later.
Madkin completed 12-of-21 passes for 174 yards and two TDs. Miller added 108 rushing yards and a TD on 12 carries.
“We had ourselves in a position to win,” West said. “Then it became very disappointing. We really didn’t do anything well in the fourth quarter.”
Anglin completed six-of-seven passes for 56 yards and one TD. He also rushed for 36 yards.
West said he had planned on his team passing the ball more.
“You’ve got to get some people open or your quarterback is going to end up running the ball all day,” West said. “We don’t want that.”
Junior college transfer Dante Brown led the Tigers in rushing yardage with 43 yards on 13 carries.
“I thought, offensively, he (Brown) was the bright spot,” West said. “He made a couple of three- and four-yard runs that were really good.”
Perkins led Memphis’ receivers with five catches for 68 yards and the Tigers lone touchdown.
Defensively, the Tigers forced four turnovers, including three MSU fumbles. Defensive tackles Albert Means and Kenyun Glover each recorded a sack.
West also singled out true freshman Scott Vogel for his defensive play in the Tiger secondary. Vogel recorded five tackles and one interception.
“He (Vogel) tackled better than anyone on our defense,” West said.
Eleven of 19 new Tiger signees saw playing time Monday night. West said he will continue to give his young players the chance to prove themselves in game situations.
“Those guys are going to be the future of this program down the road,” West said, “so we’re going to play them.”
The Tigers will take on The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium this Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
