Tag: Riley Ferguson

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Tigers Go Backyard Bowling

The event we now know as the AutoZone Liberty Bowl has been played every December since 1959, the first six years in Philadelphia and, since 1965, at the stadium here in Memphis that shares its name. Only seven college bowl games have a longer history. The University of Memphis has fielded a football team since 1912, the last 53 years at that very same Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, many of those seasons forgettable, a precious few — like 2017 — bursting with happy memories. For the first time, come December 30th, these two Bluff City gridiron institutions will meet as one. If you can numb the pain from last Saturday in Orlando, this is a perfect marriage.

About that pain. If you have a rooting interest in the Tigers, there’s no way to shake the disappointment of their 62-55(!) loss to UCF in the American Athletic Conference championship. Had the Knights won decisively, as they did in the teams’ first confrontation on September 30th, the Tiger fan base takes a deep breath, licks the wound, and breaks out the bowl-game t-shirts, wherever their 19th-ranked team happens to land. But the Knights did not win decisively. Memphis came up one field goal (albeit from 51 yards) short of the AAC title and a berth in the Peach Bowl, one of the New Year’s Six. The Tigers had a chance in overtime to secure that same prize but couldn’t stop UCF on its first (or second) offensive possession. That close to playing in one of the six most prestigious postseason games in college football. Much will have to happen for the program to get such a chance again.

That loss means a second-tier bowl for the Tigers, at least in harsh, clinical terms. The New Year’s Six is first tier, the two national semifinals (this year the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl) virtually beyond the reach of “Group of Five” programs like Memphis. But remember, we now have 40 bowl games. Second tier? That beats the hell out of a third-tier bowl (say, the Alamo Bowl). For that matter, we can now classify bowl games as fourth-tier (Music City, Pinstripe) or even fifth-tier (Camellia Bowl? New Mexico Bowl?). The 2017 Liberty Bowl will be the most prestigious postseason game Memphis has ever played, and by a considerable margin.

Consider: The Tigers have played in ten bowl games, and only one of them had existed as many as ten years when Memphis appeared in the game. Remember the 1956 Burley Bowl? Of course you don’t. First played in 1945, that game between Memphis State College and East Tennessee State (won by the Tigers) was the last Burley Bowl ever played. The 1971 Pasadena Bowl? For twenty years, that event was called “the Junior Rose Bowl.” Because it was played between junior college programs until 1967. The Tigers played in the third New Orleans Bowl (2003), the sixth GMAC Bowl (2004), the ninth Motor City Bowl (2005). And so on. Two of the recent bowl games Memphis has played in — the Motor City and Miami Beach (2014) — no longer exist.

When Memphis and Iowa State kick things off on December 30th, the Tigers will be playing in the 59th-annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl. No, it’s not a trip to a tropical region or the grand stage of the New Year’s Six. But it will be a prestigious event that just happens to be held on the same turf the Tigers call home. This is like leaving for college, only to return home for summer and falling in love with someone you’d passed in high school halls for years. (I know this magic distinctly.)

And let’s not forget the football team Memphis will be cheering. If it can’t already be called the greatest in the history of the program, it’s now leading the conversation. A win in the Liberty Bowl would give the Tigers 11 for the season, a total never reached in more than a century of Memphis football. The team has scored the most points (572) in program history and needed only 12 games to break the record set in 13 contests by the 2015 team.

And bless the football gods for giving Memphis fans one more chance to see seniors Riley Ferguson and Anthony Miller do extraordinary things in blue and gray. Before the end of the first quarter, Ferguson should become the first Memphis quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season (he needs 29). If Miller catches eight passes, he’ll become the first Memphis receiver to pull down 100 receptions in a season. And 93 yards would give the Christian Brothers High School alum 1,500 for the year. We will not see these numbers regularly, if ever again. Ferguson and Miller, it can be said, are the Finch and Robinson of Memphis football.

Embrace the disappointment, if such is possible. The Peach Bowl was there for the taking. (Note: The first Peach Bowl was played in 1968, three years after the Liberty Bowl game had moved to Memphis.) But a top-20 Memphis football team is playing in one of the top 10 (out of 40!) bowl games in the country. Right here in Memphis. Liberty is a blessing.

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Sports Tiger Blue

#22 Tigers 41, Tulsa 14

After trading touchdowns with Tulsa over the game’s first 18 minutes, the 22nd-ranked Memphis Tigers pulled away for one of their easier wins of the season Friday night in Oklahoma. Senior quarterback Riley Ferguson completed 27 of 39 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns (giving him 27 for the season) to give Memphis its fifth straight win and improve the Tigers’ record to 8-1 and 5-1 in American Athletic Conference play. Tulsa drops to 2-8 (1-5).

The victory sets up a chance for Memphis to clinch the AAC’s West Division with a win against SMU on November 18th at the Liberty Bowl. (The Tigers have a bye next week.)

Ferguson connected with sophomore running back Darrell Henderson for a 17-yard touchdown to open the scoring on the Tigers’ second possession of the game. Another sophomore, Tony Pollard, carried a short reception 59 yards into the end zone between a pair of Golden Hurricane scoring drives as the teams played to a 14-14 tie midway through the second quarter. But an 18-yard strike from Ferguson to senior wideout Anthony Miller made it 21-14, Tigers, with 6:49 to play before halftime and Memphis never looked back. With 46 receiving yards, Miller became the first player in Tiger history to pass 3,000 career yards through the air.

Sophomore Patrick Taylor scored on a fourth-down, one-yard plunge after a six-minute drive to give the Tigers a 28-14 lead in the third quarter. The Tigers’ fifth touchdown came on a Ferguson-to-Damonte Coxie touchdown pass of nine yards in the fourth quarter. Freshman kicker Riley Patterson converted a pair of field goals to help give the Tigers their sixth 40-point game of the season.

