The Memphis Tigers are staying home for bowl season, and they’re perfectly happy to save on the holiday travel expenses. In a rematch of the 2017 AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis will face Iowa State of the Big 12 on December 29th in the stadium the Tigers have called home since 1965. (A slot opened for Memphis when the SEC fell one team shy of qualifiers for its bowl commitments.) This makes ten consecutive bowl seasons for the Memphis program, and the Tigers will have a chance to win ten games for only the fifth time. The Cyclones will come to town with a record of 7-5 (6-2 in the Big 12). In that 2017 clash, Iowa State beat the Tigers, 21-20, in front of 58,318 fans. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
It’s a good time to remember the AutoZone Liberty Bowl will be played for the 65th time, the eighth-oldest bowl game on the college football calendar. It may not be among the “New Year’s Six” when it comes to prestige, but it’s on the next tier, and has been the stage for some unforgettable players: Archie Manning, Bo Jackson, Doug Flutie, and Dak Prescott to name just four. Last year’s three-overtime epic between Arkansas and Kansas was among the four or five best games of the season. Here’s hoping for the right kind of new memories later this month.
• Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan has announced he’ll return for a fourth season in blue and gray. In the age of the “transfer portal” — essentially free agency for every player on every team after every season — Henigan’s devotion to the Tiger program is rather astounding. And his return, by itself, gives the 2024 team the scent of a contender. A second-team all-conference selection this season, Henigan has passed for 3,519 yards and 28 touchdowns, with only 9 interceptions. He needs only 291 yards to break Brady White’s program record of 10,690 yards (something we could see in the Liberty Bowl), and 16 touchdowns to top White’s record of 90. The Henigan number I’ll be watching closest: 22, his number of wins as the Memphis quarterback. With health and success, he could become the first Tiger signal caller to top 30 wins for his career (White won 28). Henigan should become only the third player to lead Memphis in passing four consecutive years, joining Lloyd Patterson (1975-78) and Danny Wimprine (2001-04).
• There is some grumbling in social-media circles that the Tigers’ 9-3 record somehow isn’t good enough. Memphis didn’t beat the teams it needed to for a conference championship (Tulane, SMU) and escaped with wins over programs it should beat handily (North Texas, Charlotte). To this I have a brief response: horse hockey. A win in the Liberty Bowl would give the Tiger program its fifth 10-win campaign (and fourth since 2014, a single decade). Those with short memories forget that Tiger football once counted a total of five wins in three seasons (2009-11). Now we’re supposed to be disappointed with a nine-win (possibly 10-win) season??
The Tigers were in contention for the American Athletic Conference championship until their loss to SMU in the season’s 11th game. This should be the standard for the program, as long as they sit outside the four remaining “power” conferences (SEC, ACC, Big 10, Big 12). It’s a formidable challenge for coach Ryan Silverfield and his staff, especially with a $220 million renovation scheduled for Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Memphis remains a basketball town and its flagship university a basketball school. But can the football program make the right kind of dent on that perception, both locally and nationally? In my view, nine-win seasons are a significant step in that direction.
