Tag: Kenneth Gainwell

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Three Thoughts on Tiger Football

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

• Where would the Tigers be without Kenneth Gainwell?
They wouldn’t be undefeated, that’s for sure. When senior running back Patrick Taylor injured an ankle in the season-opening win over Ole Miss, it was next man up for the Tiger backfield. But that’s easier said than done. To the rescue came the redshirt-freshman from Yazoo City, Mississippi. After rushing for 78 yards in a supporting role against the Rebels, Kenneth Gainwell has been the primary ground option in the Tigers’ last four wins, with yardage totals of 93, 151, 122, and 209. He’s the first Memphis freshman in 17 years to run for 100 yards in three straight games. (Ever hear of DeAngelo Williams?) Gainwell’s 124 yards per game leads the American Athletic Conference by a healthy margin and his average per carry (8.2 yards) is in the Darrell Henderson area of ridiculous.
Larry Kuzniewski

Kenneth Gainwell hits a gap.

Taylor will return, if not this Saturday at Temple, almost certainly this month. As dangerous as the Tiger offense became a year ago when Henderson and Taylor were sharing ball-carrying responsibility, this year’s tandem may be just as lethal. With 620 yards through five games, Gainwell is on target to become the first Tiger freshman to surpass 1,000 yards on the ground. The great Williams himself ran for merely 684 yards as a freshman in 2002. Without question, Memphis has the most aptly named running back in the program’s history.

• Sirens are now sounding for the Tigers’ upcoming schedule.
This Saturday it’s Temple (4-1) in Philadelphia. The last time Memphis traveled to the City of Brotherly Love — in 2015 — the Owls handed the Tigers a third straight loss (31-12) after the team had opened the season 8-0. It’s not a fun place to play. Then comes Tulane (4-1) at the Liberty Bowl, the Green Wave already victors over Houston. The Tigers then travel to Tulsa (October 26th) before a showdown with SMU (like the Tigers, currently ranked in both polls) at the Liberty Bowl on November 2nd.

It’s fun to look at the AAC standings and count no fewer than five teams with an overall record no worse than 4-1. Until you have to start playing them. Whoever survives to face off in the league championship game on December 7th will have earned the trip.

• Might Saturday’s game be a low-scoring affair?
Memphis and Temple have the AAC’s top two defenses based on points allowed, the Owls first with 17.2 points allowed per game and Memphis second with 19.2. Temple is second in total defense, allowing 292.4 yards per game, while Memphis ranks fourth with an average of 325.4 yards allowed. But that Tiger average grew significantly last weekend, ULM carving up the Memphis defense for 575 yards, exposing the Tigers both on the ground (256 yards) and through the air (319). It’s the first game this season that demands serious adjustments from defensive coordinator Adam Fuller.

Keep an eye on turnovers, especially if the score, in fact, stays on the low side. Memphis quarterback Brady White coughed up a fumble and threw an interception at ULM last Saturday. Either would prove more costly this weekend at Temple.

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Sports Tiger Blue

#23 Tigers 52, ULM 33

The 23rd-ranked Memphis Tigers scored a pair of touchdowns within nine seconds of playing time after ULM closed within six points in the fourth quarter and improved to 5-0 with a victory at Monroe, Louisiana, Saturday afternoon. Freshman tailback Kenneth Gainwell scampered 68 yards for his second touchdown of the game with 6:16 left in the contest to give Memphis a 45-33 lead. On the Warhawks’ ensuing possession, Tiger safety La’Andre Thomas intercepted a Caleb Evans pass and returned it 33 yards for the game-clinching score.

With senior running back Patrick Taylor sidelined for a fourth straight game, Gainwell lived up to his name with 210 yards rushing (on just 14 carries), his third straight contest with at least 100 yards on the ground. He had a 40-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter that gave Memphis a 14-3 lead.

The Tiger defense sustained its first real assault of the season, allowing 575 yards to ULM and surrendering 100 yards rushing to a pair of Warhawk ball-carriers (Josh Johnson and Evans). But Memphis averaged 8.9 yards per play in gaining 535 yards and scoring on six of its first eight possessions.

Immediately after a short touchdown pass from Brady White to tight end Kameron Wilson gave the Tigers a 21-10 lead in the second quarter, Memphis kicker Riley Patterson recovered his own onside kick. Kylan Watkins completed the next drive with a 14-yard touchdown run and the Tigers converted a two point play for a 29-10 lead.

ULM scored before halftime to reduce the Memphis lead to 12 points (29-17) at the break, but was unable to capitalize on an interception of White in the fourth quarter — the Tigers leading 39-26 at the time — turning the ball over to Memphis on downs within the red zone. A 36-yard touchdown pass from Evans to Josh Pederson made the scored 39-33 with 6:31 to play before Gainwell’s dash restored a double-digit lead for the Tigers.

White completed 15 of 23 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns (with the one interception). Eight different Tigers caught passes with Antonio Gibson and Damonte Coxie each scoring a touchdown.

