(20)Memphis Pounds ECU 70-13
Memphis used Saturday’s 70-13 win over ECU as a tune up for next week’s AAC title game against UCF. The Pirates provided little resistance defensively and did not get much working offensively either. It was their first undefeated home season in the Liberty Bowl.
The Tigers scored 28 points in the first quarter and 21 more in the second behind Tiger quarterback Riley Ferguson who threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns in just under three quarters of play. Darrell Henderson added 122 yards of rushing and a pair of touchdowns in Memphis’ tenth win of the season.
All told, Memphis put together 635 yards of offense. Eight different Tigers scored in the victory.
Gardner Minshew passed for 351 yards and two second half touchdowns to go along with three interceptions for ECU. Trevon Brown caught seven passes for 128 yards to lead the Pirate receiver corp and Tyshon Dye came on late in the second half to run for 71 yards to lead the Pirate running back corp.
Six different Tigers scored in a 455 yard offensive first half for Memphis. Anthony Miller caught three passes in the first thirty minutes for 144 yards including an 89-yarder for a touchdown on a tunnel screen from Riley Ferguson just over three minutes into the game to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. It was the fifth longest touchdown reception in Memphis history and the ninth play of seventy or more yards given up this season by the ECU defense.
Memphis(10-1) scored their second touchdown of the first period with a Darrell Henderson four-yard scamper that put the Tigers up 14-0. Then Jonathan Cook’s 32-yard pick-six of ECU quarterback Gardner Minshew made it 21-0. Phil Mayhew added to the Pirates’ misery when he burned Keyshawn Canady for a 46-yard touchdown to cap a 5-play 56 yard drive that gave Memphis their fourth scoring drive of the first quarter and a 28-0 lead.
Minshew’s second interception of the day was by Memphis strong safety Josh Perry to open the second quarter. Dorlan Dorsey then ran 19 yards untouched to make it 35-0 Memphis. Pat Taylor’s 41-yard touchdown midway through the period on a fourth-and-one made it 42-0 to cap a five play 62-yard drive.
The Pirates had a chance before halftime to score inside the redzone but Minshew threw his third interception of the game at the seven-yard line. The Tigers converted that into Henderson’s second touchdown of the day on a 14-yard run that made the score 49-0 to cap a five-play 93-yard drive. Henderson ran for 122 yards in the first half.
Ferguson found Devonte Coxie for a 61-yard touchdown strike to open the second half that made it 56-0.
ECU(3-9) finally scored on a 33-yard Minshew to Jimmy Williams touchdown pass and even then the extra point was blocked. But if nothing else, it kept ECU’s twenty year, 254 game streak of not being shut out alive. Tony Pollard answered with a 100-yard kickoff return for a Tiger touchdown to make it 63-6, Memphis.
Tight end Steve Baggett’s second touchdown of the season - good for five yards, gave the Pirates their second touchdown of the day in a 63-13 contest.
Things didn’t get any easier when Patrick Taylor’s 60-yard touchdown made it 70-13. Taylor ran for 127 yards on just six carries for the Tigers.
