The Memphis Tigers thoroughly dominated Utah State of the Mountain West Conference Tuesday afternoon to win the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl in Dallas. The margin of victory (28 points) is the largest in the 15-game bowl history of the Memphis football program and completes the Tiger season with a 7-6 record. The Tigers have not had a losing season since 2013, their worst finish since then a 6-6 mark after the 2021 campaign. With the victory, Ryan Silverfield becomes only the second Memphis coach to win two bowl games. (Tommy West led the Tigers to postseason wins in 2003 and 2005.)
The Tigers took control by scoring on four consecutive possessions in the first half, three of them touchdown passes by sophomore quarterback Seth Henigan. Eddie Lewis scored on a 15-yard toss midway through the second quarter, then again on a 22-yard strike with just under three minutes to play before halftime. When Henigan found tight end Caden Prieskorn on a nifty inside pass from the three-yard line, Memphis led 24-3.
Neither team scored in the third quarter and the Aggies finally found the end zone early in the fourth on a 44-yard catch-and-run by Brian Cobbs. But Tiger sophomore Jevyon Ducker scored touchdowns on the Tigers’ next two possessions — the second one a 48-yard jaunt — to put the game out of reach.
Fifth-year senior Sylvonta Oliver led the Memphis defense with a pair of interceptions and Joel Williams also picked off an Aggie pass. The Tiger pass rush sacked Utah State quarterbacks (Cooper Legas and Bishop Davenport) four times.
Henigan finished the game with 284 yards passing, completing 20 of 29 passes without throwing an interception. Ducker led the ground game with 83 yards on 13 carries while Lewis matched Ducker’s yardage total on five receptions.
Silverfield and Henigan will return for the 2023 season, along with the top-ranked recruiting class in the American Athletic Conference. The class is ranked 55th in the country by ESPN.
