Memphis Falls to Marshall 28-13

Saturday, November 13

Huntington, WV

3:00 PM

University of Memphis

1-9 , 0-6

Marshall University

4-6 , 3-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

MEMPHIS

MARSHALL

Jermaine McKenzie had a career high in catches (six) and yards (109).

Nov 13, 2010 | Football

Box Score

Nov. 13, 2010

Final Stats |  Notes

Box Score

By: Preston McClellan

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Memphis scored on its first drive of the game on a 43-yard pass from Ryan Williams to Jermaine McKenzie and took a 10-0 advantage into the half, but it wasn't enough as the Marshall Thundering Herd used four second-half scores to pull away 28-13.

McKenzie finished with career highs in both catches (six) and receiving yards (109) to go along with one touchdown, while Williams finished 14-of-32 passing for 201 yards and one touchdown.

After gaining 124 yards in the opening quarter, the Tigers managed just 117 yards for the remainder of the game. Marshall scored 28 second-half points behind quarterback Brian Anderson, who finished with 251 yards on 20-of-28 passing, three touchdowns and one interception.

A Dontari Poe sack on the first defensive series of the game forced a Marshall punt, giving Memphis a chance to draw first blood. The Tigers did just that, marching 82 yards on six plays in 3:02 on a drive that was capped by Williams finding McKenzie down the right sideline to take an early 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing Marshall possession, DeRon Furr intercepted an Anderson pass and returned it to midfield.

The Tigers capitalized on the Herd miscue and extended their advantage to 10-0 with 10:26 left in the second quarter on a Paulo Henriques 25-yard field goal. Henriques' field goal finished off an 11-play, 41-yard drive that spanned 3:25.

Neither Memphis nor Marshall was able to put a scoring drive together for the remainder of the first half, and the Tigers preserved their 10-0 advantage going into the break.

Once the second half started, it didn't take Marshall long to get on the board. After a stalled Memphis drive, Tom Hornsey kicked an uncharacteristic short 28-yard punt, allowing Marshall to take over at its own 40 yard line. The Thundering Herd marched 60 yards in eight plays and scored on a Troy Evans' 13-yard run to cut the Tiger lead to 10-7 at the 9:05 mark of the third quarter.

A Williams' fumble on the ensuing Memphis possession gave Marshall the ball on the Tiger 24 yard line. The Herd capitalized on the turnover when Anderson tossed the first of his three second-half touchdown passes to Courtney Edmonson. The touchdown strike gave the Thundering Herd its first lead of the game at 14-10.

Marshall extended its advantage to 21-10 less than 15 seconds into the fourth quarter. After a Tigers' offside penalty on 4th-and-1 gave Marshall a first down, Anderson found Brian Lee on the next play for a 32-yard score at the 14:43 mark.

After each team failed to get anything going on their next two drives, Memphis got the ball back with 11:19 to play and in good field possession at the Marshall 44 yard line. The Tigers used five plays and gained 15 yards to set up a Henriques' 45-yard field goal to pull within 21-13 at the 8:41 mark.

Marshall put the game out of reach on its next drive, as Anderson threw his third and final touchdown pass, this one for 62 yards to Evans. Evans finished the game with three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, in addition to his 28 rushing yards and a score via the ground.

Memphis did force two turnovers in the contest. DeRon Furr registered a second-quarter interception which led to Henriques' first field goal. Corey Jones also recorded a forced fumble when he sacked Anderson in the second quarter. Frank Trotter recovered for the Tigers.

Memphis plays its final road game of the season when it travels to Birmingham, Ala., Nov. 20 to take on UAB in the annual "Battle for the Bones" matchup. The game is slated for 3 p.m. (CT).