The Memphis defense held Tulsa to 145 yards rushing, more than 100 yards under the Golden Hurricane’s average. Henderson led the Tiger ground game with 123 yards. The Tigers outgained Tulsa, 525 total yards to 302. Nine different Tiger receivers gained yardage via the passing game, topped by senior Phil Mayhue with four catches for 74 yards.

With the victory, Memphis clinched a fourth straight eight-win season, a streak matched only once before in the program’s history (1960-63).

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Sports Tiger Blue

Three Thoughts on Tiger Football

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

• Since the Tigers’ remarkable win at Houston on October 19th (their sixth victory of the season), not a single person has spoken the words “bowl eligibility” to me. Remember when simply becoming eligible for one of more than 30 bowl games was a big deal for the Memphis program? When you go three decades without playing a postseason game (as Memphis did from 1972 to 2002), qualifying for an extra game in December is indeed a big deal.

Those days are gone. The Tigers will play in a bowl game for a fourth straight season, an unprecedented stretch for the program. We’ve reached the point where the strength of a bowl game matters to Memphis, and the 2017 Tigers have the chance to play on or near New Year’s Day, one sacred “Group of Five” slot open in the still-new format that sends 12 teams to “New Year’s Six” bowl games (including four to the national semifinals). The very idea of Memphis being discussed for such elite placement — here in late October — is a cultural shift that would have been impossible to envision as recently as 2011. Better yet, the Tigers control their positioning (at least until selection of the “Group of Five” representative). Win their remaining four games and Memphis plays for the American Athletic Conference championship. Win the AAC title and “bowl eligibility” will seem as distant a notion as the T formation.
Larry Kuzniewski

Tony Pollard

• If you can turn away from the heroics of Anthony Miller, Riley Ferguson, and Tony Pollard (five kickoff-return touchdowns in two seasons) just briefly, the play of Austin Hall and T.J. Carter on the Tiger defense has transformed this team. During one of the first visits I had with Memphis coach Mike Norvell, he emphasized that playmakers must be found on the defensive side of the ball. A potent offense is invaluable, but defensive playmakers can turn a tight game. That’s precisely what we saw on October 14th, when two Hall interceptions were integral in a three-point win over Navy. Then five days later, Carter grabbed his fourth interception of the season, forced a fumble, and accumulated 14 tackles in a four-point win at Houston. To no one’s surprise, Hall and Carter were each named the AAC’s Defensive Player of the Week. The Tiger defense has room to improve, starting with its pass rush. But with Hall (a sophomore) and Carter (a freshman) in the secondary, holes are going to be filled and mistakes (by opposing offenses) punished. Lots to like in this playmaking pair.

• Through four games of its seven-game home schedule, the Tigers have averaged 34,579 fans at the Liberty Bowl. This is a deceiving average, as only 10,263 tickets were sold for the season-opener against Louisiana-Monroe, a game played in near-hurricane conditions. Memphis has drawn more than 40,000 for its last three games (UCLA, Southern Illinois, and Navy). It will be interesting to see the turnout for the three remaining home games: Tulane (Friday), SMU (November 18th), and East Carolina (November 25th). These aren’t the kind of opponents that typically drive ticket sales, but the circumstances (as noted above) are unique this year. Every game the Tigers win makes the next one more significant. Memphis will surely average more than 30,000 fans a fourth straight year, a streak last seen from 2003 to 2006 (three of those “DeAngelo Years”). The question, really, is can the average climb to 40,000? It’s happened only four times in Liberty Bowl history: 1976, 2003, 2004, and 2015.

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Sports Tiger Blue

#25 Memphis 42, Houston 38

We need to be careful about over-using the word epic in describing victories. But in erasing a 17-point deficit at league-rival Houston for their second win in six days, the Memphis Tigers may indeed have secured just such a win Thursday night. Tiger quarterback Riley Ferguson connected with sophomore tight end Sean Dykes — a native of Houston, Texas — for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 1:33 left in the game to give Memphis a sweep of its season’s toughest two-game test. Now with a record of 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the American Athletic Conference, Memphis has a path to the AAC West Division championship, having beaten both Navy and Houston.

The first half was as ugly as the second was epic for the Tigers, with six punts and a pair of turnovers allowing the Cougars to take command on the scoreboard. A rare Anthony Miller fumble and a Ferguson interception in Houston territory led to 10 of Houston’s 17 first-half points. The Tigers’ freshman kicker, Riley Patterson, missed a 52-yard field-goal attempt after Houston coach Major Applewhite used three consecutive timeouts at the end of the half, the first time in 64 games Memphis played 30 minutes of football without scoring.

Riley Ferguson, Anthony MIller

Gamesmanship can backfire, though, and the Tigers played like a motivated bunch after halftime. They scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions, four on runs by Patrick Taylor and another on Tony Pollard‘s third kickoff return for a touchdown this season (and the fifth of his two-year career). Pollard’s 93-yard return came with 6:11 left to play in the third quarter, immediately after the Cougars had taken a 24-7 lead on a one-yard run by Duke Catalon.

A fumble by Houston quarterback Kyle Postma early in the fourth quarter was the defensive stop Memphis needed to tighten the margin. (Junior cornerback Tito Windham stripped the ball, which was recovered by freshman nose tackle John Tate.) Taylor’s third touchdown (after an apparent Houston interception in the end zone was ruled incomplete upon review) brought Memphis within 31-28 with 11:15 left in the game.

Postma found Steven Dunbar for an 8-yard score on Houston’s next possession to extend the lead back to 10 points. But the Tigers’ again answered, this time with a drive keyed by a bomb to Miller, who finished the game with 10 catches for 178 yards. Taylor’s fourth touchdown made the score 38-35 with 5:32 to play.

The Memphis defense finally managed to force a Houston punt, giving Patterson and friends the ball with 3:17 to play at their own 20-yard line. Ferguson completed passes to Pollard, Miller, Taylor, and freshman Damonte Coxie to set up the game-winner to Dykes.

Mike Norvell

Houston had two more possessions, but each ended with turnovers, the latter on freshman cornerback T.J. Carter‘s fourth interception of the season. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 4-3 (2-2).

