Lot of celebrations tonight as Tigers lit up the scoreboard over and over with win over Tulsa. photo by Toni Washington
by Don Mooney
MEMPHIS, Tens. – The University of Memphis football team (6-0, 2-0 American) became the first bowl eligible team in FBS following a dominating 45-7 win over Tulsa (2-4, 0-2 American) at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Saturday night. The Tigers still hold the nation’s longest active win streak at 10 wins.
With the win, Memphis is the only team in FBS that is currently 6-0 and becomes the first team this season to be bowl eligible. This is the fastest Memphis has become bowl eligible since the 2015 season and is the 12th consecutive year that Memphis has been bowl eligible.
photo by Toni Washington
The Tigers then took control, with Brendon Lewis leading a methodical 11-play, 64-yard drive. Lewis connected with Matt Adcock for a 7-yard touchdown pass at the 8:00 mark, putting the Tigers ahead 7-0. Although Memphis advanced into Tulsa territory again, an interception by Green at the Golden Hurricane 28-yard line halted their momentum.
QB Brendon Lewis led Tigers with 22-for-30 for 266 yards while adding a team-high 67 yards on the ground. photo by Toni Washington
Memphis extended its lead in the second quarter, starting with a methodical drive that culminated in a 3-yard touchdown run by Sutton Smith at 11:14, making it 14–0. The Golden Hurricane responded with Francis connecting with Tease for a 34-yard touchdown pass at 7:46, cutting the deficit to 14–7. The Tigers quickly regained momentum as Lewis found Cortez Braham Jr. for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 2:04 remaining, bringing the score to 21–7. The Tigers closed the quarter with Lewis rushing for a 4-yard touchdown at 1:07, cementing a commanding 28–7 lead.
photo by Don Mooney
In the third quarter, the Tigers extended their lead over the Golden Hurricane with a 50-yard field goal from Spetic at the 9:53 mark, bringing the score to 31-7. The Golden Hurricane’s next possession ended abruptly when Samson Israel intercepted Francis at the Tigers’ 45-yard line. Memphis capitalized on this turnover, driving downfield and finishing with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Lewis to Greg Desrosiers Jr. with 53 sec remaining in the quarter. Spetic added the extra point, increasing the Tigers’ lead to 38-7.
Memphis capitalized on this with a scoring drive, highlighted by Arrington Maiden’s 18-yard rush and Frank Peasant’s 10-yard touchdown run at 4:50, bringing the score to 45-7, which would be the final score of the contest.
photo by Don Mooney
The Tiger defense stifled the Golden Hurricane when Jayden Flaker got a hand on the kick of Tulsa’s Seth Morgan to keep them off the board. His deflection led to Lewis finding Jamari Hawkins downfield for a 47-yard gain that set up Sutton Smith to cross the goal line for the two-score lead early in the second quarter.
Memphis opened the flood gates to end the first half; defensive back Chris Bracy perfectly read Kirk Francis’ pass and picked him off in the middle of the field. Just two snaps later, a free play following a Tulsa penalty led to Lewis lobbing a pass up to Cortez Braham Jr. in the back of the endzone for a one-handed catch. Just 58 seconds later, after a Kamari Wilson pick off a deflection, Lewis took it himself into the endzone to make it a 28-7 Tigers lead heading into the half. The two scores marked the quickest back-to-back touchdowns for the Tigers since the Arkansas State game in 2023.
photo by Toni Washington
Memphis continued to dominate in the third quarter. After a 50-yard field goal from Gianni Spetic, defensive back Samson Israelrecorded the team’s third interception of the game – the team’s first three-interception game since Nov. 11, 2023, when the Tigers picked off four passes against Charlotte.
The points continued to add up when Lewis shovel-passed a two-yard reception to Greg Desrosiers Jr. late in the third quarter to make it a 31-point advantage.
Linebacker Crews Law got a punch out late in the fourth quarter that was recovered by Mond Cole at the Tulsa 38-yard line. The recovery led to Frank Peasant charging over the endline to give Memphis the 45-7 victory.
Quarterback Brendon Lewis had a noteworthy performance, throwing for three scores while hitting paydirt once on a keeper in the second quarter. He finished the night going 22-for-30 for 266 yards while adding a team-high 67 yards on the ground. Jamari Hawkins recorded a career-day with seven catches for 110 yards while Marcello Bussey got in on the action with four catches and a career-high 68 yards.
UP NEXT:
Memphis is on a bye-week before heading back on the road to take on UAB in the Battle of the Bones in Birmingham, Ala. on Saturday, Oct. 18. Game time and television designation will be released at a later date.