2017 - 2018 Tiger Football

[shockernation]

1 hour ago, kwc said:

Offense and Defense both start with line play. If the U on M D-line is on point ... then we got something. That's what I'm hoping for. I'm not concerned about the 'O' at all. We know they will score points. Can the 'D' get stops. That's the million dollar question.

I think that's been the story for the past few seasons "D"? I truly believe this will be a very special season...glad to see Dillon healthy and everyone knows Avery is the key to our D...can't wait to check them out Sat at lumbuth

[kwc]

On 8/5/2017 at 8:52 PM, shockernation said:

I think that's been the story for the past few seasons "D"? I truly believe this will be a very special season...glad to see Dillon healthy and everyone knows Avery is the key to our D...can't wait to check them out Sat at lumbuth

If the 'D' is on point ... 10 win season. If the 'D' is average to sub par ... 8 -9 win season.

[shockernation]

Went to lambuth yesterday and met the tigers...my 5yr old loved it...nice group of young men! Our defense was spot on and huge! Special teams A.,,D got an A and ironically O got a B-...tons of fun and free thanks uofm

[kwc]

It's a shame that Sam Craft will miss this entire season with another injury. If I were him I might consider just calling it quits anyway. Man ... an ACL injury at that!

[kwc]

Memphis' Sam Craft out for the year with injury

 

Tom Schad, USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee Published 12:34 p.m. CT Aug. 12, 2017 | Updated 1:20 p.m. CT Aug. 12, 2017

Sponsor Messa

 

(Photo: Mark Weber, The Commercial Appeal)

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Memphis football team received word Friday night that fifth-year senior Sam Craft will miss the entire 2017 season because of an injury he suffered in practice earlier this week, coach Mike Norvell confirmed Saturday.

ESPN 92.9 FM, which first reported the injury Saturday morning, reported that Craft tore his anterior cruciate ligament.

“I absolutely hate it for the young man. He’s one of my favorites," Norvell said after a scrimmage at Memphis' Lambuth campus Saturday morning. "He came in, had an incredible offseason, was having a great camp. And then just on a, basically a route on air, took a misstep. Definitely our thoughts are with him."

Norvell said there have not yet been discussions about whether Craft will pursue a hardship waiver for a sixth year of eligibility. "My focus is not on that. It’s on Sam," the second-year coach said.

Generally speaking, it is rare for a student-athlete's five-year eligibility clock to be extended to a sixth season. Craft, however, may have a case. In order for him to receive a sixth season of eligibility, the university would have to prove that he was deprived of more than one season full season of competition because of reasons beyond his control. Craft appeared in only four games in 2016 before a back injury ended his season, and he was granted a hardship waiver to return in 2017.

Craft has played in 32 games and made 22 starts during an injury-plagued career at Memphis. The Memphis native, whose father also played football for the Tigers, missed part of the 2014 season with a broken collarbone, battled nagging injuries in 2015 and strained his hamstring at the end of fall camp last year, before the back injury occurred.

"He's been through a lot. I know each year, he's had something wrong," senior quarterback Riley Ferguson said. "He was having an unbelievable camp. He was one of our best receivers, I would say. My prayers go out to him. He's still our brother. He's still going to be with us throughout the whole process. It just hurts not being able to have him there."

October 1, 2016 - University of Memphis receiver Sam Craft (right) grabs a first down catch against Ole Miss defender Zedrick Woods (left) during fourth quarter action at VaughtÐHemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. (Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal) (Photo: Mark Weber, The Commercial Appeal)

Craft, who also played point guard for the basketball team during the 2015-16 season, has primarily played running back during his football career at Memphis but switched to wide receiver full-time in spring ball. He was slated to start alongside seniors Phil Mayhue and Anthony Miller prior to his injury.

The Tigers will now turn to a variety of receivers, both young and old, to replace Craft in the slot. Sophomore John "Pop" Williams has been cited by teammates and coaches alike as a standout so far in camp and will now likely see an increased role. Senior Roderick Proctor and redshirt sophomore Mechane Slade also play Craft's position.

For now, though, Norvell said his thoughts were just with Craft.

"We’re praying for him," Norvell said. "We’re going to get together this week and kind of discuss things moving forward, but for Sam, he’s just a phenomenal representative of Memphis Tiger football."

