The Memphis Tigers stayed perfect at home this season after their defense dismantled the Cincinnati offense in a 34-24 win Saturday night.
The Tigers would celebrate their third American Athletic Conference West Division title for the third straight year. A sluggish effort from the Memphis offense was bailed out after their defense made all the right plays.
Bryce Huff led the defense in their performance and said his team had an amazing week of practice leading into the season finale.
"It really showed because it we were all confident in what we had to do,"Huff said. "It played a big role in us doing a good job tonight."
Huff ended the game with 7 solo tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles. One of those fumbles contributed to the three Memphis takeaways.
Two of the turnovers were on back-to-back Cincinnati drives. Jacobi Francis intercepted the errant Ben Bryant pass first. Then Jonathan Wilson stripped the ball from Bearcats' quarterback Bryant. JJ Russell recovered for the second turnover of the game.
The Tigers did not score on either of those extra possessions. However, the Bearcats were kept scoreless for the entire third quarter. The next Cincinnati drive ended on a loss-of-downs. Memphis' defense absorbed plenty of responsibility in the second half. Huff said he felt good to host the Championship game.
"It feels pretty good to have it pay off and get where we want to be," Huff said.
Both teams combined for 839 offensive yards. However, Memphis edged the Bearcats by 25 yards.
Neither teams scored in the third quarter and things seemed bleak until the Memphis offense completed a 46-yard touchdown in the first drive of the fourth quarter.
Chris Claybrooks returned the opening kick for a touchdown, and it raised the momentum early. Claybrooks stayed on the field to continue his efforts on defense.
Memphis had their hands full holding the Bearcats offense in the second quarter. Whereas the Tigers' offense seemed struggle in the second half. Memphis scored more points on special teams than they did offensively.
The Bearcats tried to wear down the Memphis all game. Cincinnati had more time of possession than the Tigers in every quarter except the fourth, yet the Memphis defense remained resilient.
Brady White threw his first interception of the game, and the Memphis defense returned to the field and forced a Cincinnati three-and-out. The Tigers' offense got back on field immediately afterwards.
Memphis would drain the clock and score to lead by 10 with 3:16 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Memphis defense kept the lead and intercepted the ball with less than two minutes remaining. The Tigers kept the score 34-24 and retained the lead and won the game. Mike Norvell said his team played well and he was proud of his team.
"I am happy they are going to get one more opportunity in the Liberty Bowl," Norvell said.
Memphis is one of five teams in the American conference to have not lost at home as of Nov. 29. UCF, Cincinnati, SMU and Navy have been unscathed in their homes.
The Tigers will now host the Bearcats again this upcoming Saturday afternoon and must be resilient enough to compete with the same team again and find a way to win once again in a game with even more on the line.
The Tigers will hit the field Saturday against the Nicholls State University Colonels.