The Tigers’ remaining seven-game schedule will be entirely within the American Athletic Conference, starting next Saturday when they travel to Temple. The Owls are 4-1 and, like Memphis, 1-0 in AAC play.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Memphis Routs South Alabama, 42-6

CREDIT: Matthew Smith

The University of Memphis stepped on the gas early against South Alabama and never let up in a 42-6 victory in Mobile. The victory moved the Tigers to 3-0 on the season and marked the team’s first road win of the year.

Matthew Smith

Kenneth Gainwell

The Tigers led 23-0 at halftime, mostly on the strength of a running game for which the Jaguars seemingly had no answer. Kenneth Gainwell, standing in for the second consecutive week for injured starter Patrick Taylor, had 141 yards — by halftime. Kylan Watkins added 87 yards to pad the halftime ground totals.

In their first possession of the second half, the Tigers drove 65 yards to a score in 70 seconds, using a tipped-pass reception to Joey Magnifico for most of that yardage.

The breaks were going the Tigers’ way, to be sure, but the Tigers were clearly the superior team on both sides of the ball. Judging from the vast vacant spaces shown on television in Ladd-Peebles Stadium, the locals weren’t exactly pumped about this matchup. Announced attendance was 12,373, but several thousand of those fans were obviously disguised as empty bleacher seats.

After a Riley Patterson field goal made it 33-0 early in the fourth quarter, the Tiger defense got on the scoreboard when Austin Hall scooped up a fumble and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown, making it a 40-0 game. It was Hall’s second fumble recovery of the contest.

South Alabama finally found the end zone on its next possession, but promptly muffed the extra point and Memphis’ Jacobi Francis picked it up and returned it to the opposite end zone for a two-point score. With the game at 42-6, Memphis starting quarterback Brady White left the contest, as Coach Mike Norvell called off the dogs, er, Tigers. White completed 12 of 20 passes for 209 yards, including three touchdowns and one interception.

Memphis finished with 302 yards rushing, for a total of 511 offensive yards, while holding the Jaguars to fewer than 230 yards total offense.

Memphis has a bye next weekend before taking on Navy on Thursday, September 26th.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 55, Southern 24

CREDIT: Matthew Smith

“Man up.”

Memphis running back Kenneth Gainwell had a quick initial response when asked about filling the void left by the injured Patrick Taylor — the third-leading rusher in Tiger history — on Saturday at the Liberty Bowl. The redshirt freshman did his share of that manning up by scoring three touchdowns in what proved to be a blowout win over Southern, a victory that improves the Tigers to 2-0 on the season. With 85 yards on the ground (including a 46-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter) and 38 receiving (including a 21-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter), Gainwell personified the depth Memphis coach Mike Norvell is selling as the new strength of his program.
Matthew Smith

Kenneth Gainwell

“I’d like to see some more energy,” said Norvell. “We had a couple of guys out, forcing guys into roles where they had to play more. This has to be something we build off of. We ask [Gainwell] to do a lot. He’s in that Tony Pollard-type hybrid role, in the slot, in the backfield. Today he did an exceptional job. He’s developing into a heck of a player for us.”

Southern struck first, with a 75-yard drive culminating in a seven-yard touchdown run by Jamar Washington less than two minutes into the game. Antonio Gibson hauled in a 55-yard touchdown pass from Tiger quarterback Brady White that gave Memphis a 10-7 lead with 9:38 left in the first quarter. Linebacker Keith Brown picked up the ball after freshman Dreke Clark blocked a Southern punt and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown and a 17-10 Tiger lead with less than a minute to play in the first quarter. The block was one of two the Tigers had in the game, the other courtesy of junior Colton Cochran in the third quarter.

The Jaguars (0-2) enjoyed their own “scoop and score” late in the third quarter when Jordan Lewis broke through the Tiger line, sacked White from behind, and picked up the ensuing fumble before racing 74 yards untouched into the end zone. The touchdown reduced the Memphis lead again to 10 points (34-24), but Southern would not score again. (The Jaguars punted on all four of their second-half possessions.)

Gainwell scored on a one-yard run on the Tigers’ first possession after the turnover and then put the game away with his touchdown catch two minutes later. Clark finished the scoring with a 10-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.

“We showed up in every phase,” stressed Norvell in saluting new special teams coordinator Pete Lembo. “Our punt-pressure team was incredible. Coach Lembo and our guys put us in a great position.”

In addition to Taylor’s absence, nose tackle O’Bryan Goodson sat out with an injury. Nonetheless, the Tigers held Southern to 258 total yards and only 15 of them came after halftime. “We have to build that depth,” emphasized Norvell. “We have to build that defensive line as a group. When that happens, good things will follow.”

White completed 17 of 21 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Damonte Coxie caught six of his passes for 112 yards.

On the defensive side, Memphis tallied seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage with Tim Hart and J.J. Russell each picking up a sack.

