Larry Kuzniewski
Coach Justin Fuente
NOTE: I covered the Tiger basketball team’s season-opener tonight at FedExForum. Like Justin Fuente and his coaching staff, I’ll be reviewing the tape of tonight’s game in Houston to learn more about what happened.
All-conference kicker Jake Elliott pushed a 48-yard field-goal attempt wide right with 19 seconds left tonight at Houston, giving the undefeated Cougars (now 10-0) a dramatic win and dropping the Tigers to 8-2 for the season. Houston scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase a 34-14 deficit, all behind reserve quarterback Kyle Postma, who replaced Greg Ward Jr. in the second quarter after Ward injured an ankle. Two late turnovers (one of them a rare interception thrown by Tiger quarterback Paxton Lynch) and a pass-interference call in the end zone helped Houston’s comeback.
The loss will drop the Tigers out of the Top 25 and eliminates Memphis from contention in the American Athletic Conference’s Western Division. (The AAC will hold its first championship game on December 5th.)
Memphis accumulated 490 yards of offense (to 392 for Houston), with Lynch throwing for 278 and Doroland Dorceus rushing for 116 on 26 carries. Dorceus also caught a 61-yard touchdown pass from Lynch that gave the Tigers a 20-0 lead late in the second quarter.
Postma stole the show, though, completing 21 of 33 passes for 236 yards after the Houston offense was ineffective before Ward’s injury. He ran seven yards for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 1:27 left in the contest.
Memphis travels to Temple next week to face another team likely to fall out of the Top 25. The Owls lost at USF today, 44-23.
