Although he didn’t throw a TD tonight, Tigers’ all-time leading passer Seth finished off the Blue Raiders26 of 42 for a total of 277 yards last night’s victory. Photo by Don Mooney
by Don Mooney
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – – -The Tigers (4-1) racked up 413 total yards, including 186 with three touchdowns on the ground with a 24-7 victory over Middle Tennessee Saturday night at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
Senior running back Mario Anderson Jr. notched 118 yards on 18 carries and a score while also reeling in six catches for 43 yards to combine for over 160 rushing and receiving yards. Running mate Brandon Thomas crossed the goal line twice on just six carries, giving him rushing touchdowns No. 30 and No. 31 of his career – fifth-most all-time at Memphis.
The Tigers’ all-time leading passer Seth Henigan completed 26-of-41 pass attempts for 227 yards while moving past Houston’s Clayton Tune into second on The American’s all-time passing list, now trailing only former East Carolina quarterback Holton Ahlers. The win also marked the first game of Henigan’s career without throwing a touchdown pass, snapping a 41-game streak (tied for second-longest in FBS history).
MTSU found its aggression at the start of the second half, putting together an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped off by a five-yard touchdown run from Terry Wilkins. Vattiato again found a connection with Kelly to spark MTSU into the redzone, with the Auburn transfer going over the top of Tiger defensive back Davion Moss for a 37-yard gain that put MTSU inside the Memphis 20-yard line. The Tigers sandwiched a touchdown and a field goal around an empty possession for the Blue Raiders to stretch their lead to 24-7 by the end of the third quarter, a lead that would hold through a scoreless final 15 minutes.
Wide receiver Roc Taylor led the Tigers with 69 yards on six catches to match a season high in receptions. Anderson Jr.’s six receptions matched Taylor for the game high. Defensively, the Tigers forced four sacks, two fumbles and totaled 6.5 tackles for loss. Memphis limited the Blue Raiders to just 29 yards on the ground on 25 attempts.
Linebacker Elijah Herring paced the unit with a career-high 10 total stops – 2.5 for loss – and 1.5 sacks. Matt Hudson finished with nine tackles and half a sack, while handler Martin and Kobe Minor also added a sack each. Minor’s strip sack of MTSU quarterback Nicholas Vattiato early in the second quarter was recovered by Martin and led to a Thomas rushing touchdown to get the Tigers on the board after a scoreless first quarter.
Tigers hit the road to start conference play against South Florida on Friday, Oct. 12 after bye week.