Ferguson finished the game with 471 yards passing, completing 33 of his 53 throws. In addition to his kickoff-return heroics, Pollard caught nine passes for 91 yards. Memphis gained 501 yards in total offense (and allowed the Houston offense 554).

Memphis now has seven full days to prepare for Tulane. The Green Wave (3-3 and facing USF Saturday) visits the Liberty Bowl on Friday, October 27th. Three of the Tigers’ four remaining regular-season games will be at home.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 70, Connecticut 31

A maligned Memphis defense took a staggering blow on the third play from scrimmage in tonight’s game in East Hartford, Connecticut. UConn tailback Arkeel Newsome took the ball around left tackle and dashed 64 yards for a touchdown to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead just 76 seconds after kickoff.

Then Riley Ferguson and Anthony Miller took over.

Ferguson (the senior quarterback) threw for 325 yards and five touchdowns while Miller (the senior wide receiver) caught 12 passes for 157 yards and three scores . . . in the first half. The Tigers’ record-breaking duo — growing larger on the national radar with ESPN handling the broadcast — led Memphis to a 35-24 halftime lead, then connected again in the third quarter to extend the Tiger lead to 49-24.

Ferguson sat out the fourth quarter and still tied Paxton Lynch’s single-game record with seven touchdown passes. He completed 34 of 48 passes for 431 yards. As for Miller, the Christian Brothers High School alum tied his own school record with 15 receptions (good for 224 yards). His four touchdown catches are yet another Memphis record for Miller.

A week after being embarrassed at UCF, the Tiger offense exploded for 711 yards, a new U of M record. The Tigers won comfortably despite allowing 477 yards to Connecticut, the fourth time in five games Memphis has allowed at least 400 yards. Freshman cornerback T.J. Carter pulled down his third interception of the season in the second quarter.

Senior tailback Doroland Dorceus enjoyed his first productive game of the season (having nursed an injury throughout September), rushing for 122 yards on 22 carries and scoring two touchdowns.

The win improves Memphis to 4-1 for the season and 1-1 in American Athletic Conference play. The Huskies drop to 1-4 (0-3). The Tigers return home next Saturday (October 14th) to host Navy at the Liberty Bowl. The Midshipmen beat Memphis in both 2015 (45-20) and 2016 (42-28).

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Sports Tiger Blue

Three Thoughts on Memphis Tiger Football

• There’s no feel to this season. Not yet. No rhythm (if such can be felt in a sport with weekly games). The star of the Tigers’ opener — two weeks ago — was Hurricane Harvey, or at least the last vicious breaths of that ravaging storm that so thoroughly drowned parts of Texas. Memphis escaped with a win over Louisiana-Monroe, but in front of no more than 10,000 drenched fans. Then last week’s game at UCF was mercifully cancelled, this time a hurricane proving too much, even for a football game. So we’re left with what many consider the Tigers’ biggest game of the year — UCLA and a forecast of sunshine! — and very little sense of how strong this year’s Memphis team might be. Quarterback Riley Ferguson and his band of talented receivers were declawed by the weather system on August 31st. Will they be ready to counterpunch a Bruin attack led by NFL-bound Josh Rosen under center, an offense that erased a 34-point lead in less than 20 minutes against Texas A & M? Sixty minutes of football at UCF — in reasonable conditions — would have suggested an answer. Until 11 a.m. Saturday morning, no one really knows, including the Memphis coaching staff. We’ll have a feel for the 2017 Memphis Tigers by mid-afternoon Saturday.

“Our guys, I have to give them a compliment for the maturity they’ve shown,” said Memphis coach Mike Norvell during his weekly press conference Monday. “They’ve handled a lot of different things and quite a good deal of adversity here early when it comes to the schedule and their routine. They’re definitely looking forward to this Saturday.”

• When I think of Memphis-UCLA I think of basketball. The Tigers have played in three Final Fours and faced the Bruins in two of them. Most famously, Bill Walton became a household name in the 1973 championship game, beating what remains the most famous team in Memphis sports history, one led by Larry Finch, Ronnie Robinson, and Larry Kenon. Thirty-five years later, the U of M (with Derrick Rose) whipped UCLA (with Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook) in San Antonio.

The Tigers and Bruins have only played once before on the gridiron, a 42-35 UCLA win in Los Angeles in 2014. That was the Tigers’ second game of the season, Paxton Lynch’s second start at quarterback, and the first real indication that a corner might be turned for the Tiger program. Memphis had a chance in the fourth quarter to knock off the country’s 11th-ranked team. There seemed to be a renewal of hope two weeks later when Memphis handled Middle Tennessee at the Liberty Bowl. They went on to win eight of their last ten games and earn a ranking of 25 in the final AP poll. Here’s hoping this week’s game deepens the association of these two schools on the football field.

• AAC commissioner Mike Aresco likes describing his league — and the programs that comprise it — as “Power Six.” The implication is that the AAC deserves equal standing with the likes of the SEC, Big 10, and Pac-12 . . . the fabled “Power Five” that centers college football. Since the Tiger program’s revival in 2014, Memphis has played seven games against Power Five teams and won three of them. Two of those victories came against Kansas, though, one of the weakest programs in the classification.The 2015 upset of Ole Miss was historic (it extended a Tiger winning streak to an astounding 13 games). The four Power Five losses during this period: UCLA, Auburn (in the 2015 Birmingham Bowl), and Ole Miss twice. A win over UCLA — as televised live by the ABC cameras — would be a significant step in the right direction for Mike Norvell and this program. And it would give a little more credence to the notion of a “Power Six” league.

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Cover Feature News

Tiger Football 2017: Air Raid!

