University of Memphis
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#20 Mississippi State
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Memphis Falls to No. 20 Mississippi State, 59-14
Sep 01, 2011 | Football
Sept. 1, 2011
Final Stats |
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By Derek Wilcox
MEMPHIS, TENN. -- The University of Memphis Tigers fell to the No. 20 Mississippi State Bulldogs 59-14 in front of 33,990 fans at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Thursday, but showed promise with breakout games for several players.
Memphis scored its first touchdown with 3:19 left in the second quarter on a Billy Foster 21-yard run. Foster went on to have the best game of his career so far, collecting 63 rushing yards in the contest and 47 coming in the second quarter alone. The Tigers' other touchdown came on an 11-yard pass from true freshman Taylor Reed to junior Marcus Rucker on 4th-and-4 with 11:40 left in the game.
Reed threw for 149 yards on 23 for 35 passing and one interception in his college debut. Freshman running back Artaves Gibson led the Tigers on the ground with 17 carries for 89 yards, to go along with Foster's 63-yard performance. Sophomore running back Jerrell Rhodes had six carries for 28 yards before he left the game with an injury early in the second quarter. Rucker finished with 73 receiving yards.
Mississippi State scored first on a 44-yard pass play from Chris Relf to Chad Bumphis at the 11:23 mark of the first quarter. The visiting Bulldogs continued to increase their lead in the opening period when Vick Ballard scampered 46 yards to give Mississippi State a 14-0 advantage at the 4:29 mark. A Derek DePasquale 28-yard field goal with 1:18 left in the opening period put the Bulldogs up 17-0.
Relf connected with Arceto Clark on a 35-yard scoring strike to open the scoring in the second period and give Mississippi State a 24-0 advantage. After an exchange of possessions on punts, the Tigers answered turned over the ball on downs inside the Mississippi State 35. The Memphis defense rose to the challenge on the ensuing series, stopping the Bulldogs and forcing an apparent punt. The visitors, however, faked the punt attempt, but the Tigers' special teams answered, halting the Bulldog drive at the Mississippi State 30 yard line.
The Tigers took possession at the Bulldog 30, and three plays later, hit pay dirt when Foster found the end zone from 21 yards out with 3:19 left before halftime. The Bulldogs, though, had a quick answer just before the break. Starting at its own 2 yard line, Mississippi State drove 98 yards on five plays and in a span of 1:27, highlighted by Ballard's 66-yard touchdown run. The score gave the Bulldogs a 31-7 halftime advantage.
After the break, Mississippi State added two more scores in the third period to increase its advantage to 45-7. Ballard scored his third touchdown of the game on a one-yard plunge over the Memphis line, and Jameon Lewis ran for a 19-yard touchdown.
Memphis scored its second touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter when Reed found Rucker from 11 yards out. The Bulldogs added two more scores to close the game for the 59-14 final.
Rucker led all receivers with a game-high seven catches for 73 yards and one score. Reggie Travis had five receptions for 43 yards. Memphis punter Tom Hornsey posted a 43.9 average on 9 punts, including a long of 64 yards.
For Mississippi State, Ballard rushed for a game-high 166 yards on 10 carries, and scored three touchdowns. Relf was 13-of-21 passing for 202 yards and two scores, and also rushed for 51 yards on 13 carries. Lewis was Relf's top target in the game, hauling in four catches for a game-high 113 yards.
Akeem Davis and Terrence Thomas paced the Memphis defense with seven tackles a piece. For Mississippi State, Deontae Skinner led the defense with seven tackles.
Memphis returns to action Sept. 10 when it travels to Jonesboro, Ark., to face Arkansas State. Game time is 6 p.m.
Team Stats
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MSU 7, MEMPHIS 0
MSU - Chad Bumphis 44 yd pass from Chris Relf (D. DePasquale kick) 2 plays, 53 yards, TOP 0:26
MSU 14, MEMPHIS 0
MSU - Vick Ballard 46 yd run (D. DePasquale kick), 4 plays, 64 yards, TOP 0:55
MSU 17, MEMPHIS 0
MSU - D. DePasquale 28 yd field goal 7 plays, 17 yards, TOP 2:07
MSU 24, MEMPHIS 0
MSU - Arceto Clark 35 yd pass from Chris Relf (D. DePasquale kick) 5 plays, 59 yards, TOP 1:11
MSU 24, MEMPHIS 7
MEMPHIS - FOSTER, Billy 21 yd run (HENRIQUES, P. kick), 3 plays, 30 yards, TOP 1:11
MSU 31, MEMPHIS 7
MSU - Vick Ballard 66 yd run (D. DePasquale kick), 5 plays, 98 yards, TOP 1:27
MSU 38, MEMPHIS 7
MSU - Vick Ballard 1 yd run (D. DePasquale kick), 6 plays, 28 yards, TOP 2:07
MSU 45, MEMPHIS 7
MSU - Jameon Lewis 19 yd run (Brian Egan kick), 3 plays, 29 yards, TOP 0:31
MSU 45, MEMPHIS 14
MEMPHIS - RUCKER, Marcus 11 yd pass from REED, Taylor (HENRIQUES, P. kick) 6 plays, 32 yards, TOP 2:20
MSU 52, MEMPHIS 14
MSU - Jameon Lewis 80 yd pass from Tyler Russell (Brian Egan kick) 2 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:20
MSU 59, MEMPHIS 14
MSU - Tyler Russell 26 yd run (Brian Egan kick), 10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:47
