The Memphis Tigers football team beat the Rice Owls, 27-20, in a nationally televised prime-time game at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium
The Tigers came off of a loss at UTSA in a game Memphis was favored by over a touchdown.
In today's game, key Tigers Kobee Minor, Demeer Blankumsee, Greg Desroisers Jr., and Brandon Thomas returned from injury.
Defensive back Julian Barnett, whose most impressive play with the Tigers was batting down a Flordia State hail mary to end the game, was absent for Memphis today—still working on confirmation whether he remains on the roster.
First Half:
The Tigers' offense came out flat in the first quarter, with poor quarterback play leading to an interception and another should-have-been INT.
Although the Rice offense made its way inside the Memphis 10-yard line twice in the first quarter, the Tigers' defense bent but would not break, leading to a swift 6-0 lead for the Owls after the first period of play.
But Memphis' offense came out in the second quarter looking like a different offense, beginning with a methodical 12-play, 77-yard drive that ended in a nine-yard touchdown reception by Brendan Doyle.
On the Tigers' ensuing drive, Mario Anderson punched it in from 10 yards out, giving his team a 14-6 lead.
After a couple of big plays by the Rice offense and broken plays by the Memphis defense, the Owls brought the game within a point due to a 27-yard toe-tap by Matthew Sykes for a touchdown.
Memphis had possession and under 40 seconds on the first-half clock, but instead of taking the lead to the half, the Tigers impressively took shots down the field, beginning with a 34-yard grab by Roc Taylor.
Thus, Memphis pushed the ball into Owl territory, setting up a 42-yard field goal by Tristian Vandenberg, giving the Tigers a 17-13 lead heading into the break.
Second Half:
Memphis' offensive momentum would not continue into the early portions of the second half as an uncommon 10-play, 3-yard drive was setback due to a penalty and a sack.
Memphis' defense continued its bend-don't-break mentality, allowing Rice inside its 5-yard line. After a bumbled handoff between Rice QB EJ Warner and RB Dean Connors, Chandler Martin fell on the fumble, his fourth recovery of the year.
On Rice's three drives where they ran plays inside Memphis' 10-yard line, the Owls scored 6 points Bend, but don't break; the Tiger defense came up big when it mattered.
During the break between quarters, a scrum between the Memphis offensive line and Rice defensive line spread to the entirety of both.
This emphatic Brandon Thomas run capped off a 10-play, 92-yard drive, giving Memphis a 13-24 lead with 11:42 left in the ball game.
After a Rice quick-strike touchdown with 2:27 left in the contest, Seth Henigan iced the game on a 3rd down QB keeper, giving Memphis (8-2, 4-2) a 27-20 victory over Rice (3-7, 2-4).
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