It didn’t look good early for No. 21 Memphis, but they flipped the script and, eventually, after a weather delay, got the job done.
With just under nine minutes left in the first quarter of its Week 12 game against visiting SMU, Memphis found itself on the wrong end of a 10-0 score. The Tigers then went on to score the next 24 points before scoring the first 21 of the fourth quarter in what turned into a comfortable 66-45 win.
The win clinches the first-ever AAC West title for the U of M, pushing them into the Dec. 2 conference championship game. They will face the winner of next Saturday’s USF-UCF game at either their own home or at the stadium of the winner of that game.
With this win, plus a Memphis win over East Carolina next Saturday, almost assures that the AAC title game will essentially serve as a play-in game for the Group of Five’s New Year’s Six bid.
As is ofttimes the case, the Tigers were this weekend led by the throwing-catching duo of Riley Ferguson and Anthony Miller (pictured).
Ferguson completed 21 of his 27 passes for 320 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He added two rushing touchdowns for good measure, nearly matching his season total of three coming into the game.
Miller, meanwhile, caught eight of Ferguson’s completions for 163 yards and both touchdowns through the air. The senior wide receiver now has (67) receptions for (905) yards and (11) touchdowns on the season.
The Tigers also had a pair of 100-yards rushers in Darrell Henderson (147) and Patrick Taylor Jr. (112). As a team, the U of M averaged 7.2 yards on its 46 carries.