University of Memphis
8-5
Western Kentucky
11-3
Tigers Fall To Western Kentucky In Boca Raton Bowl
Dec 20, 2016 | Football
Miller, Ferguson set school bowl records in the setback.
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Tigers redshirt junior Anthony Miller posted his eighth 100-yard receiving game of the 2016 campaign, but it wasn't enough as the University of Memphis football squad dropped a 51-31 decision to Western Kentucky in the Boca Raton Bowl Tuesday.
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The Boca Raton Bowl, which was played at FAU Stadium on Florida Atlantic University's campus, was Memphis' third-straight postseason trip. It is the second time in program history the Tigers played in three-consecutive bowl games, with the first stretch being from 2003-05.
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Miller finished Tuesday's contest with 151 yards on 11 catches and three touchdowns. Miller's receptions (11), receiving yards (151) and touchdowns (3) all were Memphis bowl records. His 18 points scored tied another Memphis bowl mark. The three scores also were a career single-game best for Miller. The 100-yard receiving game was the 10th of his career, tying Miller with Duke Calhoun for the most 100-yard performances in program history.
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The Memphis, Tenn., native wrapped up his season totals with 95 receptions for 1,434 yards and 14 touchdowns. He now holds the top spot on all three single-season receiving charts. For his career, Miller has 142 catches for 2,128 yards and 19 touchdowns. He is on the Memphis career lists for catches (4th), yards (3rd) and touchdowns (2nd).
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Quarterback Riley Ferguson, who left the game for a series late in the third quarter, returned and ended the game 25-of-43 passing for 372 yards and four touchdowns. Ferguson's 372 yards is a Tigers bowl record and his four touchdowns tied a school bowl mark.
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Ferguson now holds the program record for most touchdown tosses in a season with 32. His 372-yard passing performance Tuesday was his seventh 300-yard game of 2016. He wrapped up the season with 3,698 passing yards, the second-most for a season in program history.
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The Tigers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on their second drive of the game. Ferguson tossed a pass to Tony Pollard in the right flat, and Pollard took it in from 45 yards out for the score.
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After a Western Kentucky touchdown tied the game at 7-all, Memphis regained the advantage at 10-7 on a Jake Elliott 33-yard field goal. The score capped a nine-play, 59-yard drive.
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That, however, was Memphis' final lead of the contest. The Hilltoppers outscored the Tigers 34-7 over the next two-plus quarters to take a 41-17 advantage and put the contest out of reach.
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The Tigers managed to cut the Western Kentucky lead to 13 points at 44-31 after two Ferguson-to-Miller touchdown connections. The first was a 10-yard score near the end of the third quarter, and the second was a beautiful 45-yard strike to the back of the end zone in the fourth period.
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The Hilltoppers responded with a final touchdown with just over two minutes left to secure the bowl victory.
Team Stats
MEMPHIS 7, WKU 0
MEMPHIS - POLLARD, Tony 45 yd pass from FERGUSON, Riley (ELLIOTT, Jake kick) 5 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:53
MEMPHIS 7, WKU 7
WKU - DONATELL, S. 4 yd pass from WHITE, Mike (SIMCOX, Skyler kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:01
MEMPHIS 10, WKU 7
MEMPHIS - ELLIOTT, Jake 33 yd field goal 9 plays, 59 yards, TOP 2:04
MEMPHIS 10, WKU 14
WKU - LAMP, Forrest 9 yd run (SIMCOX, Skyler kick), 8 plays, 78 yards, TOP 3:51
MEMPHIS 10, WKU 21
WKU - NORRIS, N. 37 yd pass from WHITE, Mike (SIMCOX, Skyler kick) 6 plays, 74 yards, TOP 2:13
MEMPHIS 17, WKU 21
MEMPHIS - MILLER, Anthony 7 yd pass from FERGUSON, Riley (ELLIOTT, Jake kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:59
MEMPHIS 17, WKU 28
WKU - WALES, Anthony 2 yd run (SIMCOX, Skyler kick), 13 plays, 71 yards, TOP 6:44
MEMPHIS 17, WKU 35
WKU - TAYLOR, Taywan 41 yd pass from WHITE, Mike (SIMCOX, Skyler kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:36
MEMPHIS 17, WKU 41
WKU - WALES, Anthony 3 yd run (SIMCOX, Skyler kickfailed), 3 plays, 21 yards, TOP 1:23
MEMPHIS 24, WKU 41
MEMPHIS - MILLER, Anthony 10 yd pass from FERGUSON, Riley (ELLIOTT, Jake kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:57
MEMPHIS 24, WKU 44
WKU - SIMCOX, Skyler 21 yd field goal 6 plays, 71 yards, TOP 2:00
MEMPHIS 31, WKU 44
MEMPHIS - MILLER, Anthony 45 yd pass from FERGUSON, Riley (ELLIOTT, Jake kick) 6 plays, 72 yards, TOP 1:37
MEMPHIS 31, WKU 51
WKU - WALES, Anthony 1 yd run (SIMCOX, Skyler kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:29
