The Memphis Tigers found exactly the kind of answer they needed Thursday night.
After last week’s rough loss to Tulane, Memphis went into overtime against East Carolina and walked away with a 41-34 win, erasing a 16-3 hole and putting together the kind of response Charles Huff wanted to see from his team. The Tigers improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play, and the finish fit the tone Huff has preached since taking over: “Suffer Well.”
“Really proud of the fight in the kids today. Really proud of the fight in the kids this week, it was a rough week, but they bowed their neck, showed up to work every day, did what they were supposed to do, gave themselves a chance to play really well tonight,” Huff said after the victory Thursday night.
Memphis spent much of the first half digging out of its own mistakes. The Tigers started slowly on offense again, with the game plan leaning on the run to wear down the defensive front for later, but Stokes didn’t generate much through the air early beyond checkdowns. ECU got the first points with a field goal after the teams traded stops, and the Pirates pushed ahead 10-0 by the end of the first quarter while Memphis wasted three straight drive opportunities.
Even when Memphis finally moved the ball starting near midfield, the best it could do was a field goal to trim the gap to 10-3. Then came a small jolt: Chauncey Logan Jr. intercepted Mitch Griffis on Griffis’ first pass after replacing starter Emory Williams.
But the Tigers couldn’t turn that into much, and ECU kept stacking points. Memphis allowed a long drive, then muffed a punt, and the Pirates added two more field goals before halftime to take a 16-3 lead into the locker room. At that point, last week’s frustration had started creeping back in.
Still, Huff said the sideline tone never broke.
“We went in the locker room and it took everything in my power for me not to explode on the coaches and I said, 'Take a deep breath,' and I hear this music and this rumble start in the locker room...it was like pregame in there and I said you know what, if they're good, all we got to do is put them in the right place,” Huff said after the game in his press conference.
The second half belonged to Memphis. Stokes hit Jermane Hayes for a 59-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, finally getting the offense rolling.
ECU answered with a score of its own, but Memphis kept coming. Stokes connected with Jemyri Davis on a 20-yard touchdown, then the Tigers added a field goal after Manny Covey ripped off a 24-yard run to cut the margin to 24-20.
Another ECU field goal made it 27-20, but Memphis kept squeezing the game tighter. A muffed punt gave the Tigers the ball at the Pirates’ 28-yard line, and Covey helped move it with 20 yards on two carries before Stokes found Davis again to tie the game at 27-27.
“That’s what he do, he the best QB in the nation and he backed up what he did all week,” Davis said about Stokes after the game. Stokes also held a player-only meeting after the Tulane loss, and Davis said the quarterback delivered in every way Thursday.
“He brought us in as a group, he told us what he did wrong, he told us what he was going to do this week, he prepped like it, he showed out here tonight, he put his body on the line for us and won us the game,” Davis added.
Stokes’ night was the kind of full-throttle response Memphis needed. After what Davis called his worst game as a college quarterback against Tulane, he came back with 320 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and two rushing scores.
Memphis finally grabbed the lead late, going up 34-27 after an 80-yard drive finished with one of Stokes’ rushing touchdowns with 3:31 left. ECU wasn’t done, though. The Pirates answered with an efficient eight-play, 75-yard march, and Griffis hit a 20-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 34-34 with 1:30 remaining.
Regulation ended without another Memphis score, sending the game to overtime, where Huff said his group felt confident.
The Tigers delivered right away. Stokes powered into the end zone on the opening overtime possession, launching himself in a wild dive that ended with a full front flip before he popped up to celebrate with teammates.
ECU never matched it. The Pirates managed only a first down before a goal-line fade was intercepted by Ellis Ellis Jr., ending the game and sending Memphis onto the field in celebration.
The win also carried meaning beyond the scoreboard, as the game served as the DeAngelo Williams Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation game. Huff connected the performance to that cause after the victory.
“I think the game went right online, on par with what we're asking those people that are affected by this disease to do. Just keep fighting.”
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Boise State, Oregon State, New Mexico, North Dakota State and Air Force all stand to gain from James Madison falling out of the mix, but the path is still far from settled. The final College Football Playoff selection committee rankings are set for Nov. 3, and until then Memphis is watching a race that suddenly looks a little more open, and a lot more consequential, than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]