Five Things That Stood Out In Memphis 40-0 Win Over North Alabama
The 2024 Memphis Football season is upon us as Tiger Lane was packed with happy fans in blue and gray on Saturday night. These same fans would leave even happier as the Memphis Tigers clawed the Lions to a 40-0 win. With the win, Memphis has now won 11 consecutive home openers since the 2013 season. In addition, the Tigers are now 21-6 at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium under head coach Ryan Silverfield. We know the score but what stood out in the win?
Five Things That Stood Out In Memphis Win
Seth Can Sling It
We start with the initiator of the offense, quarterback Seth Henigan, and his poised play in the win. Henigan would finish the game 22-30 for 308 yards and 3 touchdowns. Additionally, the four-year starter would rush 4 times for 5 yards with a long of 10 yards. The rush of 10 would be the second longest for Memphis in the game{more on this soon}.
Henigan continues to climb the record books in the American as he now has 11,702 career passing yards. This now sits the Denton, Texas star 3rd all-time trailing only Houston’s Clayton Tune, with 11,966, and East Carolina’s Holton Ahlers, who has 13,927 yards, as most career yards passing in conference history.
The loyal veteran would lead the offense to a 100% red zone percentage as the Tigers were 6-6 in scoring in this area. As we have mentioned on our podcast, Henigan enters the 2024 season as the only four-year starter to have each season at the same institution. This stat speaks volumes for the dedication of the young man who could have been at many other places this season yet he is here torching defenses for 300-plus yards with a confident smile.
Injury Hurt Running game
The backfield of Memphis would be a topic of discussion in the offseason as we would see the return of Sutton Smith as well as the addition of Mario Anderson Jr among others. The duo of Smith and Anderson would be named co-starters on this week’s depth chart as we would see the “or” listed. We would get to see this tandem shortly tonight as Smith would go down with an apparent right knee injury in the 1st quarter.
In the postgame, Silverfiled would speak with the media on the injury by starting with a definite answer to any wondering with “He did get hurt,” before saying that it “doesn’t look great. Our entire program will keep him in our thoughts and prayers, and hopefully, he’s okay more than anything. We wish him a speedy recovery.”
Smith would appear from the tent after on crutches and not return to the game. This injury would impact the ground attack as Memphis would only rush for 64 yards on 26 carries. Anderson Jr would lead the Tigers with 10 carries for 46 yards including the game-long rush of 17 yards. Anderson would also rush for 2 touchdowns in the win. Anderson would get the Tigers on the scoreboard with his first rushing touchdown in the 1st quarter to put Memphis up 7-0. Greg Desrosiers Jr would also see action in the replacement of Smith and rush for 6 yards on 4 carries and a touchdown. The multi-rushing touchdown performance for Anderon Jr is his first in any Division I game in his career.
Offense Is Potent
We spoke of Henigan and his arm talents and the running game but we can’t leave out the plethora of other weapons offensively. These players would instantly make themselves known as a tight end, Anthony Landphere, who would cap a 9-play, 52-yard, drive to put the Tigers up 14-0 following the Caden Costa extra point. Landphere wouldn’t be the only tight score on the night as we would see Brendan Doyle get to the endzone.
Doyle would catch a 32-yard pass with 8 minutes left in the first half to put Memphis up 21-0. This is not the first occasion where we have seen these two score in the same game. The last time was last season, on November 4th, against South Florida. With the touchdown pass to Doyle, we now find Henigan with 81 passing touchdowns which ties him with Danny Wimprine in Tigers history for most career passing touchdowns. As a team, Memphis finished with 367 total yards in the win.
This offense, led by 2nd-year offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey, has big play potential at any moment. To further this point, the Tigers would have 10 plays described as “big plays”. Through the air or any gain of more than 15 yards on a pass, would gash the Lion’s defense for 227 yards. On the ground, for any gain of 10 or more yards, Memphis would have 27 yards after a 10 and 17-yard big play. With 254 yards the Tiger’s offense will be one to watch to see how they attack defenses in this aspect with the aforementioned players who make the offense even more potent.
Defense Controlled Game
As much as the discussion is about an offense in a dominating win we have to give the defense its credit. North Alabama did not score. The last team to not score on Memphis was also UNA. Moreover, Memphis has blanked the Lions, 99-0, in the last two meetings after the 59-0 win in 2022.
In the 2024 win, the Tiger’s defense would cut the Lion’s potent offense down quickly. In the opening quarter, Harvard transfer, Matt Hudson, intercepted Lions quarterback, Ari Patu, in what was the defense’s first of three turnovers. The second would come on Davion Ross’s interception and the third on a William Whitlow Jr forced fumble.
The Memphis defensive coordinator, Jordan Hankins, has to be pleased with the effort as Memphis would only allow 31 yards passing in the 1st half. The Lions would finish the game with 185 total yards which is the lowest yards allowed in a opener since last season when Bethune Cookman came to the Bluff City. This unit will need to continue to fly around the field, have conviction and directness when hitting and tackling, and focus on remaining as non-penalized as possible. If this unit can achieve these things this season could be a very special season for Memphis.
The Road Gets Rougher
If 2024 has taught us one thing it dont overlook an opponent. With Memphis starting the slate with a win the program is now 55-49-5 record in opener. We mentioned the impressive home record and it will be put to the test with the second visiting team the Troy Trojans{0-1}. In their opening game, the Nevada Wolfpack would defeat Troy 28-26 at Larry Blakeney Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Alabama.
Kickoff is set for 11 am central time and will be televised on ESPNU. We will have much more on the season-opening win, as well as the next opponent, here on our website in articles as well as our podcast network. Stay tuned for more on Wednesday night as we deep dive into all the Memphis Tigers on the ‘Tigers Den’.