University of Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson has not one, but two artistic arms. The senior from Charlotte has adorned himself — shoulder to mid-forearm — with ink in various symbols, shapes, and swirls. But he has a favorite on his left (non-throwing) biceps. It’s an ornate cross, surrounded by six words: “May your light shine over me.” The art tugs at Ferguson’s heart, as it pays tribute to a cousin he lost in 2016, shortly before his first season behind center for the Tigers. But there’s a message, too, that Ferguson’s school of choice — and its football team’s growing fan base — might appreciate, for Ferguson himself has shone brightly since arriving on the U of M campus.

Tasked with a challenge no previous Tiger quarterback has faced — replacing a first-round NFL draft pick — Ferguson managed to break that quarterback’s single-season touchdown record (he tossed 32), complete 63 percent of his passes, and compile 3,698 yards through the air (a figure topped only by Paxton Lynch, now a member of the Denver Broncos). Playing for a rookie coach (Mike Norvell), Ferguson turned a transition year into an 8-5 season, enough to give Memphis its most wins (27) over any three-year period in the program’s history. For only the second time (the first being 2015), Memphis scored more than 500 points. All Ferguson has to do now is follow that success . . . and improve.

“We’ve been working on our chemistry,” says Ferguson. “Everybody in the offense is way more comfortable than we were at this time last year. We were out there thinking last year, learning. Just like anything, the more you practice something, the better you get. It will be a huge advantage for us.”

A quarterback is relentless in his work on mechanics: footwork, arm angle, release point, follow-through. But as his senior season approaches, Ferguson has focused more on the tool between his ears. “There’s always room for improvement,” he says. “Last year I was in the film room, but I need to get in there even more, to pick up anything I can from an opponent. Learning defenses, identifying keys.”

When it comes to shining that fabled light, Ferguson emphasizes how comfortable he’s become representing Memphis, both the school and community. “It’s kind of a smaller Charlotte [his hometown] to me,” says Ferguson. “The people here are great, and my teammates. I truly believe [coming here] is the best decision I’ve made in my life.”

“If you look at the last month of [last] season,” notes Norvell, “Riley was playing at a really high level. He needs to continue to progress from that. If he can go out and command this offense, make the right decisions, he’s got some good playmakers around him.”

Mike Norvell

Speaking of playmakers …

Ferguson would not have compiled his gaudy numbers without one Anthony Miller. As a junior, the former walk-on (and graduate of Christian Brothers High School) broke single-season receiving records that had been held for more than two decades by Isaac Bruce, a man now on the cusp of election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Miller’s 95 receptions shattered Bruce’s 1993 standard of 74. His 1,434 receiving yards was 40 percent better than Bruce’s mark of 1,054 (also in ’93). He set a new Tiger record for receiving yards in one October game (250), then a new record for receptions in a November game (15). With 71 catches and 854 yards this season, Miller would break the Tiger career marks in only three seasons. (Miller missed his freshman season with a shoulder injury.)

“I look at those numbers [now],” says Miller, “and they look good. But when I look at the film, I had plenty of opportunities where I could have made those numbers grow. Dropped balls. Missed assignments. The wrong route. Things we can clean up this season.”

Miller is now a focal point for any defense preparing to face the Tigers, this despite his name being left off the American Athletic Conference’s all-league team after the 2016 season. He embraces the extra attention and doesn’t shy from goal-setting standards beyond the reach of most human receivers. “Riley and I have this connection,” stresses Miller. “He knows when it’s crunch time, I’m the one to throw the ball to. But I’m not the only one on offense; we’re full of weapons.”

As for individual goals, take a deep breath: “Twenty touchdowns and 2,000 yards,” says Miller. “We’re just going to continue to work. We’ve got depth everywhere. People think they know the firepower we have, but I don’t think they really understand.”

Riley Ferguson

When Miller speaks of weapons, he means a collection of skill-position players as adept and deep as any Memphis team has seen in years. Senior tailback Doroland Dorceus led the Tigers with 810 rushing yards last season and with a similar campaign this fall would move into second place on the Tigers’ career chart, behind only DeAngelo Williams. But when Dorceus isn’t carrying the ball, Ferguson may be handing it or tossing it to any of a trio of sophomores: Patrick Taylor (546 yards in ’16), Darrell Henderson (482), or sophomore Tony Pollard, a graduate of Melrose High School who earned AAC Special Teams Player of the Year honors last year for his kick-return prowess.

The Tiger receiving corps is no less deep, with senior Phil Mayhue (677 receiving yards as a junior) supporting Miller as a downfield threat. Sophomore John “Pop” Williams and freshman Damonte Coxie impressed during training camp and hope to climb the depth chart as the season unfolds. (The unit took a hit during preseason camp when senior Sam Craft was lost for the year with a torn ACL in his left knee. Craft had been granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA after missing most of the 2016 season with a back injury.)

“Our skill-position players are as good as I’ve had,” says Norvell, who spent four seasons in the high-flying Pac-12 Conference as an assistant with Arizona State before taking the Memphis job. “Guys who understand this offense know they can get the ball on any play; you have to do your job to get open. If the defense does its job and takes someone away, it will leave one-on-one matchups for others. We’re versatile and we create opportunities.”

Can Miller actually improve on his record-breaking numbers from 2016? “Everyone can improve,” says Norvell. “No one here is a finished product.”

Anthony Miller

When asked about the offensive line entrusted with protecting Ferguson and opening holes for Dorceus, Taylor, and friends, Norvell says he’s enjoyed watching the competition in camp. Despite the offensive production last season, the line graded out as serviceable, at best. Veterans like center Drew Kyser and right guard Gabe Kuhn are back, and in freshman Obinna Eze from Nashville, the Tigers have 283 of the highest-rated pounds in recent recruiting history.

(Norvell notes offensive linemen have the most challenging leap from high school to college football, so patience is urged on the Eze watch.) Norvell says another newcomer, massive juco transfer Roger Joseph (6’5″, 317 lbs.), has a chance to make an impact up front.

The Tigers may have won eight games by averaging 38.8 points last season, but they lost five because they allowed 28.8 points per game (and a staggering 49.8 in the five defeats).