[cardsfan]

Sucks it's going to be a wet one Thursday night; hope they still air it out but I would imagine we play fairly conservative with UCLA coming up

[kwc]

TIGER FOOTBALL

Memphis Tigers football leaves season-opening win over Louisiana-Monroe with injury concerns

 

Mark Giannotto | USA TODAY NETWORK – TennesseeUpdated 2 minutes ago

The Memphis football team emerged with a season-opening 37-29 win over Louisiana-Monroe Thursday night, but it didn’t leave the wet-and-windy Liberty Bowl unscathed.

The Tigers will have several lingering injury concerns heading into their American Athletic Conference opener at Central Florida on Sep.9, most notably on the defensive side of the ball.

University of Memphis linebacker Darian Porter, 29, is helped off the field after substring a leg ...more

Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal

Though Memphis coach Mike Norvell offered few specifics when asked for injury updates following Thursday’s game, the personnel losses became noticeable by the end of the second half. Louisiana-Monroe had three touchdown drives of at least 66 yards on its final four possessions. 

More: Memphis football slips past Louisiana-Monroe: 5 things to know

A lot of new guys were getting their first action and then you lose some people, it was something we’ve got to respond to a little bit better,” Norvell said during his postgame news conference.

Here’s a rundown on the potential injuries Memphis could have to navigate through in the days and weeks ahead:

• Senior wide receiver Roderick Procter did not play Thursday due to an undisclosed injury.
• Senior linebacker Darian Porter had to be helped off the field in the first quarter and did not return to the game.
• Senior linebacker Jackson Dillon left the game in the first quarter and was spotted speaking with trainers.
• Defensive lineman Jared Gentry had to be carted off the field in the second quarter.
• Running back Doroland Dorceus had just two carries in the second quarter and “had a tweak,” according to Norvell. He was seen wearing sweats during the second half.
• Linebacker Genard Avery left the game in the second half and did not return.

Considering defensive lineman Jonathan Wilson also got ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter (and therefore will have to miss the first half of the Tigers’ next game), Memphis could potentially be without five key defensive players when it faces UCF.

Against Louisiana-Monroe, the Tigers' defense overcame their ailments by forcing four turnovers. The hope, however, is that most of the injuries suffered Thursday won’t have a lasting effect on this season.

More: Tony Pollard makes it rain (jewelry) as Tigers win messy opener

Norvell said the team would know more about the situation after further evaluation over the weekend.

“It’s tough sometimes seeing some good guys go down, obviously, but guys stepped up tonight,” said redshirt sophomore Austin Hall, who had a highlight-reel interception. “We got some guys behind them that had to play today and they did a good job. But it’s always tough, obviously, seeing someone go down. It’s not fun. Hopefully, we’ll get them back healthy and 100 percent ready to go.”

 

 

Edited September 1, 2017 by kwc

[kwc]

I'm wondering how bad these injuries are. Those are sighificant players to be missing. Let alone, the competitiveness of the next two opponents, UCF & UCLA.

Edited September 1, 2017 by kwc

[kwc]

 

TIGER FOOTBALL

How the Memphis Tigers beat UCLA, 48-45, at the Liberty Bowl

Mark Giannotto | USA TODAY NETWORK – TennesseeUpdated 1 minute ago

Memphis out-lasted UCLA, 48-45, in a thrilling offensive shootout at the Liberty Bowl Saturday. The two teams combined for nearly 1,200 yards in front of a national television audience.

But it was the Tigers that made the key defensive plays down the stretch and scored a win that could propel this football program the rest of the season.

 

University of Memphis running back Darrell Henderson (middle) scrambles past the UCLA defense ...more

Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal

Quarterback Riley Ferguson, meanwhile, finished with 398 yards passing and six touchdowns. His counterpart on UCLA, Josh Rosen, threw for 463 yards but also had an interception late that allowed Memphis to escape with a huge victory on national television. 

Re-live all the action from our live blog below ...

• 
• 
• 

Share Media

PreviousNext

1 of 26

University of Memphis receiver Tony Pollard (middle) scrambles past the UCLA defense for a touchdown during... more

Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal

3:00 p.m. Memphis is going to pull this out. A fourth-down pass break up by defensive back Jacoby Francis gives the Tigers the ball back. Only a few kneels left. Liberty Bowl is going wild.

2:55 p.m. Memphis attempts a fake field goal with Riley Patterson attempting to run around the edge before lofting a pass into the end zone. UCLA intercepted it in the end zone.

If the Tigers end up losing, that play is sure to be dissected.

UCLA has the ball at its own 20 down 48-45 with 3:01 to go.  

