After a slow start and some first half struggles, Memphis football improved to 2-0 on the season with a 38-16 victory at Georgia State Saturday.
Memphis quarterback Brendon Lewis had another great game. He went 16 for 20 passing with 196 yards as well as 68 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown.
"I thought Brendon Lewis has done a phenomenal job just managing the game. That's what you want," Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield said. "Tom Brady was known as a game manager. I'll take a ton of those type of guys."
Things started out strong for the Tigers in the first half with a quick touchdown but after that they slowed down. The next possession, Memphis was sacked for a safety, and then Georgia State went down and scored a touchdown to take the lead, 9-7.
The game went back and forth, until Tigers kicker Gianni Spetic kicked a career-long 55-yard field goal before halftime to give Memphis a 17-16 lead.
Memphis extended the lead to 24-16 with a long drive to start the second half. After this the Tigers completely controlled the game. They ran the ball and controlled the time of possession, not giving Georgia State many opportunities to get back into the game.
The Tigers dominated on the ground with 205 rushing yards. Sutton Smith led the team with 14 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown. Makari Bodiford rushed for 42 yards and had 2 touchdowns as well.
"Just getting back in the swing of things, getting back in the moment, what football is like again, I'm just blessed to be back," Smith said. "I'm 100 % confident for sure."
Memphis’ defense struggled in the first half but held up well enough to hold Georgia State to just two touchdowns. After halftime though, the defense was dominant. After Georgia State scored a touchdown to take the lead with 2:40 left in the second quarter, they didn’t score for the rest of the game. The run defense was especially good, holding Georgia State to 49 rushing yards on 27 attempts.
Tigers linebacker DeMarco Ward, remarkably, got a pick-six for the second consecutive game.
"If he can average a pick-six every game, I think he may be my new favorite player," Silverfield said.
Memphis’s next game is on the road next Saturday against Troy at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU. Troy is coming off a close loss against Clemson where they led at halftime. This will be a good test for Memphis ahead of their matchup with Arkansas and conference-play.
