Memphis Tiger football 2014

This week I present the first half of my annual countdown of the most memorable sporting events I attended in 2014. It was a fun year, and a challenge to pick just ten.

10) Oklahoma State 73, Tigers 55 (December 13) — Forget the score and outcome of the game. For that matter, forget the sport that was being played. Basketball was incidental, it turned out, on this late Saturday afternoon at FedExForum. At halftime, the 2014 American Athletic Conference champions — the U of M football team — was introduced to the crowd of 14,000 (an audience smaller than those at the Liberty Bowl last season, not a given in this town). Coach Justin Fuente spoke to the crowd through a microphone and included the words “our first” when introducing his champs. Fuente’s brief address left you with the feeling there are more good times ahead — perhaps great — for U of M football.

9) Florida 62, Dayton 52 (March 29) — Anytime FedExForum hosts a regional final in the NCAA tournament, my blood pumps a little quicker. But with a chance to see a team that calls itself the Flyers reach the Final Four? (There were shirts in the arena that said “Flyer Nation.” Honest.) Scottie Wilbekin (23 points) and the top-seeded Gators proved to be too much for Dayton (the South region’s 11th seed), ending a three-year losing streak in the Elite Eight for Florida. The Gators went on to lose in the national semifinals. And Dayton? They returned to Ohio, still owners of the best nickname in college sports.

8) Redbirds 4, New Orleans 3 (August 7) — Defense wins championships. We hear this (whether or not we believe it) every football season, every basketball season. It’s not such a catch phrase for baseball. (Substitute the word “pitching” for defense.) On this night, the Redbirds flashed leather of the big-league variety. The bases loaded with Zephyrs in the top of the seventh inning (and Memphis leading 4-2), New Orleans catcher Rob Brantly drilled a ball deep into the right-centerfield gap. But Redbird rightfielder Stephen Piscotty ran it down, catching the ball across his body in full extension to save at least one run. (The catch ultimately secured Redbird pitcher Tim Cooney’s 11th win of the season.) Pete Kozma put on a clinic at shortstop, throwing out eight Zephyrs, even after bobbling one ground ball. And the game ended when Memphis first baseman Xavier Scruggs dove to snag a ball down the line. You’d see none of these highlights in the box score. Which is among the reasons baseball is the best sport on the planet.

7) Grizzlies 106, Dallas 105 (April 16) — You won’t see two NBA teams play a better 82nd game. With a 50th win and seventh seed in the Western Conference playoffs on the line for both teams, the Grizzlies won their fifth straight game, and 14th straight at FedExForum. It didn’t come easily. Dallas led at halftime. There were 15 lead changes. Dirk Nowitzki, having recently entered the NBA’s all-time scoring top 10, scored 30 points, the last three coming in overtime to give the Mavs a three-point lead with just over a minute to play. But after a Tony Allen putback and a defensive stop, Grizzly point guard Mike Conley drew a foul with 1.1 seconds left on the clock. He buried both charity shots to give Memphis a one-point lead. The game wasn’t decided, though, until the final shot of the regular season’s final game. As the buzzer sounded in overtime, Monta Ellis missed a 20-foot jumper and streamers fell to the FedExForum floor.

6) Tigers 36, Middle Tennessee 17 (September 20) — There should have been a linebacker named Tank on Vince Lombardi’s Packers. Or maybe with Dick Butkus and the Monsters of the Midway. No, Tank Jakes is merely a University of Memphis linebacker who played like Butkus on this night in front of 46,000 fans at the Liberty Bowl. Midway through the first quarter, he sacked Blue Raider quarterback Austin Grammer in the end zone for a safety (the first of two sacks for Jakes). Early in the fourth quarter, he drilled a Middle ball carrier and forced a fumble that was returned 59 yards for a touchdown by Tiger cornerback Bobby McCain. Not done yet, Jakes intercepted a Grammer pass on the Raiders’ next possession. This was the best game — at least statistically — by a Memphis defensive player in at least a generation or two. Let’s call the stat line (forced fumble, safety, interception) what we should: The Tank Trifecta.

Check back next Monday for my top five. And happy holidays.

• There’s one (and only one) silver lining to the news that the Tigers’ sophomore tailback, Doroland Dorceus, has been lost for the season with a right-knee injury. When was the last time an injury to a second-string player in this program felt so damaging? Dorceus will be missed, and he’ll be missed because he provided the kind of depth that made him all but interchangeable with first-string tailback Brandon Hayes. Leading the Tigers with 237 rushing yards over four games, Dorceus was second-string only according to the depth chart.

Play calling was not impacted with Dorceus on the field (beyond the priority of getting him the ball). Production didn’t drop with Dorceus on the field. And Hayes was a better player late in games because of the relief Dorceus provided. That all changes with Dorceus removed from the Tiger ground attack. Freshman Jarvis Cooper has teased with his early-season performance (even at Ole Miss last weekend). And Hayes is accustomed to shouldering a workload. Losing Dorceus isn’t a death knell for the Memphis offense. But the grind of the conference schedule just got that much . . . grindier.

• The Tigers finished September right where they wanted to be: 2-2. A win at UCLA or Ole Miss would have been a celebrated bonus, but Memphis wanted (needed!) to enter its conference schedule with a .500 record. This Saturday the Tigers face a real measuring stick for growth of the program. The Cincinnati Bearcats were picked to win the American Athletic Conference, and even after being dusted by Ohio State last weekend, Tommy Tuberville’s squad seems to have the kind of offensive attack that can win games by halftime.

Quarterback Gunner Kiel — a Notre Dame transfer — leads the American in passing efficiency, having thrown for 1,041 yards and 14 touchdowns (two interceptions) in three games. Wideout Chris Moore caught three of Kiel’s passes against the Buckeyes, all for touchdowns that totaled 221 yards, earning Moore the American’s Offensive Player of the Week award despite his team’s lopsided loss. The idea of Memphis cornerback Bobby McCain battling Moore downfield is a scintillating angle to the Tigers’ first conference test. Cincinnati gave up a whopping 710 yards (on 101 plays) to the Buckeyes. Memphis may get the chance to win a shootout in the stadium where Justin Fuente’s old friend, Andy Dalton, now plays on Sundays.

• The Larry Porter years weren’t all bad. Ron Leary and Dontari Poe were teammates in 2010 and 2011, each suffering 21 losses in 24 games. Last weekend, Leary and Poe played important roles in the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively, winning big games in Week 4 of the NFL season. Starting at left guard for Dallas, Leary has been part of three straight wins for the Cowboys and helped tailback DeMarco Murray take over the NFL’s rushing lead with 534 yards. And coming off a Pro Bowl season, Poe has established himself as one of the two or three best nose tackles in the NFL. (The Chiefs are 2-2 after steamrolling New England Monday night.) Both Leary and Poe were recruited by Tommy West. They’re reminders that, even in the darkest of days, a college football program can yield a little light.