A completely revamped secondary will back a group of veterans at linebacker, the hope being measurable improvement in slowing opposing offenses. Senior linebacker Genard Avery — a first-team All-AAC honoree last fall — will be the face of the defense. Avery led the Tigers with 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage (including five sacks) and finished second on the team with 63 solo tackles.

Patrick Taylor

It’s the defensive backfield that proved most vulnerable for Memphis a year ago, and the unit has new blood. “I’ve been really impressed with the young guys in our secondary,” says Norvell. “[Safeties] John Cook and Shaun Rupert have done a great job of providing leadership. [Freshman cornerback] T. J. Carter came in as a highly rated young man, and my favorite thing about him is his work ethic. He’s come in to earn his position; he brings the right mentality every day at practice.”

The return of pass-rusher Jackson Dillon, who missed the 2016 season with a knee injury, is the college equivalent of a major trade acquisition. The Oklahoma native had 20.5 career tackles for a loss in three seasons prior to his injury.

“He’s a great leader,” says Norvell, “and we have some guys on our defensive front who have played a good deal of football.” Senior end Ernest Suttles and sophomore end Jonathan Wilson (three sacks last season) will lead the push on the line of scrimmage. Look for sophomore Austin Hall to be a playmaker at the STAR position (a hybrid linebacker/safety role). Hall started 11 games as a redshirt-freshman and had 7.5 tackles for loss. “We want to attack the football,” emphasizes Norvell. “Whether we’re playing a base defense or pressuring, we want to be impactful and make sure we’re communicating.”

The good news on special teams is that Pollard is back to return kicks along with all-AAC punter Spencer Smith. But the Tigers must replace placekicker Jake Elliott, a two-time AAC Special Teams Player of the Year and now a member of the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals. Freshman Riley Patterson will be staring down uprights this season. (Patterson connected on a 54-yard field goal as a junior at Edwardsville High School in Illinois.)

The feeling around the Tiger program is one of general comfort and confidence, not what you’d necessarily expect under the command of a second-year head coach who turns 36 in October. Whether or not the U of M has become a “football school” remains debatable, but don’t doubt a collective buy-in when it comes to the Norvell mission.

“Coach Norvell has continued the culture Justin Fuente started,” says Miller, who spent his first three seasons (including a redshirt year) under Norvell’s predecessor. “There were players here not willing to work, and [Fuente] got rid of those guys. Those of us who stayed, when you work hard, it doesn’t go unnoticed. I’ve tried to continue that. We were brought in as soon as [Norvell] got here. When coaches come in, it can be hard for players to adjust. But his offense is effective, and he’s one of the greatest football masterminds I’ve been around.”

Merely five seasons removed from a two-season train wreck during which the Tigers won three of 24 games, Memphis is favored to win the American Athletic Conference’s West Division. The Tigers even received votes in the Top 25 Amway Coaches Poll. “Nothing changes for us,” says Norvell. “It’s about staying focused on today, the steps in front of us. Preseason recognition is a great compliment, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to get it done. It shows a level of respect for our program, not just where we are but where we’re going. But we gotta go out there and get it.”

Riley Ferguson

The 2017 SCHEDULE

The Tigers have a favorable schedule, one without the likes of USF (favored in the media poll to win the league crown), Temple, or Cincinnati. Their three East Division foes are UCF and a pair of teams expected to finish near the bottom of the standings (East Carolina and UConn). A September 16th visit from UCLA and one of the country’s top quarterbacks, sophomore Josh Rosen, will highlight the home schedule. (*AAC game)

August 31 (Thursday) — LOUISIANA-MONROE

September 9 — at UCF*

September 16 — UCLA

September 23 — SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

September 30 — at Georgia State

October 6 (Friday) — at UConn*

October 14 — NAVY*

October 19 (Thursday) — at Houston*

October 27 (Friday) — TULANE*

November 3 (Friday) — at Tulsa*

November 18 — SMU*

November 25 — EAST CAROLINA*

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Sports Tiger Blue

Tiger Football: The Rising Continues

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Twenty-seven wins (so far) over the last three years for the Memphis Tiger football team. This is a good time to pause and consider another recent three-year period (2009-11) during which the U of M won a total of five games. By the most quantifiable measure (victories), the Memphis football program has improved more than five-fold during a single presidential administration. This has occurred, remember, in the middle of the SEC jungle, where attracting talent — the depth of talent required to win consistently in college football — has proved nearly impossible for generations. The turn-around has been Herculean.

Here are a few achievements of the 2016 Memphis Tigers that will stay with us.

• Points galore. Offense sells tickets. Offense keeps television viewers tuned in. The last three Memphis teams have scored more points than any previous team over the program’s 105-year history. The 2016 Tigers have scored more points in 12 games (474) than the 2014 team did in 13 (471), and you’ll remember that 2014 team featured Paxton Lynch at quarterback and finished ranked 25th in the country. Should Memphis score 49 points in its bowl game (merely 10 points above its average), it will break last year’s season record for points in a season (522). For perspective, the season point totals during that miserable stretch from 2009 to 2011: 262, 173, 195.

Larry Kuzniewski

Anthony Miller

• Ant-Man. Entering this season, the Memphis single-game record for receptions was 13 (Maurice Avery in 2003), for receiving yards, 186 (Bob Sherlag in 1965). Isaac Bruce held the single-season records for receptions (74) and receiving yards (1,054). All of these marks now belong to junior Anthony Miller, the former walk-on from Christian Brothers High School whose two fourth-quarter touchdowns beat Houston last Friday. The game-winning score was Miller’s 15th catch of the contest. Miller had 250 yards in a Tiger loss to Tulsa on October 29th. With a bowl game to play, he’s caught 84 passes for 1,283 yards. Before the 2015 season, then-Tiger coach Justin Fuente described Miller as “different from anyone else we have.” He saw what was coming. Should Miller return for his senior season — and he’s suggested he will — the Tiger receiving record book can be placed on the highest proverbial shelf in the Hardaway Hall of Fame.

