The Memphis Tigers football team defeated conference opponent East Carolina Pirates on Saturday (2-6, 0-5 American Athletic Conference) by a score of 59-41. The Tigers have improved their record to 5-4 and 2-3 in conference play. The team played an all-around crisp game by maintaining control of the ball and preventing big plays defensively. This win should help the Tigers gain some confidence as well as remind them of their great potential.
Quarterback: A
Quarterback Brady White had an impressive showing against a talented Pirates defense. There was a clear emphasis to get the passing game rolling in the first half, and White took advantage of that. He finished the half completing 10 of his first 17 throws, 194 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. He took advantage of having time in the pocket to make sure he was able to spread the ball around to all of his weapons.
White finished the game with a season high 362 passing yards and completed 21 of his 30 throws as well as scored three touchdowns.
Running backs: A
The return of running back Darrell Henderson was on the mind of everyone involved in the game, and he did not disappoint. He finished the game with 132 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns and even had a 71-yard receiving touchdown off a screen pass.
Fellow running backs Tony Pollard and Patrick Taylor Jr. also had big impacts on the ground. They combined for 148 rushing yards, and each had a rushing touchdown of their own, but Pollard had two.
Wide receivers and tight ends: A-
As previously mentioned, the pass game was more diverse in this game than it has been in some time, highlighting both receivers and tight ends.
Per usual, wide receiver Damonte Coxie led the team in yards and receptions, producing a masterful performance with 10 receptions, 176 yards and two touchdowns.
Tight end Joey Magnifico made an impact as well with two receptions and 65 yards. Both plays came in the first half and were more than 25 yards.
Offensive line: B
The offensive line did a great job of creating run lanes for the team’s rushers and did an even better job protecting White against a fast ECU pass rush. Though they did allow two sacks, White had substantial time in the pocket to make big plays.
Defensive line: B
The defensive line was on a mission against ECU’s inconsistent offensive line, generating pressure throughout the game. Nose tackle O’Bryan Goodson and defensive lineman Joseph Dorceus both generated four quarterback hurries, with Goodson capitalizing off his mismatches and generating his hurries in the first half alone.
The defensive line also did an excellent job shutting down ECU’s running backs, holding them to a measly 50 combined yards. Admittedly, quarterback Holton Ahlers did generate plays with his legs but didn’t have much time to get the ball out of his hands.
Linebackers: B
The unit was mostly in charge of monitoring Ahlers’ rushing efforts, and even though he finished the day with an impressive 57 rushing yards on 17 rushes, he didn’t do it cleanly and took some hard hits from Memphis linebackers Curtis Akins and Austin Hall.
Linebackers also played their hand in getting pressure on passing plays. Outside linebacker JJ Russell led the group in quarterback hurries, finishing the game with two. Akins got a sack in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, which was his first sack of the season.
Defensive backs: B-
In a bumpy game with many ups and downs for the Tigers, they made it difficult during some plays for ECU’s receivers to make catches while others seemed like they were wide open and could easily turn them up field.
Cornerback TJ Carter had a good game, resulting in six tackles and three pass breakups. He spent most of the game shadowing leading receiver Trevon Brown and limited him to only 10 receptions on 22 targets.
Special teams: A
One of the game’s biggest momentum shifts came in the second quarter when wide receiver Antonio Gibson forced ECU’s Brown to muff a punt that wound up being recovered by Akins, putting the Tigers deep in ECU territory and leading to a touchdown.
Coaching: A
Despite the score, Memphis’ coaching should be applauded for the Tiger’ success on offense and the pressure they were able to generate on defense. They got big production from their usual suspects that they didn’t get in the last two weeks of action. They should use this strong tape to help prepare for their match up against Tulsa next week.
Memphis Tigers head coach Mike Norvell runs out of the tunnel with his team.
