Memphis Edged in 2007 New Orleans Bowl

Friday, December 21

New Orleans, La.

7:00 PM

University of Memphis

7-6

Florida Atlantic

8-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Univ. of Memphis

FAU

Dec 21, 2007 | Football

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Four out of five. Let's say it again! For the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Memphis Tiger football team earned a postseason bowl berth.

Despite their 44-27 setback to Florida Atlantic in the 2007 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, the Tigers and their fans had a lot to be proud of when looking at the entire 2007 campaign. The season began with a tough start, but Memphis caught its stride in late October and rode that wave to a fourth bowl game under head coach Tommy West.

Let's take a quick review:

A bowl looked like a distant dream after a 2-4 start to the season.
The schedule took on a major shift when the Sept. 8 game at Arkansas State was postponed due to inclement weather. The contest was moved to Sept. 27, making the Tigers play three games in 11 days.
After losing the first two games in the rugged three-games-in-11-days stretch, the Tigers suffered an even greater loss on the night of Sept. 30 when defensive lineman Taylor Bradford was shot and later died. After two days of emotional outpouring, the Memphis players took the field arm-in-arm for its Conference USA home opener versus Marshall. The Tigers won the game 24-21.
With a home loss to Middle Tennessee in mid-October, bowl hopes were all but lost with three of the next four C-USA games on the road.
As was the trend in the Coach West era, the Tigers did not fold. Memphis won all three league road games (at Rice, Tulane and Southern Miss) in that stretch and repositioned itself in the bowl picture.
The Tigers sealed the bowl invitation with back-to-back home wins over UAB and SMU to close the regular season.

So, you ask, what did the Tigers accomplish?

A winning record for the fourth time in the last five years (2003-07). The last time Memphis did that was from 1973-77 when the Tigers had five-straight winning seasons.
Six conference wins, the most league victories in school history.
A second-place C-USA East Division finish, the second in three years.
A fourth bowl in the last five years, the first time for a stretch like that in school history.

Granted, the bowl setback to Florida Atlantic put a small bitter taste in the mouths of the Tigers, but Memphis' "never-give-up" attitude kept them in the game until the end despite several injuries that sidelined key Tigers. Kicker Matt Reagan left the game with a concussion and receiver Maurice Jones was sidelined with a dislocated hip. In addition, T.J. Pitts broke his ankle and quarterback Martin Hankins was knocked out of the game with a knee injury in the third quarter.

Before a crowd of 25,146 at the Louisiana Superdome, seniors Martin Hankins and Joseph Doss went out in style with solid performances. Hankins was 25-of-39 passing for 281 yards and three scores, while Doss rushed for 91 yards on 20 carries and caught a team-high five passes for 42 yards.

With his 281 yards passing, Hankins set the Memphis single-season mark with 3,220 yards. He also set season records for completions (261) and touchdowns (25). For his career, Hankins totaled 5,770 yards, 43 touchdowns and 487 completions — all second to Danny Wimprine.

In the game, Hankins' favorite targets were Carlos Singleton (4 receptions/63 yards/1 TD) and Duke Calhoun (4 catches/40 yards). With their receptions, both Singleton and Calhoun extended streaks. Singleton extended his streak to 21 games with a reception, while Calhoun caught a pass in all 24 of his collegiate games.

After a first quarter warm-up with Florida Atlantic leading 17-7, the teams combined for 26 points in the second period. Two Joey Mack field goals kept the Tigers close, but the Owls answered with touchdowns for a 30-13 lead. However, Memphis closed the gap to 30-20 just before the half when Hankins hit Earnest Williams from 19 yards out.

Following halftime, Memphis cut further into the Florida Atlantic lead. A Hankins-to-Singleton six-yard scoring connection sliced the Owl lead to 30-27 with 9:30 left in the third quarter. However, Florida Atlantic scored the final two touchdowns for the 44-27 final.

Punter Brent Sutherland set a New Orleans Bowl record with a 70-yard punt in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with six punts for a 45.2 average.

Clinton McDonald led the Memphis defense with eight total tackles, while Jeremy Rockette and LaKeitharun Ford each had seven hits. McDonald also had one quarterback sack and two TFLs. LeRico Mathis recorded his third interception of the season, tying him for team-high honors with Brandon Patterson.