Marcus Stokes kept Memphis moving and the Tigers kept piling up points, leaving Tampa with a 52-41 road win over USF on Thursday night.
The matchup had all the makings of a strength-on-strength test: Memphis arrived with one of the nation’s top five offenses and a defense that had allowed the fewest points per game in the American Conference. USF had the league’s stingiest scoring defense, and Charles Huff made sure to note that before kickoff.
“They've done a really good job defensively. Statistically the best defense in the conference, you can't argue stats,” Huff said Tuesday during his media availability.
He also described the unit as “physical” and “violent,” but Memphis wasted no time challenging that reputation. After deferring to start the game, the Tigers got the ball back quickly when USF came up empty on its opening possession, then ripped off an 89-yard drive in 2:02. Stokes finished it himself, bursting through for a 47-yard rushing touchdown.
That was only the beginning. On Memphis’ next possession, Stokes connected with Hunter Tipton to make it 14-0. Then, after Jabari Ishmael recovered a USF fumble at the South Florida 21, Stokes capped another quick strike with a somersault into the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the night.
Memphis had built a 21-0 lead before the first quarter was over, and it looked like the Tigers were in complete control while USF and backup quarterback Luke Kromenhoek were trying to settle in. Kromenhoek was making his second start of the season with Michael Van Buren sidelined after the East Carolina game.
But the Bulls found a way to answer. A 36-yard punt return set them up at the Memphis 29, and they took the field goal. After Memphis stalled on its next two drives, USF started to chip away, putting together a scoring march that ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass from the sophomore out of Savannah.
Memphis responded with another fast drive, and Jaylin Carter punched in a 1-yard run to push the Tigers back ahead 28-10. Still, the momentum had started to tilt. USF kept moving the ball, and a second touchdown before halftime cut the Memphis lead to 28-17.
The Bulls kept pressing after the break. Memphis opened the second half with a punt, and Kromenhoek helped fuel another drive with 35 rushing yards before throwing his second touchdown pass of the night. Suddenly the lead was down to 28-24.
Memphis answered again. Stokes found Stonka Burnside over the middle for his second passing touchdown of the game and his 27th of the year, restoring an 11-point cushion at 35-24.
But USF wasn’t done. The Bulls kept leaning on the run game and rattled off four straight touchdown drives, turning a 21-0 hole into a 41-38 lead after a chip-shot field goal.
That set up the final swing. Stokes, calm as ever, hit Jemyri Davis deep for a 76-yard touchdown that put Memphis back in front late.
From there, the Tigers’ defense finished the job. Kromenhoek had a chance to answer, but his throw into the Memphis end zone was dropped, and on USF’s final push, J’mond Tapp ended it with a sack on third and long.
Carter added one more rushing touchdown to close it out, and Memphis walked away with a 52-41 victory. The Tigers became the only FBS team with 50-plus points in multiple road wins.
Stokes finished with 386 total yards of offense and five total touchdowns. Afterward, he said the Tigers understand what each win means.
“I would say in the back of our minds that if we just take care of what's in front of us, you know, everything else will kind of play out by itself and take care of itself,” Stokes said about the possibility of an American Conference Championship appearance.
Memphis now has two games left, starting next Saturday, Nov. 21 against Navy. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. Central Time.