Memphis Spears Seminoles In Tallahassee. What Did We Learn?
Ryan Silverfield vs Mike Norvell
Old vs New
Memphis vs Florida State
We previewed this marquee matchup, and what a game it was. Memphis went on the road and dominated Florida State to a 20-12 win. We would see both defenses shine in what was hyped to be an offensive show in Tallahassee. We will look at three things we learned from the Memphis win.
What Did We Learn?
Hankins Rolls The Dice
When Memphis announced the promotion of former linebackers coach and now defensive coordinator Jordan Hankins everything seemed to change immediately. The Tigers would blank the Cyclones on the ground in the 2023 AutoZone Liberty Bowl behind a masterful plan from Hankins. Many around the Memphis fan base quietly questioned whether this was a one-hit wonder, yet 2024 has proven this to not be the case.
Defensively, Memphis attacked from the opening snap. The second play resulted in a fumble after a shellacking from Tiger safety Andarious Coffey. The result would be Memphis possession after linebacker Chandler Martin possessed the ball. This would turn into the first of 13 points off-turners for Memphis on the day.
In the end, Memphis would hold Florida State to a season-low 238 yards behind 3 forced fumbles, and an interception. This, combined with 12 tackles for loss, the most since 2018 against SMU, made this unit shine from start to finish. In the trenches, we would see the Tigers handle the FSU line seemingly all game long. As far as most dominating games are concerned, from a trench perspective, this game ranks up with the best performance in Memphis history if we dig back into the archives.
Speaking of finish, we would see Memphis “Plant The Spear” in the Seminoles with pressure. This pressure equated in 4 sacks on the day, including a Martin sack with 2:46 left in the 4th quarter. Moreover, we would see Hankins roll the dice with pressure from numerous blitz packages on the final Seminole drive. An additional sack two plays later by William Whitlow and Matt Hudson would force the Noles into a 4th and 32 with the game on the line. The pressure mentioned above would force a pass up for grabs from Seminoles quarterback DJ Uiagelelei. This would be batted down by 5th-year defensive back Julian Barnett to seal the Memphis win.
Cramsey Outdueled Norvell
In what was expected to be an offensive show, we didn’t see as much on the field. On a wet morning at Doak Campbell Stadium, possession of the ball is essential. With much of the conversation in the week leading up to the relationship between Silverfield and Norvell, we would see Tigers offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey dial up an effective game plan as Memphis finished with 272 yards through the air. In fact, this proved to be more effective than Norvell, the Noles’ play caller. We would see Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan utilize his weapons and arm strengths to further this point.
These weapons were multileveled, starting with the outside. The relationship between Henigan and wide receiver Roc Taylor garners more discussion than it has received. With 13:09 in the 2nd, Henigan threw a perfectly placed ball, to Taylor, for 43 yards to assist in setting up the Tiger’s first score and increasing their lead to 10-0.
The tight end proved to be a vital resource in the win, as did both Anthony Landphere, the leading receiver with 5 receptions, and Brendan Doyle. Both Tigers anchored this offensive flow as Landphere hauled in 66 yards, a touchdown, along with an average catch of 13.2 yards per catch. Doyle was impressed in his performance as he ended the game with 3 catches, 30 yards, and a long of 16 to set up the final Memphis score.
While the receivers and tight ends stood out, the running attack struggled to a degree. When only looking at the final game stats, you see 32 rushes for 65 yards, with an average of 3 yards per rush. When digging into the film, we found that the running game was instrumental in the win. On Saturday, on numerous occasions, the rushing attack would move the chains with first downs in short-yardage situations. The plethora of talent in the position room proved to be resourceful. Collectively, between Mario Anderson Jr, Greg Desrosiers, and Brandon Thomas, this unit deserved more attention for providing timely first downs.
Silverfield Shines
Both Silverfield and Norvell talked down the obvious storyline of Norvell coaching against his former team and Silverfield, who took over for Norvell, as he faced his former comrade on staff. In the end, the nation would see FSU fall further in dismay as Norvell was, again, timid in his play calls. We have spoken of this already in the 2024 season, and this issue continues to get worse.
In the nine years that Norvell has been a head coach, this is the first time we have seen the “deer in headlights” look. The fifth-year man in Tallahassee is in a situation not faced in his career. Mike Norvell has his back against the wall as the Seminoles are 0-3 for the 2nd time under his tutelage{1st in 2021} and 3rd overall as the program went 0-3 in 1976, the first season under Bobby Bowden. With this, we would see the opposite on the Memphis sidelines.
Silverfield proved on a national stage that he is continuing the winning standard at Memphis yet in his way. Disciplined play, chance-taking, and building a culture that never quits have made Memphis a household name under Silverfield. While many brag about the “keys” Norvell handed over when he departed for Tallahassee they forget what Norvell walked into at Memphis.
Former Tiger head coach Justin Fuente would depart for Virginia Tech following the 2015 season. Following a 3-9 first season in Memphis, Fuente would finish his final two seasons with a 19-6 record, which included a conference championship and Miami Beach Bowl win in 2014. That win spared the current 10-game appearance streak. While there were many wins from the Tigers under Norvell including the 2019 season featuring College Gameday and the Cotton Bowl{Norvell did not coach in} these were all regular season games.
In college football, bowl games matter, and more importantly, bowl wins matter. This is where Silverfield has outdone Norvell. Norvell finished his time in the 901 with zero wins in postseason play, while Silverfield has now 4 bowl wins (the Hawaii Bowl 2021 was forfeited from Hawaii} in his tenure. When speaking of great coaches in Memphis history, you MUST include Ryan Silverfield. We have openly discussed his meaning to the program for a few seasons. While we do not know the future, we know one thing for certain. On Saturday, in Tallahassee, Silverfield out-coached Norvell, and the nation was there to witness.
Looking forward on the schedule, Memphis now travels to Annapolis to take on Navy. Like the Seminoles, the Midshipmen are coming off a bye week before facing the Tigers. This will be a key American Conference matchup for both squads.
Stay with 4-Star Sports Media for more on this meeting with Navy and more on Memphis athletics.
