University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
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UTEP
Steele Leads Tigers Past Miners, 35-20
Oct 10, 2009 | Football
Oct. 10, 2009
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes
| Tommy West Postgame Interview | Link |
| Curtis Steele Postgame Interview | Link |
| Will Hudgens Postgame Interview | Link |
| Marcus Ball Postgame Interview | Link |
| Jamon Hughes Postgame Interview | Link |
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Tiger senior running back Curtis Steele rushed for a career-high 240 yards on a career-best 39 carries to lead Memphis to a 35-20 Conference USA victory over UTEP before a crowd of 18,284 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Steele's 240-yard performance was the fourth-best single-game mark in school history, while his 39 carries are tied for the second-most in a single game.
"He (Steele) gains yards, and if they make a mistake, he puts it in the end zone," said Memphis head coach Tommy West. "That's the difference. Like I have said, if you are going to win in today's game, it's not real complicated. Your back and your quarterback have to make plays for you. Having Curtis back there to hand it to, it gives our offensive line confidence, and I thought our offensive line played better tonight."
The Tigers jumped out to a first-quarter 14-3 lead and never looked back en route to the victory. After the Miners took a 3-0 lead on a Logan Barrett 38-yard field goal three minutes into the game, the Tigers put together two scoring drives that resulted in two touchdowns. The first scoring drive went six plays and 59 yards and culminated in a Will Hudgens-to-Marcus Rucker 22-yard touchdown strike for a 7-3 lead.
After an exchange of punts, Memphis extended its lead to 14-3 as Hudgens found Duke Calhoun from six yards out for the score.
Barrett cut the Memphis lead to 14-6 on his second field goal of the contest, this time from 36 yards away. Memphis, though, had answer late in the second quarter, and it the Tiger drive was set up when Greg Jackson recovered a Donald Buckram fumble and returned it to the UTEP 30 yard line with 5:28 on the clock before halftime. Eight plays later, Steele scored the first of his three touchdowns on the night, as he was on the receiving end of a Hudgens' two-yard touchdown pass for a 21-6 advantage.
UTEP had the final score of the first half, driving 79 yards in 1:23 to slice the Memphis lead to 21-13 at the intermission. The Miners took over on their own 21, but on the seventh play of the drive, Trevor Vittatoe hit Jeff Moturi on a 56-yard strike for the touchdown.
The teams played a scoreless third period, but both offenses picked up in the pace in the final quarter. After a Marcus Ball interception gave the ball back to the Tigers at their own 18, Memphis put together a time-consuming 11-play, 82-yard drive to give the home team a little more breathing room at 28-13. Steele accounted for 42 of the 82 yards on the drive, with nearly half of his 42 yards coming on a 20-yard touchdown scamper. The drive took 4:18 off the clock.
UTEP quickly responded with a three-play, 63-yard drive that took only a little over a minute. Vittatoe was 2-of-2 passing on the drive for 60 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown connection with Kris Adams.
The Tigers, however, did not let up and put the game away on their next possession. Memphis went 53 yards on six plays with Steele putting the exclamation point on the Tigers' win with a nine-yard touchdown run for a 35-20 lead with only 6:02 left in the game.
Hudgens complemented Steele's career rushing performance with 218 yards through the air. Hudgens was 19-of-33 passing and three touchdowns and one interception. Carlos Singleton was Hudgens' favorite target with five receptions for 105 yards.
The Memphis defense bottled up Buckram, who had rushed for over 250 yards the week before in a win over Houston. Buckram managed only 58 yards on 18 carries. Vittatoe was 21-of-40 passing for 319 yards and two touchdowns. Moturi led the UTEP receiving corps with five catches for 118 yards and one score.
The Tigers defeated UTEP for the third time in as many meetings with the Miners. Memphis posted victories over UTEP in the 2005 (27-20) and 2006 (38-19) campaigns.