• Big wins.The Tigers didn’t beat Ole Miss this season, but they did handle a Top-20 team at the Liberty Bowl (Houston) for a second straight season. You have to go back a quarter century to count the two previous Memphis wins over Top-20 opposition (Tennessee in 1996, USC in 1991). And with hindsight, the Tigers’ 34-27 win over Temple at the Liberty Bowl on October 6th is significant, as it’s the only conference loss suffered by the Owls, who play Navy this Saturday in the AAC Championship. Counting wins is one thing. Notching memorable victories helps build a culture of success.

• Backfield stars. Miller stole the show with his romp through the receiving record book, but he got there on the right arm of junior quarterback Riley Ferguson, the transfer who entered the season as an unknown value asset. He proceeded to pass for 3,326 yards (second in program history) and 28 touchdowns, tying the record set by Lynch last season. Ferguson was named Offensive Player of the Week by the AAC three times. And let’s not forget the efforts of Doroland Dorceus. The junior tailback gained 783 yards on the ground and averaged a stellar 6.2 yards per carry. He scored ten touchdowns and now ranks fourth in Tiger history with 25 for his career.

Larry Kuzniewski

Riley Ferguson

• Steady crowds at the Liberty Bowl. In 2013, the Tigers hosted seven games and sold a total of 199,760 tickets (28,537 per game). For seven games this season, the U of M sold 261,419 tickets (37,345 per game). That is growth that can be counted in blue-clad bodies (the difference is greater than the stadium’s current capacity). This year’s average attendance dropped by more than 6,000 from last year’s, but Ole Miss visited in 2015 and more than 60,000 fans at that game boosted the season total considerably. (The Rebels won’t be back until 2019.) The goal, I’ve felt all along, should be 40,000 fans in the Liberty Bowl for a Tiger football game. Any game. (The largest crowd this season was for the opener against SEMO: 42,876.) It’s a shame an upper portion of the Liberty Bowl couldn’t be shaved off for game day, because the atmosphere would be enhanced without empty sections framing fans on either side of the stadium. Winning and scoring (a lot) sell tickets. Based on 12 games under the watch of coach Mike Norvell, the future appears bright for U of M football.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 43, Kansas 7

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Rock, chalk, cake walk.

There was irony in the Tigers’ thorough man-handling of Kansas Saturday afternoon at the Liberty Bowl. The University of Memphis — along with virtually its entire fan base — continues to aspire admission into one of college football’s elite “Power Five” conferences. One of those leagues, of course, is the Big 12, longtime home to KU. But the Jayhawk football team, let it be said, displays nothing that remotely suggests “power.” Woody Allen would appreciate the blurred standard between the club of Big 12 schools and one that would boast Kansas football as a member.

Larry Kuzniewski

Riley Ferguson

Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson connected with Anthony Miller for an 84-yard touchdown along the left sideline just over four minutes into the game and the rout was on. Two Jake Elliott field goals and a Doroland Dorceus touchdown run of six yards made the score 19-0 two minutes into the second quarter. The Jayhawks’ only highlight of the contest came on a 66-yard dash by Khalil Herbert with 12:28 to play before halftime. But the Tigers responded with two more touchdowns before the break, one a Ferguson-to-Phil Mayhue timing route in the right corner of the end zone and then a 61-yard interception return by freshman defensive lineman Jonathan Wilson. 

Among the Jayhawks’ ten first-half possessions, they had four three-and-out “drives,” three lost fumbles, and the Wilson interception. It was as ugly as football often is at basketball schools. But it counts in the win column and gives Memphis consecutive 2-0 starts for the first time since the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

“We were coming off a bye week, and we’ve practiced 38 times,” said Tiger coach Mike Norvell in opening his postgame press conference. “You can try and simulate the game, but you really can’t get to that point until you kick it off. We talked a lot about starting fast. The defense did an incredible job; totally dominated. We got beaten on one unique play; they got us. Six take-aways. That’s who we want to be as a football team. I was really pleased by the way the guys worked.”

Larry Kuzniewski

Anthony Miller

When asked if the Tiger offense had made progress since the opener two weeks ago, Norvell noted the larger impact of his running game. “We ran the ball better, and it showed up. There are still some things we have to correct. Our tempo is not where it needs to be, [not fast enough]. I don’t think we protected as well as we can. We’re playing a lot of young faces. It’s probably where we should be [at this stage of the season].” Ferguson was sacked five times and Kansas had ten tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

The Tigers gained 205 yards on the ground (much of it after the game was decided as a clock-eating device) and 189 through the air. Freshman Patrick Taylor led the running game with 88 yards on 13 carries. (Fellow freshman Darrell Henderson was sidelined with an illness.) Miller caught five passes for 93 yards.

Freshman linebacker Austin Hall and junior safety Jonathan Cook led the Memphis defense with eight tackles each, two of Hall’s coming in the Jayhawk backfield. Senior defensive tackle Michael Edwards recovered two Kansas fumbles. Norvell said he hopes his defense can achieve a form of swagger, that the combination of fundamentals, technique, and belief in the system could distinguish the group.

“I want these guys to push,” said Norvell. “I want them to be the best they’ve ever been. You have to put guys in adverse situations. The game of football is so wonderful; you see the highs and the lows. How do you respond? Today it was the defense. The defense had to step up after some miscues by the offense.”

Ferguson agreed with his coach, that there’s work to do in achieving the offense’s desired tempo. “We need to make sure we’re getting the signals faster from the sideline,” said the junior quarterback after completing 15 of his 24 passes. “That’s mostly on me, making sure the linemen are down, getting us going. There were times the defense was tired. We could have gone faster.”

The early connection with Miller sparked Ferguson, and he suggests there’s more to come. “I just put it up where he could go get it,” said Ferguson. “He made an unbelievable play. Since I’ve been here, Anthony and I have had a really good connection, going all the way back to spring. We’ve built on that. It’s going to get even better.”

The Tigers return to the Liberty Bowl next Saturday night to host Bowling Green. The Falcons (1-2) lost to Middle Tennessee (at home) today, 41-21

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Cover Feature News

Tiger Football 2016: A Norvell Approach

The University of Memphis football program is auditioning. Surely you’ve heard the whispers — loud as sirens — that the Big 12 Conference is evaluating expansion. One of the fabled “Power Five” conferences that award member schools the largest stacks of TV and sponsorship revenue, the Big 12 has had but 10 members since Missouri and Texas A & M departed for the SEC before the 2013-14 academic year. In the interest of gaining ground — particularly when it comes to revenue — on college football’s other conference titans (SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and Pac 12), the Big 12 is accepting hugs and kisses from schools desperate to land one of possibly four (but at least two) invitations for membership.

This, friends, is the U of M’s last, best chance to become a member of the NCAA’s ruling elite. (At least until further expansion creates “Super-Power Conferences.” Just wait. It’ll happen.) And qualifications for this form of exclusivity are wrapped in and around football. So consider the 2016 Tiger season a 12-game (hopefully 13-game) casting call. In the spirit of the league Memphis is pursuing, here are 12 storylines to follow.

Mike Norvell promises fast-playing Tigers this season.

Missing Pieces: Let’s get this out of the way. Several familiar (and historically significant) names from the 2015 season are no longer on the Tiger roster. Quarterback Paxton Lynch — a first-round NFL draft pick — has essentially taken Peyton Manning’s spot on the roster of the Super Bowl champions. Also gone are an all-conference tight end (Alan Cross), all-conference tackle (Taylor Fallin), a pair of Lynch’s favorite targets (Mose Frazier and Tevin Jones), and a running back who finished second on the team last season with 389 rushing yards (Jarvis Cooper). And, oh yeah, coach Justin Fuente — architect of the most significant turnaround in the program’s history — is now the boss at Virginia Tech. To act as though the 2016 Tiger season will be merely a continuation of last year’s success would be to insult the legacy of these departed difference-makers. The hope must be that the bar has been raised and secured high enough for new difference-makers to emerge.

A Golden Era Is Upon Us (Maybe): The Tigers won more games over the last two seasons (19) than in any other two-year period since football was first played by the U of M in 1912. With seven wins this season, a new standard would be established for a three-year period. (The Tigers won 25 games from 1961 through 1963.) College football absolutely drips with the words “tradition rich.” There are programs, sadly, that are tradition poor. Success has been infrequent and scattered over the 104 years Memphis has suited up a football team. What we’re seeing these days — remember that 15-game winning streak and beat-down of Ole Miss? — is the closest the Tiger program has come to the dawn of a significant era. Can it be golden?

The Tigers gear up for a (with hard work and a little luck) successful season.

The Norvell Way: Filling a departed coach’s shoes has not been difficult, historically, at Memphis. Typically it’s more like flip-flops, with a broken strap. But following Fuente will be different. Mike Norvell is the youngest of 128 coaches in FBS. At age 34 (he turns 35 in October), he’s less than two years older than DeAngelo Williams. The list of former wide receivers (like Norvell) who have found success as head coaches is a short one. But you’ve heard of Bear Bryant. (Hall of Famer Raymond Berry took the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XX; we’ll ignore the result.) Norvell insists his Tigers will play fast, particularly on offense where he built his credentials as a coordinator under Todd Graham, most recently at Arizona State.

“We’re gonna push the pedal to the metal, play as fast as we can,” Norvell says. “The way we practice and train, everything we do is focused on tempo. It’s an offense built for playmakers, and we have some guys here who can be very impactful.”

Among the playmakers Norvell considers integral this fall are tailbacks Doroland Dorceus (698 yards as a sophomore last year) and Darrell Henderson (a freshman), multipurpose threat Sam Craft (back from the basketball court), and receivers Anthony Miller and Phil Mayhue. With a pair of veterans — Trevon Tate and Gabe Kuhn — manning the tackle positions up front, the Tiger offense has the potential for star power. But if it’s going to approach 40 points a game (like the 2015 edition), a rookie will lead the way.

Paxton Who? “When I got here,” says Norvell, “I told the guys, if there’s one position I’ll guarantee competition, it’s quarterback.” Junior-college transfer Riley Ferguson — a member of the Tennessee program in 2013 — took the lead last spring in the Tigers’ quarterback derby, and last week Norvell named him the starter for Saturday’s opener.

Ferguson has size (6’4″, 190 lbs.) and put up solid numbers last fall at Coffeyville (KS) Community College: 67.8 completion percentage, 326.9 yards per game, and 35 touchdowns. As Norvell puts it, the Memphis quarterback will be “the guy who can truly manage the offense . . . play within the system.”

Ferguson is blessed with arm strength — a must at this level — but it’s a more intangible quality that has impressed his coach. “He came in and had a really nice mentality in how he positioned himself with the team,” Norvell says. “Guys like him as a person, but when he’s on the field, it’s all business.”

And why exactly is Ferguson a Memphis Tiger? “[Norvell] is a young coach, and I feel like I connected with him,” says Ferguson, who had been disappointed with his options after Coffeyville until Memphis swept in. “I felt I could be open with him and tell him my story, what I’ve been through. When he showed me the offense, that made me love [Memphis] even more. There’s nothing a defense can do to stop it. The only time the defense can be right is if I make a wrong read or they bring a pressure we can’t pick up. Based on the read-aspect of the offense, it’s unstoppable. And very fast.”

Fill Those Seats! While the Tigers were winning those 19 games the last two seasons, the U of M sold just under half a million tickets for 12 games at the Liberty Bowl. (465,917 to be exact, or an average of 38,826 per game.) Last year’s attendance total of 262,811 established a new record for a six-game home season, and the average attendance of 43,801 was the highest since the stadium opened in 1965.

These are great numbers by the standards of Memphis football, but they must continue to grow. With new seatback sections added, the Liberty Bowl’s capacity is now 56,862. If the program is to convince the Big 12 it’s worthy of membership, 50,000 fans on game day should not be exceptional. Consider: Last November, 55,212 fans showed up to see Memphis play Navy. (Navy! No SEC team on the other sideline.) It was the largest crowd to see a Tiger football game without an SEC foe since 1989. It’s not just the team auditioning folks.

