Tigers’ Gainwell in awe of his stats
Memphis coach Mike Norvell took his time reading the stat sheet after the Tigers’ 47-17 win over Tulane. His eyes lit up when he realized what Kenneth Gainwell did Saturday.
Moments later, Gainwell walked in and sat down. Norvell just laughed at the latest accomplishment by his running back.
“Good job tonight,” Norvell said to Gainwell.
The freshman’s latest performance was his best in a season where he continues to top himself.
After a week where he was named to the Associated Press and Sporting News midseason All-american teams, Gainwell became the first NCAA player since Louisiana Tech’s Troy Edwards in 1997 to have 200 receiving yards and 100 rushing yards in the same game.
His career-best 203 receiving yards on a career-high nine catches made him the second Memphis player to have 200 receiving yards after Anthony Miller. He added 104 rushing yards, which made him the first Tigers freshman with five 100-yard rushing games.
“I’m just shocked right now,” said Gainwell, who also had three total touchdowns. “I’m just blessed to come to work every day. I just try to make sure
Mike Norvell's previous two teams. Not this one. Memphis' five first-half possessions resulted in five Memphis touchdowns and highlights galore.
Redshirt freshman phenom Kenneth Gainwell caught one on fourthand-4 to begin the onslaught and hauled in another one in the fourth quarter to end it.
They were the bookends to a historic night in which Gainwell became the first NCAA player since 1997 to run for more than 100 yards and finish with more than 200 yards receiving in the same game.
Quarterback Brady White rebounded resoundingly, throwing for more than 300 yards in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. This time, though, he had five touchdowns instead of four turnovers. This time, his offensive line gave him time to keep throwing darts.
Sophomore wide receiver Calvin Austin, the two-sport track-and-field All-american, caught the first two touchdowns of his football career, speeding past the Tulane secondary like, well, a track-and-field All-american.
Even Magnifico hauled in a touchdown on a well-designed shovel pass near the goal line, which felt oh-soappropriate. It completed a drive that featured four Memphis penalties and a botched handoff.
"That was pretty close to a complete game," White said.
The defense, meanwhile, recovered from a shaky start that felt like the sort of Memphis football game we've grown accustomed to in recent years. Offensive shootout. Defensive miscues. Last team with the ball wins.
But Memphis kept taking the ball away from Tulane. Three interceptions, actually.
Nothing, at least on this night, got in the way of these Tigers. Not even another replay review in the fourth quarter that upheld a Tulane touchdown and elicited another cacophony of boos.
By then, though, Memphis had long since secured bowl eligibility for a sixth straight season, a feat so commonplace around here that Norvell didn't even realize it until his postgame press conference.
“I really wish I would have mentioned that in the locker room," he lamented.
Which, by the way, helps explain some of the post-temple loss, pre-tulane game vitriol related to last week.
“The fans here now are getting mad when we lose one game," Magnifico said. "Back in the day, you'd lose six and they'd be, ‘All right. We're going to the bowl.' The culture has changed around here.”
So don't forget this Tulane team was off to its best start since 1998 and on the cusp of being ranked in the national polls. Don't forget this Tulane team appeared to be a threat to Memphis in the AAC West.
Until Saturday night.
Until Memphis made sure no one call could decide this game. Until it made sure the AAC West title race still runs through the Liberty Bowl. Until it made sure to give the rest of the league a statement performance to start the second half of this season.
And when halftime arrived, the Liberty Bowl crowd stood again for an ovation they'd be happy to replay over and over again in the weeks ahead.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto