The Memphis Tigers defeated their conference rivals The North Texas Mean Green 52-44 in Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. The battle between two 5-1 squads was a weird one, starting off as a shootout only for both teams to cool off then fight to an epic conclusion.
Memphis running back Mario Anderson Jr. broke out for 4 touchdowns, tying the program single game record, as the Memphis offense recorded 526 total yards of offense.
Right off the opening drive, the Tigers offense got off to the same hot start that helped them win against South Florida, marching 75 yards down the field on 9 plays, highlighted by a Seth Henigan to Koby Drake 29 yard pass play and capped off with Henigan rushing into the endzone himself on the 4 yard QB keeper.
The Mean Green did not falter, as receiver DT Sheffield would take the ball 75 yards for a rushing touchdown on North Texas’ first offensive play from scrimmage.
The Tigers quickly bounced back with another 75 yard drive, with Mario Anderson Jr. putting on the finishing touches with a 5 yard rush. Earlier in the drive, Henigan found senior receiver Jyaire Shorter on a 38 yard deep ball, Shorter’s longest completion of the season.
Then on the ensuing North Texas drive, quarterback Chandler Morris found DT Sheffield once again for another 75 yard touchdown; giving North Texas 2 touchdowns on 2 plays from scrimmage. After less than 4 minutes of game time, Sheffield already had recorded 150 all-purpose yards with just 21 seconds of possession.
After a Memphis 3 and out, North Texas put together their third consecutive 70+ yard drive, scoring another touchdown to go up 21-14 near the end of the first quarter.
Memphis once again would bounce back with a 79 yard drive. Brandon Thomas found the endzone on a 1 yard rush for his sixth touchdown of the season.
North Texas’ punt team would then botch a snap after their next drive stalled out, setting the Tigers up on the UNT 18 yard line. Despite this, some questionable play calling led to the Tigers going nowhere and being forced to settle for a field goal.
Senior kicker Caden Costa would miss the following 32 yard field goal, leading him to be benched in place of Tristian Vandenberg. Costa had been struggling this season, carrying just a 63.6% field goal percentage including another miss last week.
Memphis would once again get the ball back in UNT territory after forcing a turnover on downs. Mario Anderson Jr. then took a play out of the Mean Green playbook, marching 42 yards down the field by himself on the first play of the possession for his second rushing touchdown giving the Tigers back the lead.
The Tigers defense, although sloppy all day, would finally show some resistance forcing two separate fumbles on the next drive. One by Greg Rubin recovered by North Texas, then again by Chandler Martin recovered by Mond Cole.
Both teams would go on to exchange five consecutive punts, with North Texas scoring a field goal to close out the half with the Tigers leading 28-24.
To start the second half both teams remained in neutral, trading 3 and outs before North Texas failed to convert on another 4th and short play.
Following yet another Memphis punt, the Mean Green offense got back on track going 65 yards to score a touchdown giving them a 31-28 lead late in the 3rd quarter. Memphis would respond fast though, with a four play 75 yard drive capped off with Henigan finding DeMeer Blankumsee for a 62 yard bomb and the Tigers led again.
North Texas would not die however, responding with another touchdown drive by way of a 49 yard quarterback keeper by Chandler Morris.
Memphis kept their foot on the gas to regain the lead on the very next possession with Mario Anderson scoring his third touchdown of the day on a 4 yard rush. Memphis got the ball back after forcing a quick 3 and out. Anderson then scored his fourth touchdown on the night, giving the Tigers a cushioned 49-38 lead.
UNT scored another touchdown on the next drive but failed a 2 point conversion to stay down 49-44. After a failed onside kick, Tristian Vanderberg nailed a crucial 43 yard field goal for his first of the season to give Memphis an 8 point lead with 1:05 remaining in the game.
The game would come down to the final play, as UNT went all the way down the field having two chances from the Memphis 18 yard line to score a touchdown. They failed, as Chandler Martin hauled in the game-winning interception with zeros on the clock.
Martin finished with 10 tackles, leading the Tigers on an overall abysmal day for the defense allowing North Texas to go off for 653 yards of total offense.
Seth Henigan finished 24-38 for 319 yards and a touchdown, another clean performance for the senior. DeMeer Blankumsee added 96 yards on 6 catches and a touchdown.
Mario Anderson Jr. had a remarkable game, tallying 183 yards on 22 attempts and 4 touchdowns, tying the school single-game rushing touchdowns record. After being ejected last week in the win against South Florida, Anderson joins Dante Brown, DeAngelo Williams (3 times), Curtis Steele, and most recently Patrick Taylor Jr. as the only Memphis running backs to record 4 rushing touchdowns in a game.
It was a crazy game, and at the end of it, Memphis has their first 6-1 start since 2019. The Tigers will get back to work next Saturday, October 26 for their Homecoming game against the Charlotte 49ers. The game will kickoff at 11 AM on ESPN.