2:51 p.m. UCLA is having to burn timeouts after Memphis coach Mike Norvell elected to go for it on a gutsy fourth-and-two situation earlier in this drive. Riley Ferguson hit Anthony Miller for a short completion to convert. Miller picked up another first down on the next set of downs when he evaded a couple tacklers on a wide receiver screen.

Memphis is inside the UCLA 20-yard-line with 3:13 to go. 

2:44 p.m. The Memphis defense has been gashed at times today, but it has also dialed up some timely blitzes and come away with a few huge turnovers. The latest third-down blitz, by linebacker Austin Hall, forced UCLA QB Josh Rosen to rush his pass and throw off his back foot. The ball sailed directly into the hands of Tigers freshman cornerback T.J. Carter. 

Memphis now has the ball inside UCLA territory leading 48-45 with under seven minutes to go.

2:38 p.m. A lot of big plays today ...

2:32 p.m. Another lead change at the Liberty Bowl, and this time it's Memphis.

Aided by a couple UCLA penalties, the Tigers scored on a three-yard touchdown pass from Riley Ferguson to Phil Mayhue. Memphis now has a 48-45 lead over UCLA with 9:56 to go. The key play on the drive was a 34-yard catch-and-run by Anthony Miller. 

Ferguson, by the way, now has six touchdowns for the game. He's now tied his career high and is one off the school record set by Paxton Lynch.

UCLA, by the way, will be without defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa for the rest of the game after he was called for targeting on a hit to Ferguson.

2:20 p.m. In case you didn't know, Josh Rosen can throw the ball. Really well.With UCLA backed up on its own 1-yard line after a nice Memphis punt, Rosen completed all five of his passes on a 99-yard scoring drive. The sequence included a gorgeous throw from his own end zone on the first play of the drive and a 22-yard touchdown strike.UCLA has regained the lead, 45-41, with 11:51 to go.

2:10 p.m. The Tigers will head to the fourth quarter with a 41-38 lead over UCLA. Given how much scoring we've already seen today, these last 12 minutes should be thrilling. Stay tuned. 

2:06 p.m. Memphis is not making life easy on itself with some self-inflicted errors.Riley Ferguson and running back Darrell Henderson just muffed the exchange on a zone-read play and UCLA recovered the fumble. But the Tigers' defense came through with a big three-and-out. 
Regardless of the result, Mike Norvell won't be thrilled with certain aspects of this one.

2:01 p.m. Official attendance for today is 46,291

1:58 p.m. I'd say UCLA QB Josh Rosen responded pretty well to his first interception of the season.

Rosen just lofted a phenomenal 21-yard touchdown pass to the back shoulder of Jordan Lashley to cut the Memphis lead to 41-38. Rosen was a perfect 3 for 3 on that scoring drive.

I think columnist Geoff Calkins said it (or tweeted it) best.

 

1:55 p.m. Something to be aware of if this game ends up going down to the wire.

 

1:50 p.m. The Memphis defense has given up nearly 400 yards already, but it just mustered two huge plays in a row with UCLA driving again.

First, sophomore Jonathan Wilson burst through the line for a big sack after missing the first half due to a targeting penalty he got in the Tigers' win over Louisiana-Monroe.

On the next play, facing third down and long, UCLA QB Josh Rosen scrambled to his right looking for a receiver. He then decided to throw across his body toward the middle of the field. But he didn't notice linebacker Tim Hart.

Hart caught the interception and then sprinted 60 yards downfield for a pick-six.

The Memphis lead is now 41-31 with 6:58 to go in the third quarter.

1:38 p.m. It's looking like the first team to 50 (or 60?) points is going to win this one.

Two plays and 44 seconds after Memphis struck first to start the second half, UCLA QB Josh Rosen found wide receiver Darren Andrews for a beautiful 65-yard bomb over the top of the Memphis secondary. 

The Tigers lead is now 34-31 with 10:16 left in the third quarter.

1:32 p.m. Anthony Miller had a quiet first game, but he's busting out against UCLA today. Miller just caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from QB Riley Ferguson to cap off a 10-play, 75-yard drive to begin the second half.

The Tigers now lead UCLA, 34-24, and have scored touchdowns on four of their past five possessions. Miller, meanwhile, is up to five catches, 103 yards and two touchdowns for the game.

1:05 p.m. Memphis goes into halftime with a 24-20 lead on UCLA. Both teams are over 300 total yards for the game and the Tigers have touchdowns on three of their past four drives. 

Here's how the QBs are stacking up ...

