Memphis tops South Florida, eager for Ole Miss
MEMPHIS 24, SOUTH FLORIDA 17
TAMPA, Fla. — Unbeaten Memphis is off to its best start in 54 years and eager to find out how it stacks up against one of the nation’s top teams.
The Tigers extended their winning streak to 12 games Friday night with a 24-17 victory over South Florida. Now, they have two weeks to prepare for their next challenge — a long-awaited home matchup against No. 3 Mississippi.
“All our focus is on Ole Miss now, and we’re just going to make the best of our opportunity,” linebacker Wynton McManis said. “This is a big game for us. We’re not going to shy away from it.”
Paxton Lynch threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Tigers (5-0, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) overcome a slow start against USF (1-3, 0-1).
The junior from Deltona, Fla., who hasn’t thrown an interception this season, also scored on a 3-yard run that snapped a 10-10 tie in the third quarter. The Tigers are off to their best start since 1961, when they began 6-0, and tied No. 4 TCU for the nation’s second-longest Football Bowl Subdivision winning streak behind top-ranked Ohio State’s 17.
It’s been quite a turnaround for a program that went 5-31 in three seasons before Coach Justin Fuente took over in 2012.
“It’s definitely crazy to think about how far we’ve come,” Lynch said. “But whenever you believe what your coach is saying, what he’s preaching to you, anything’s possible.”
South Florida led 10-0 early, but sputtered offensively after putting together a 12-play, 95yard touchdown to begin the game. Quinton Flowers threw a 23-yard TD pass to Elkanah Dillon to trim USF’s deficit to seven points with 1:49 remaining, but his last pass was intercepted by Reggis Ball to end the prospect of a comeback.
Lynch topped 300 yards passing for the fourth consecutive game and eighth time in his career. He threw a 20-yard TD pass to Sam Craft in the second quarter, then watched 215-pound running back Doroland Dorceus rumble up the right sideline before cutting back to the middle to turn a screen pass into a 55-yard scoring play that put Memphis up 24-10 in the fourth quarter.
Lynch finished 20 of 33 with no interceptions. Flowers was 17 of 26 for 198 yards for USF, which also got 108 yards rushing from Marlon Mack.
CONFERENCE USA TEMPLE 37, CHARLOTTE 3
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jahad Thomas ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns to help Temple beat Charlotte for the Owls’ first 4-0 start since 1974.
Temple won back-to-back-to-back road games for the first time in program history.
P.J. Walker passed for 116 yards and connected with Robby Anderson for two touchdowns for Temple.
The Owls broke the game open with three touchdowns in the third quarter. Thomas scored on a 1-yard run early in the third to extend Temple’s lead to 17-3. Anderson caught Walker’s floater in the corner of the end zone and Nate L. Smith recovered a blocked punt and returned it 16 yards for score.
Thomas ran for a short touchdown to cap a 13-play, 74-yard drive, to give Temple a 10-0 lead. Anderson capped the scoring midway through the fourth with a 13-yard TD catch.