It took 10 long years but the University of Memphis football team finally won a bowl game again in a heart-wrenching double overtime victory against the BYU Cougars (8-5), 55-48 in the Miami Beach Bowl on Dec. 22.
The Tigers (10-3) clinched their first 10-win season since 1938, under then coach Allyn Mckeen (they finished 10-0), and only their fifth ever bowl victory.
Unsurprisingly in the shootout, the Tigers best player was quarterback Paxton Lynch who put on a performance for the ages. Though he only completed 24 of his 46 passes, Lynch still threw for 306 yards and threw for 4 touchdowns. He also rushed for three touchdowns on 13 carries for 38 yards, becoming the first FBS quarterback since former Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd in 2012 to throw for four touchdowns and rush for three touchdowns in the same game.
Lynch also got his receivers involved as eight different Tigers had a reception. Leading the way was senior receiver Keiwone Malone who ended his Tigers career on a high with six receptions for 75 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Alan Cross also had a strong game catching three passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Despite the strong passing numbers, Memphis tried their best to stay balanced by using the ground game and they did rushing the ball 51 times for 174 yards in total, the Tigers accounted for 480 yards of total offense.
However, Lynch’s and the Tigers’ performance was far from perfect. He committed four of the Tigers five turnovers and also threw a crucial pick-six to BYU linebacker Zac Stout midway through the fourth quarter which gave the Cougars a 45-38 lead with only 7:49 left in the game.
Luckily for Lynch and the Tigers offense, the Tigers defense kept BYU at bay and got one final chance from the Cougars 33-yard line with 2:34 left in the game to tie it up.
He didn’t disappoint as he converted two key fourth downs, including a fourth and four from the BYU 5-yard line as he threw a five-yard touchdown to Malone with 45 seconds left and send the game into overtime tied at 45.
In the extra session, the Cougars struck first through kicker Trevor Samson’s 45-yard field goal to gain a 48-45 advantage. The Tigers gained minus 12 yards on their first offensive series of overtime, but kicker Jake Elliott bailed out Memphis as he made a 54-yard field goal (he missed from 53 earlier in the game) to send the game to a second overtime tied at 48.
The Tigers built off of their newfound momentum and on their first possession of the second overtime capped off a four play, 25-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown from Lynch to freshman wideout Roderick Proctor. It was the freshman’s first touchdown as a Tigers and it could not have came in a bigger spot as it gave Memphis a 55-48 lead.
Now it was the defense’s turn to make a big play. Although the Tigers defense on the day was far from great as it gave up 425 yards of total offense and 41 points, it made its’ fair share of plays throughout the game causing four BYU turnovers. However, none were bigger than the play cornerback DaShaugn Terry made as his caught his first interception of his career off BYU quarterback Christian Stewart to seal the Tigers win in double overtime.
The Tigers celebrations were cut short temporarily as a big brawl happened on the field shortly after the interception with cameras catching BYU defensive back Kai Nacua coming from behind to punch in the head Memphis tight end Alan Cross, who was being restrained by someone from the Tigers' staff and resulted into a large scuffle.
Coach Justin Fuente said this about the matter.
"I don't know what happened at the end, first of all, so I don't know how upset I am," Fuente said. "I'm sure I'll see it eventually. It's not who we are, it's not what we want to represent. I hope it doesn't take away from an incredible football game, for both sides."
Nevertheless, Memphis did not always make things easy for themselves as they blew two double-digit leads in the game and Fuente admitted it was far from a perfect performance.
“It wasn’t always pretty,” Fuente said. “But our guys battled (as well as BYU’s).”
Lynch who finished the season with 35 total touchdowns said it was one of the craziest games he’s been apart of.
"This is probably the craziest game, most emotional game I've ever been a part of," Lynch said. “We knew it was going to be like that coming in here and the ups and downs that would happen and just go with the flow.”
Senior linebacker Charles Harris who had six tackles in the game, said being from Memphis it was a great way to end his Tigers career.
“To go out on a game like this, it means the world to me,” Harris said. “It’s amazing.”