Fall is for football, and, as the season approaches, Coach Norvell and the Tigers are pushing themselves to bring us a heaping helping of wins.

Miller Time: A year ago at this time, Fuente described wide receiver Anthony Miller as “different from anyone else we have.” And Miller had yet to catch a pass in college. As a sophomore, the pride of Christian Brothers High School hauled in 47 passes and averaged 14.7 yards per catch. He caught five touchdown passes but was one of 12 players to reach the end zone on the receiving end of a Lynch toss.

Look for Miller to be a more frequent target this season and for numbers that will capture more national attention. Ferguson has already described Miller as “the best receiver I’ve ever thrown to.” (The Memphis program has seen only one 1,000-yard receiver: Isaac Bruce in 1993.) Ferguson points to junior Phil Mayhue as another valuable target, a possession receiver who will extend drives with his route running and sure hands. When asked about Daniel Montiel, Ferguson says, “We’re gonna use the tight end a tremendous amount.”

Kickers Can Be Stars: Close football contests are often won (and lost) with the kicking game. Memphis has featured the American Athletic Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Year all three years of the league’s existence. Punter Tom Hornsey took the prize in 2013, and kicker Jake Elliott has earned the honor each of the last two seasons. Elliott and punter Spencer Smith were two of the four Tigers named first-team All-AAC after the 2015 campaign. Elliott converted 23 of 28 field-goal attempts last year (including nine of at least 40 yards), and Smith averaged 47.2 yards per punt, with 18 traveling more than 50 yards and 10 punts that pinned the Tiger opponent inside its own 10-yard line. Elliott has his sights set on the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s top kicker and first won by the U of M’s Joe Allison in 1992.

Defensive Matters: The 2015 Tigers set a program record by scoring 522 points (40.1 per game). And it’s a good thing, because the Memphis defense gave up 355 (27.3 per game), an increase of 40 percent over the previous season (253 points). This is a trend Norvell and new defensive coordinator Chris Ball would like to reverse. When asked about playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, Norvell starts with linebacker Genard Avery and safety Jonathan Cook (a transfer from Alabama).

“Genard is a very versatile player,” says Norvell, “and very explosive. He maxed out the other day with a 450-pound bench and 600-pound squat. He’s one of the strongest human beings I’ve been around. He’s moving better than ever. Arthur Maulet is a guy who can be a playmaker for us. I like our defensive front. We’ve got guys up there who can create havoc. [Defense] is our most experienced group, and they have a better sense of what they can do.”

Senior linebacker Jackson Dillon has compiled 20.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage over his three seasons as a starter and aims to finish his college career with a third straight winning season, something that hasn’t happened at Memphis since 2003-05. “This is probably the best defense I’ve been a part of,” says Dillon. “Getting off the field after third down, that’s the biggest priority. Winning first and second down.”

Circle the Dates: The Tigers have an early bye week (Week 2) but seven home games. They travel to Ole Miss on October 1st (after beating the Rebels at home last year) and host Houston on November 25th (after losing to the Cougars last year in Texas). The top two teams in the AAC East will visit the Liberty Bowl (Temple on October 6th and USF on November 12th), but the Tigers must face Navy and Cincinnati on the road. The Tigers need a strong start and have three winnable home games to start the campaign (SEMO, Kansas, and Bowling Green).

Ground Control: With a former receiver calling the shots, count on the Memphis offense taking to the air with regularity. But even with the departures of Cooper and Jamarius Henderson (320 rushing yards last season), the Tigers’ ground attack is versatile and deep. Junior Doroland Dorceus led the team with 661 yards a year ago and ran for eight touchdowns. In many offenses, Dorceus would be a threat for 1,000 yards. But Sam Craft is back from the hardwood for his senior season, and freshman Darrell Henderson (from South Panola High School) is expected to get his share of carries. So the Tigers could match last season’s ground production (179.5 yards per game) but without a 1,000-yard rusher for a seventh consecutive season.

Four Words: Smart. Fast. Physical. Finish. These are the areas of emphasis Norvell has implemented, and they’re not all that different from the style of play Fuente preached for four seasons (and to profound success the last two years). A fast team, Novell believes, will hit harder and more often, making for a physical style that will be felt throughout a stadium.

“We judge the finish as strictly as anything in this program,” he adds. “We want to be better at the end than we are at the beginning.” A decent strategy, whether you’re measuring a half, a game, or an entire season.

Underdogs, Now and Forever: In its annual preseason poll, voters (among media) placed the Tigers third in the AAC’s West Division, behind Houston (the overwhelming favorite) and Navy. In handicapping Big 12 expansion, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UConn tend to get more affection (again, among media types) than does Memphis. The underdog status is a motivator for the Tiger coaching staff and players, but not a distracting one.

“I don’t care what [the polls] say,” Dillon says. “They’re just people in suits, making suggestions. They’re not out there at practice, sweating, working.”

“It’s not unexpected,” Norvell says. “We know there are challenges in front of us. If we continue to grow as a football team, we have a great opportunity to put ourselves in a position to be a contender. Last year, we were 8-0 and in prime position but didn’t finish the way we needed to. We’ve got to build ourselves and show that we’re worthy of the respect that’s out there. There’s an anxiety. You’re anxious for the season. You’re anxious to see the development of players, how everything comes together for this specific team. I think we have a chance to do some great things.”

The beauty of college football is that we spend a long offseason and six days a week talking about what could be, what might be, or what should be. Then game day arrives, and the young men in helmets and shoulder pads actually make something happen. Perhaps a year (or two) from now, the Memphis Tigers will be picked to finish fourth or fifth in a division of a new Big 12. Or perhaps they’ll be defending another AAC championship. For now, though, there’s football to be played. A welcome season in Memphis, Tennessee.