Riley Ferguson: 10-19, 228 yards, 4 TDs, 1 interception
Josh Rosen: 18-28, 189 yards, 1 TD passing, 1 TD rushing

1:00 p.m. Hello Anthony Miller. The senior wide receiver with NFL dreams just looked the part and helped Memphis grab the lead back.

First, Miller hauled in a spectacular diving grab for 41 yards. After a review confirmed he indeed did catch the ball, Miller then streaked past the UCLA secondary for a 33-yard touchdown reception. 

Memphis leads UCLA, 27-24, with 42 seconds left before halftime and the offensive shootout we all expected is here to stay, it seems.  

12:56 p.m. Scary moment here at the Liberty Bowl. After the Memphis touchdown, freshman linebacker JJ Russell had to be carted off the field after colliding with a UCLA block on the ensuing kickoff. Russell laid motionless on the turf for several minutes while being tended to by trainers. 

Here's more on what happened.

UCLA subsequently went right down the field on a 10-play touchdown drive that QB Josh Rosen capped with a 1-yard run into the end zone. UCLA leads Memphis, 24-20, late in the second quarter. 

12:40 p.m. Another great play call by the Memphis offensive coaches to give the Tigers the lead back. 

One play after a deep play-action pass from Riley Ferguson resulted in a no-call for pass interference that had the Liberty Bowl crowd howling in anger, Memphis goes back to play action on a seven-step drop by Ferguson. Except this time, Ferguson threw a screen to tailback Tony Pollard and he raced down the sideline for a 42-yard touchdown.

Memphis takes a 20-17 lead over UCLA with 3:48 to go in the second quarter.

12:35 p.m. More on Windham, from beat writer Tom Schad ...

Memphis had high hopes for junior-college transfer Tito Windham entering this season. And though he's been up and down in practice, he came out ready to play today, single-handedly blowing up a screen pass on third down midway through the second quarter.

 

20 Video

12:34 p.m. Memphis is currently losing the field position battle. Its past two drives have started at the 11- and five-yard line. UCLA, meanwhile, has started its past two drives inside Memphis territory.

Luckily, the Tigers just got a big third-down stop when defensive back Tito Windham came up for a crunching tackle on a wide receiver screen. The Memphis offense has the ball at their own five-yard line with 5:41 to go in the first half.

12:19 p.m. Memphis comes up with just the sort of response it needed. First, Riley Ferguson hits tight end Joey Magnifico for a 25-yard completion over the middle on a third down. The next play, Ferguson feeds tailback Patrick Taylor on a well-designed screen pass and Taylor jets down the field for a 47-yard touchdown.

Freshman Riley Patterson missed the extra point attempt, so UCLA leads Memphis 17-13 with 10:44 to go in the second quarter. That's the first extra point Memphis has missed since 2012 (thanks Jake Elliott).

 

12:15 p.m. From beat writer Tom Schad ...

Local product Tim Hart saw quite a bit of playing time in the first quarter, rotating in with Genard Avery and Curtis Akins at middle linebacker. The Tigers love his progression after taking a redshirt year, and he'll likely be a regular contributor this season following Darian Porter's season-ending injury.

12:12 p.m. That dynamic UCLA offense we heard so much about is starting to hum along now. The Bruins needed just two plays to go 55 yards. First QB Josh Rosen hit tailback Jalen Starks on a wheel route for 50 yards. The very next snap, Rosen found tight end Jordan Wilson in the end zone for a touchdown.

UCLA now leads Memphis, 17-7, with 12:42 to go in the first half. The Tigers' offense could really use an answer, or at least a drive that gives the defense a chance to re-group.

12:09 p.m. The Memphis offense is really struggling since that opening 91-yard touchdown drive. In fact, the Tigers have technically gone backwards. They've got -1 yards and three three-and-outs since then.

 

12:03 p.m. Nice stand by the Memphis defense, which just limited UCLA to a 33-yard field goal on its drive early in the second quarter. The Bruins lead Memphis, 10-7.

Here's a note from beat writer Tom Schad on the Tigers' penalty problems:

Something worth monitoring with Memphis in the rest of this one:  Penalties. The Tigers had three penalties for 34 yards in the first quarter, plus a 12-men-on-the-field call that was offset by intentional grounding. This is nothing new for Memphis, which was one of just 16 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision to finish with double-digit penalties in their season-opener. That's much easier to overcome against a team like Louisiana-Monroe than a team like UCLA.

12:00 p.m. We've reached the end of the first quarter with Memphis and UCLA still tied at 7. The Bruins are driving inside the Memphis 20-yard-line, and the quarter ended with a bizarre sequence of events.

