The University of Memphis football team extended their winning streak to five games by taking down the University of South Florida Bulls (4-7, 3-4 AAC) 31-20 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
The Tigers (8-3, 6-1 AAC) took the victory behind a balanced offensive attack that totaled 238 yards on the ground and 232 through the air, while distributing 18 completed passes to eight different receivers.
“In my opinion this is the definition of a team,” Memphis coach Justin Fuente said after the game. “There is no superstar really on either side of the ball. There’s some guys that have some good statistics, the guys like Tank (Jakes), but this group is selfless, and the challenge will be for us to keep them very focused on the things that are important to the team —teamwork, selflessness and trying to do things the right way.”
Memphis trailed 3-0 after a USF field goal on the Bulls’ opening drive, but responded with back-to-back touchdown runs from sophomore quarterback Paxton Lynch.
The Bulls kept themselves in the ballgame and trailed by only eight at the half, but the Tiger defense stepped up over the final 30 minutes of the contest, not allowing USF to score again until the late fourth quarter when the game’s outcome had already been decided.
Lynch pieced together one of his best performances of the season in the win, completing 18-of-23 passes for 232 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, while also pitching in 44 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Senior running back Brandon Hayes also came up huge with 189 rushing yards and one receiving touchdown.
The USF defense was unable to fight through Memphis’ offensive line, as Lynch was not sacked once and the Tiger tailbacks ran rampant, averaging over six yards per rushing attempt. The big day from the running backs and the offensive line also played a part in the success of the passing game.
“It makes my job a lot easier, just because any time we run play action those guys are jumping forward so hard because they’re worried about (Hayes) running and I just go right over the top,” Lynch said.
For all of the success Memphis had on the offensive side of the ball against the Bulls, a school record was set on the defensive side. In the fourth quarter, senior defensive end Martin Ifedi broke into the backfield and took down USF quarterback Mike White to record career sack number 22.5, breaking the all-time Memphis record.
“It was really special,” Ifedi said. “My coaches knew it, my teammates knew it and they came and celebrated with me because they knew how much it meant to me.”
The Tigers are now sitting at eight wins for the season — a mark the program hasn’t reached since the 2004 season — and have a chance to win a conference championship for the first time in over 40 years.
A win next week against the UConn Huskies guarantees Memphis at least a share of the American Athletic Conference title, and the Tigers will be considered heavy favorites to come away with the victory. The Huskies are 2-8 on the year and have only one victory against an FBS opponent.
Memphis and UConn will kickoff at 3 p.m. from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Saturday, and ESPNews will televise the game nationally.
