Tigers cap memorable day with win over SMU

Gibson’s 386 all-purpose yards set record, lead Memphis past 15th-ranked Mustangs

www.gotigersgo.com MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In a game promoted as one of the most significant in the history of the University of Memphis football program, the 24th-ranked Tigers rose to the occasion, handling the pressure and the spotlight with an experienced touch.

Surviving a late, furious rally, the Tigers posted a 54-48 American Athletic Conference victory over 15th-ranked and previously unbeaten SMU.

Beginning with a first-ever appearance in Memphis by ESPN’s College GameDay and ending with a homecoming win before 59,506 and an ABC national television audience, the Tigers (8-1 overall, 4-1 The American) put themselves in position for another West Division championship.

The Tigers used another strong offensive display – 514 yards and a record-setting performance by receiver Antonio Gibson – in the win. It was enough to offset two SMU touchdowns in the game’s final eight-plus minutes.

Gibson set the school record for all-purpose yards (386) and will be a candidate for national player of the week honors. He had 159 kickoff-return yards (including a 97-yard return for a touchdown), 130 receiving yards (including a 50-yard TD catch) and 97 rushing yards (including a 78-yard TD run).

University of Memphis coach Mike Norvell called it a memorable, unforgettable day, from jumping on the GameDay set in the morning to walking off the field with a key win against a ranked opponent.

“I’m so proud of our football team… this stage, this moment, this opportunity,” Norvell said. “They came out and played with everything they had against a really good football team through momentum swings, (through) highs and lows. There was a great response from these Memphis Tigers.

“And I want to say `Thank you’ to Memphis.

Memphis had an opportunity to be showcased today. And much like this football team, it rose to the occasion.”

Thousands packed Beale Street in the morning for GameDay and a record crowd — for two American Athletic Conference teams playing — showed up Saturday night.

“Hats off to this community,” said Tigers quarterback Brady White. “I’m so proud to be here.”

White passed for 350 yards and three touchdowns, Gibson and Kenneth Gainwell combined for 185 rushing yards and two TDs and Gibson and Damonte Coxie combined for 273 receiving yards.

Memphis needed the offensive production to overcome an SMU offense that finished with 553 yards.

Mustangs quarterback Shane Buechele passed for 456 yards and three touchdowns and receiver James Proche had 13 catches for 149 yards.

The Tigers led 23-17 at the half and needed only 10 seconds to go up by 30-17. On SMU’s kickoff, Gibson sprinted 97 yards, bursting through a late tackle attempt to give the Tigers a 13-point lead.

SMU (8-1, 4-1 The American) responded with a seven-play, 77-yard drive, aided by 34 Memphis penalty yards, to make it 30-24, only to watch the Tigers score 10 straight to build a cushion on their next two possessions.

Riley Patterson made a 50-yard field goal, his fourth field goal of the game, and Damonte Coxie hauled in a 24-yard pass from White on a deep fade with 2:14 to go in the third quarter. Memphis converted on fourth-and-3 from midfield to extend the touchdown-scoring drive.

In the fourth quarter, Coxie scored on a 49-yard pass and Gibson added the Tigers’ final TD on an impressive 78-yard run down the left sideline, breaking a tackle as he began the dash and outracing his pursuers the rest of the way.

“He is such a special talent,” Norvell said of Gibson.

On its opening series, the Tigers marched to the SMU 1 in six plays, but couldn’t punch it in.

The Mustangs denied the Tigers on fourth-and-goal from the SMU 3 and took over. The University of Memphis thought it had scored five plays earlier, but a catch by Gibson for a 19-yard touchdown was negated by an officials’ review that showed Gibson down inches shy of the goal line.

It took 12 plays — and four third-down conversions — for the Mustangs to go 97 yards, ending the drive with a 16-yard scoring pass from Buechele to Kylan Granson for a 7-0 lead.

Memphis scored on its next two possessions to take a 10-7 lead. The Tigers capped 50-yard drive with a 14-yard rush by Gainwell, who took a direct snap and darted through an opening on the left side. On its following possession, the University of Memphis got a 30-yard field by Riley Patterson with 13:38 remaining in the second quarter.

SMU regained the lead, 14-10, taking advantage of recovering an onside kick by the Tigers. The Mustangs needed to go only 53 yards, in seven plays, for the go-ahead TD, a 2-yard run by Xavier Jones.

The Tigers trimmed the lead to one point, 14-13, on the following series, getting a 49-yard field goal by Patterson with 9:24 to go in the second quarter.

Memphis extended its lead to 20-14 on a 50-yard TD pass from White to Gibson, who used a double move to free himself to haul in White’s throw deep down the left sideline.

SMU added a 23-yard field goal by Kevin Robledo late in the second quarter to cut the Memphis lead to 20-17 and the Tigers responded with a 34-yard field goal by Patterson with 12 seconds left in the second quarter to take a 23-17 halftime lead.

The Tigers had 276 yards at the half, 216 through the air. The Mustangs had 250 yards, 234 through the air.

Game Notes:

• Saturday’s crowd of 59,506 set the record for the most to watch an American Athletic Conference game in the league’s seven-year history. The previous record was 57,626 for the UCF-USF game played in Tampa last season. Memphis and Navy drew 55,212 to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in 2015 to previously rank second.

• Tiger receiver Damonte Coxie caught a 15-yard pass from Brady White on the game’s opening series to extend a streak. Coxie has had at least one reception in 28 straight games, the fourth-longest streak in school history.

• Joey Magnifico became the all-time leading receiver among tight ends at the University of Memphis with 30 receiving yards in the game. Magnifico, with 1,061 yards, surpassed Alan Cross, who finished his career with 1,050 yards. Tiger running back Kenneth Gainwell surpassed 1,000 yards in a single season with his 14-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. It is the 11th time in school history a player as rushed for 1,000 or more yards in a season.

• Tiger receiver Antonio Gibson turned in the first 100-yard receiving game of his career, topping 100 yards with his 50-yard TD catch in the second quarter.

He had 104 yards receiving at the half.

• Gibson’s 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half was the second kickoff return for a TD by the Tigers this season. Memphis has a nation-leading 10 kickoff returns TDs in the last four years.

• The Tigers had two 100yard receivers – Damonte Coxie and Antonio Gibson – in the same game for the first time since the 2017 American Athletic Conference Championship game.

The ASU Mid-South Greyhounds are off to a good start out of the gate, going 2-0 over the weekend in the Greyhound Tipoff Classic. On Friday, the Greyhounfs beat North Lake College by a score of 80-68. And on Saturday, the ASU Mid-South squad bested Parkland College with a 67-56 win in The Dog House.

Greyhounds Hot Early

Photo courtesy of Debra West