Suffering a third straight loss this Saturday, courtesy of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Memphis Tigers football team is still not pointing any fingers in their locker room.
In front of 28,209 in the Liberty Bowl, Tiger errors contributed to the Bulldogs 29-17 victory.
Tiger players like quarterback Danny Wimprine are taking the blame for the crucial mistakes causing the losing streak.
Wimprine said his erratic play negated the good play selection of offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner and running back coach Clay Helton.
“Coach Fichtner and coach Helton kept telling me to stay confident in their calls,” Wimprine said. “I thought the coaches did a really good job with the play calling. It was just a terrible job by me executing.”
The stat line for Wimprine looked like a solid performance with the exception of the interception category.
The 6-1, 216-pound sophomore completed 25 of 48 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns.
The problem for Wimprine was five of his 48 attempts found Bulldog defenders.
Wimprine said his turnovers were the cause for the loss.
“I would say those five interceptions put my team in a position to lose, not in a position to win,” Wimprine said. “That definitely is frustrating.”
The frustration of the Tigers grew as two of those interceptions were returned for touchdowns.
Mississippi State junior defensive end Jason Clark returned Wimprine’s first interception 20 yards to give the Bulldogs a 10-7 first quarter lead.
After Mississippi State took a 22-17 lead late into the fourth quarter, senior free safety Michael Gholar dashed the Tigers hopes of a last minute drive to victory with a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown with a minute and 42 seconds remaining.
Only one of Mississippi State’s three touchdowns came on offense. Sophomore running back Fred Reid scored on a one yard run early in the fourth.
The Tiger defense held Mississippi State’s passing attack to 149 yards. The Bulldogs carried the ball 4.02 yards per attempt.
Junior linebacker Derrick Ballard said coming up short after a solid defensive effort was emotionally draining.
“It is a lot of guys in the locker room heartbroken,” Ballard said. “We are not where we want to be. Our backs are up against the wall.”
Head coach Tommy West said his team gave a great effort against Mississippi State and should keep the attitude of brawling their way off the wall to win more games in the remainder of the season.
“If we would keep fighting and playing with the intensity we are playing with right now, then we could get this thing turned and become a good team,” West said.
West said his team is playing with desire but coaching errors have let them down.
“We have to coach them better than we are right now,” West said. “I take full responsibility for our play.”
Ballard said coach West shouldn’t take the blame because he cannot go on the field to execute plays.
“Coach West is just that type of coach,” Ballard said. “He will take blame all day. When it comes down to it, he is not the one out there trying to make plays, trying to make tackles, trying to catch the ball or pass the ball.”
Ballard said with five games left on the schedule, he and his teammates must get their act together and listen to their coaches.
“The players, we have to get better,” Ballard said. “We have great coaches here. We just have to go out there the rest of the season and just do it.”