“No matter who we play, we come with our best,” said senior linebacker Austin Hall, who delivered three solo tackles. “You always have to make in-game adjustments. Offenses change. We started slow, but once we got going, we had a handle on what they were doing. A lot of guys have stepped up this year and it shows, guys making plays.”

The Tigers play their first road game of the season next Saturday when they visit South Alabama. They won’t return to the Liberty Bowl until Thursday, September 26th, when Navy comes to town for the American Athletic Conference opener. (The Tigers have a bye week following the South Alabama game.)

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Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 15, Ole Miss 10

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

A punt and a safety. Few football games are decided by either. In their 2019 season-opener Saturday at the Liberty Bowl, the Memphis Tigers beat Ole Miss with both plays proving critical.
Larry Kuzniewski

Patrick Taylor

Clinging to a 13-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Tiger offense stalled near midfield. Sophomore punter Adam Williams proceeded to drop the ball inside the Ole Miss 20, with a wobbly roll to the Rebel two-yard line. On the next play from scrimmage, senior defensive end Bryce Huff stormed around the right edge of the Rebel offensive line for a sack of quarterback Matt Corral. The end-zone tackle and two points it delivered proved enough for Memphis to win its sixth straight season-opening game, a program record.

“Thank you, Tiger Nation, for the energy you brought into that stadium,” said Memphis coach Mike Norvell in opening his postgame press conference. “We knew there was going to be a lot of emotion. Thank you for showing up this morning for the Tiger walk. That was an exciting atmosphere. We said all week, whatever it takes to be one point better. Hats off to our defensive staff, Coach [Adam] Fuller. Kept them off balance all game long. Whoever could establish the running game would be successful. We ran for 192 yards; they ran for 80. And to end the game with a six-minute drive . . . that’s something I’ll remember a long, long time.”

The Tigers opened the game’s scoring on their second drive, junior quarterback Brady White carrying the ball in for the final yard with 5:23 to play in the first quarter. The teams traded blows without scoring again until Tiger senior running back Patrick Taylor completed a 37-yard drive with his 35th career touchdown in the final minute before halftime. Pop Williams set up the short drive with a 21-yard punt return.(Kicker Riley Patterson hit the right upright on the point-after attempt.)

The Rebels got on the scoreboard via field goal late in the third quarter, kicker Luke Logan converting from 35 yards. A pass-interference call against Tiger cornerback T.J. Carter helped Ole Miss score its lone touchdown, a one-yard carry by Scottie Phillips with 11:49 left to play that reduced the Memphis lead to 13-10. The ensuing Tiger possession concluded with the Williams punt that set up Huff’s safety.

“There were some mistakes we need to clean up,” acknowledged Norvell. “Ten penalties, some mistakes on third down [offensively]. All in all, it was a great team win. This was a showcase game.”

The Tiger defense allowed its fewest points in more than two years, dating back to November 2016. Ole Miss converted only one third down in ten attempts. (The Rebels were one for two on fourth down.) Joseph Dorceus and La’Andre Thomas each picked up sacks in addition to Huff’s. And when Thomas was ejected for a targeting penalty late in the first quarter, freshman Quindell Johnson stepped in and grabbed the first interception of his college career.
Larry Kuzniewski

Brady White

On the offensive side, Memphis played its first game since Darrell Henderson and Tony Pollard were drafted by NFL teams, but a new playmaker seems to have emerged in the form of freshman tailback Kenneth Gainwell. A native of Yazoo City, Mississippi, Gainwell lived up to his name with 77 yards rushing and 41 receiving (on six catches). He earned three critical first downs on that game-ending drive including a shovel pass taken on fourth-and-two from White near midfield with just under three minutes left on the clock.

“Those [fourth-down] decisions, you gotta be willing to make,” said Norvell. “I believe in our players. We wanted to have an aggressive mindset. I felt good about going out to win the game, and not just hold on. I had confidence that if something bad happened, we would do what was necessary [to win].”

“I was confident,” said White when asked about the fourth-down shovel pass to Gainwell. “There are certain situations when we’d typically run it, so I was out there, waiting for it. I went through my pre-snap read, saw we had a good look. It’s a unit effort.” White completed 23 of 31 passes for 172 yards and tossed an interception early in the second half.

“We’re 1-0,” emphasized White. “It makes us super-confident, to win a game like that. Kudos to the defense, the offensive line. It took multiple guys to step in, a grinding effort. I’m blessed to be here.”

Taylor finished the contest with 128 yards rushing, enough to vault him past Tiger legend Dave Casinelli and into third place on the Memphis career chart. But for a team that allowed more than 30 points per game a year ago, Saturday’s win — over a team from the mighty SEC — will be remembered for what could be a corner turned by the Tiger defense.

“Coach Fuller brought some energy to the sideline today,” said Huff. “He was on the sideline, smiling. We were only up three. It was great energy. We have so much to correct. Even though we played well, there’s a lot we can improve on. I know our coaches are going to push us to get better.”

The Tigers return to the Liberty Bowl next Saturday to host Southern. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m.