I wonder if Seth Henigan’s game-winning touchdown pass to Roc Carter last Saturday will be The Moment we remember from his stellar career at Memphis. It was, quite literally, a season-saving six points for the Tigers. A loss to Charlotte would have dropped the Tigers out of contention for the American Athletic Conference championship, to say nothing of that precious “Group of Five” slot in the newly expanded 12-team national playoff. When the 49ers took a 28-24 lead on a 75-yard, two-play drive with just 1:20 left in the game, a small, soggy crowd of Tiger fans had an especially gloomy feeling. But to their rescue came the senior quarterback and his band of veteran teammates, “an even-keeled group” as described by Tiger coach Ryan Silverfield the week before, following another late-comeback victory (over North Texas). The 24-yard game-winner to Taylor just so happened to also break Brady White’s career record for touchdown passes (Henigan has 91 and counting).
Henigan, of course, hopes to be remembered for a Moment yet to come. Ideally one during those playoffs, against a team these Tigers aren’t supposed to beat. As the young man from Denton, Texas, continues to rewrite the Memphis record book, the number to track is his career win total in blue and gray. He’s the first Tiger quarterback to count 30 of them. On the other hand, Henigan’s conference championships remain — for now — zero.
• After rain chased many fans home in the second half, fewer than 20,000 people saw Henigan’s game-winner last weekend. It’s the latest underwhelming crowd in what may become the best Tiger football season seen by the smallest number of human beings. We knew attendance figures would deflate this season, with capacity at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium reduced to 33,691 as the facility undergoes dramatic renovations (minus the west side of the stadium). I was actually concerned how fans would be able to squeeze into their seats for game days, memories of more than 50,000 people (watching that epic win over SMU in 2019) dancing in my head.
Alas, the top attendance figure this season is 25,849, the announced number for the opener against North Alabama on August 31st. The lowest attendance has been 23,246, for the second game against Troy. Perhaps we’ll see 30,000 when UAB comes to town for the Battle for the Bones on November 16th. If Memphis takes care of UTSA this Saturday, we’ll have an 8-1 football team hosting Rice on Friday, November 8th. Does the opponent — or day of the week — matter when the home team is 8-1? We’ll find out soon enough.
• How good has linebacker Chandler Martin been this season? His 11 tackles and two sacks against Charlotte were good enough to earn the junior his third Defensive Player of the Week award from the American Athletic Conference. Martin leads the AAC in both sacks (6) and tackles for loss (12), his most recent clinching the win over the 49ers with a safety. Martin will all but certainly become the first Memphis defensive player to earn first-team all-conference honors in consecutive seasons since Genard Avery (2016-17). The question is whether or not he’ll attract enough national attention for All-America consideration. If the Tigers can climb into the AP Top 25, Martin’s chances will grow. For now, appreciate every snap he’s on the field.
