• The fates favor . . . Memphis! The Tigers’ win over Mississippi State last Saturday at the Liberty Bowl was as improbable as it was scintillating. The Bulldogs ran 83 plays, 30 more than did the Tigers. MSU gained 469 yards to the Tigers’ 246. The visitors held the ball 37 minutes (to the Tigers’ 23). Do you know how many times the Tigers snapped the ball inside the Bulldogs’ 20-yard-line (“the red zone”)? Zero. Show these numbers to anyone who has observed as many as three football games and they’ll tell you the winner, and it wouldn’t be the team that scored 31 points (to the Bulldogs’ 29) last weekend.
Calvin Austin’s “dead ball” punt return will be talked about as long as blue meets gray on the gridiron in these parts. But perhaps that improbable — impossible — play swung more than a football game. Perhaps Austin’s heroics are another reminder that the football “fates” — whoever, whatever they are — now shine happily over the Tiger program. An opponent’s missed field goal two years ago helped Memphis reach the Cotton Bowl. How far will the upset of Mississippi State take the 2021 Tigers?
• No panic. When it comes to the fabled intangibles, composure under duress may be the most season-defining such trait for a football team. The Tigers found themselves down 10 points (17-7) at halftime last Saturday. So players (and coaches) had their first 20 minutes of mental duress of the season. The game’s first half made it feel like one the Bulldogs would have to stumble to lose; Memphis hadn’t presented the kind of threat that suggested a comeback victory. But the Tigers scored the next 21 points, Joe Doyle delivered a late, clutch field goal, and the Memphis defense held just enough on that final two-point conversion attempt by MSU.
“There was no panic in the locker room,” emphasized Tiger coach Ryan Silverfield after the game. “That opening drive to start the second half was not beautiful, but guess what? We have an 18-year-old at quarterback with moxie who says, ‘I got this.’ He threw an interception, but then made the tackle. Our defense was playing their tails off, so it gave everybody a lot of belief. When I walked the sideline, I didn’t see a single young man hanging his head.” The Tigers will trail again this season. Last Saturday established a template for how to respond.
• Roadrunners can be dangerous. UTSA is the only remaining undefeated team in Conference USA. This Saturday’s game is no automatic extension of the Tigers’ 17-game winning streak at the Liberty Bowl. Roadrunner quarterback Frank Harris has completed 66 percent of his passes, many of them to Zakhari Franklin, who averages 15.7 yards on his 22 grabs (with three touchdowns). UTSA ranks 29th in the country in total offense (Memphis is 20th) but more impressively, 10th in total defense (Memphis ranks 123rd out of 130 teams). Now, UTSA has put up its numbers against Illinois, Lamar, and Middle Tennessee, not the kind of teams that will be playing for conference championships. The Tigers will be favored, but this feels like a prototypical “trap game,” falling between Mississippi State and the Tigers’ American Athletic Conference opener (at Temple). Will Memphis be able to sustain offensive drives against that 10th-ranked defense? As always, keep track of the turnovers. This one feels like another fourth-quarter, sweaty-palm affair.