UCLA QB Josh Rosen was flagged for intentional grounding on what appeared to be the final play of the quarter. Then, UCLA Coach Jim Mora challenged whether Memphis had 12 men on the field on the play. After review, it was determined the Tigers had committed a substitution infraction. So the two penalties offset and the teams played an un-timed down following a TV timeout.

Making matters worse for Memphis is that Mike Norvell had to call a timeout on the previous play to make sure the Tigers avoided having 12 men on the field. Penalties, as we noted earlier, are really catching up to Memphis early on in this one.

Nonetheless, UCLA will have the ball at the Tigers' 16-yard line when the second quarter (finally) gets underway.

By the way, on the Tigers' last possession, Tony Pollard dropped a third-down pass from Riley Ferguson that would have almost certainly resulted in a first down.   

11:50 a.m. Helmet watch!

11:43 a.m. We got some turnover hot potato here at the Liberty Bowl.

UCLA looked to be back in prime field position when a pass from Riley Ferguson tipped off the hands of Tony Pollard and UCLA's Adarius Pickett came up with the interception. But the very next play, Memphis defensive lineman Emmanuel Cooper stripped UCLA ballcarrier Brandon Stephens and recovered the fumble.

The Tigers have the ball at their own 41-yard line again.

11:38 a.m. We just had our first "Josh Rosen is going to be a first round NFL draft pick" sighting of the day. The UCLA quarterback threw a dart to receiver Darron Andrews into double coverage to convert on third-and-17. One play later, Bruins running back Jalen Starks punched it in from seven yards out for a touchdown.

Memphis and UCLA are tied at 7 with 6:19 to go.

Something to keep an eye on: Memphis has already committed three penalties, including a silly kick-catching interference flag on senior Genard Avery that jump-started UCLA's scoring drive just now.

11:26 a.m. Jake Elliott is watching.

It's player reunion weekend at Memphis, with the school inviting former players to attend the game. Among those who were unable to make it: Newly-signed kicker Jake Elliott, who was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles mid-week and will appear in his first NFL game tomorrow.

11:20 a.m.  Well, that sure was quick.

Darrell Henderson ripped off an 80-yard run on the Tigers' opening play of the game. Then UCLA got flagged for pass interference in the end zone on the next snap. Quarterback Riley Ferguson capped it off by firing a one-yard touchdown pass to tight end Joey Magnifico. 

 

Two (official) plays, 26 seconds, 91 yards, one touchdown. Memphis takes an early 7-0 lead over UCLA.

11:14 a.m. UCLA picked up two first downs and drove into Memphis Territory on its opening drive. But the Tigers' defensive front did a nice job stopping the run and ultimately forced a punt. Memphis will start its opening drive on its own 9-yard line.

11:11 a.m. It's a late arriving crowd. Early kickoff didn't help.

11:08 a.m. Memphis-UCLA is underway. UCLA won the toss and elected to receive. Josh Rosen, your move first.

10:50 a.m. We're back. Kickoff is rapidly approaching and beat writer Tom Schad has some more injury updates.

 

For one, running back Doroland Dorceus won't be playing today. 

On the bright side, starting left tackle Trevon Tate, who did not practice Wednesday, is in uniform. In his absence, the Tigers practiced with Harneet Gill at left tackle and Roger Joseph at right tackle.

9:36 a.m. The first Tiger Walk of the 2017 season took place about an hour ago. It included an emotional embrace between Memphis QB Riley Ferguson and his mom. Obviously, with UCLA QB Josh Rosen on the other side and scouts from five NFL teams in the house today, this could be a life-changing moment

9:32 a.m. We've already got some injury news from beat writer Tom Schad based off pregame warm-ups.

 

9:20 a.m. Here's what you need to know to watch.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2017 by kwc

[kwc]

This win is GIGANTIC. The possibilities are endless.

[kwc]

Who would have ever thought that the best college team in Tennessee, at any given time, would be Memphis. Yet, here we are, October 18, 2017 and Memphis is about to play in prime time on a Thursday night on ESPN ... and be the only game on, and are currently ranked in the top 25.

I have to admit ... I never thought I would see the day.

[kwc]

Oh ... My ... Goodness. Did y'all see that game? Un-freaking-believable!!!

Are you kidding me!?!?

Down 17-zip at halftime, and comeback to win it 42-38. All the while this game is playing on prime time on ESPN.

They are 6-1 on the season. Un-freaking-believable!