University of Memphis
8-5 , 6-1
#7 UCF
12-0 , 7-0
Football Drops Decision To UCF In Title Game
Dec 01, 2018 | Football
Henderson's 210 rushing yards, three TD leads the Tigers.
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The Tigers now wait for a bowl invitation on Sunday.
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Henderson's 210 rushing yards were an American Athletic Conference Championship Game record. His performance Saturday gives him 1,909 yards, the third-most for a season in program history. With 91 yards in the Tigers' bowl game, Henderson would become the first player in school history to run for 2,000 yards in a season.
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Patrick Taylor Jr. also rushed for more than 100 yards, carrying the ball 15 times for 118 yards. It was his ninth career 100-yard rushing performance. With Henderson and Taylor each rushing for 100-plus yards, it was the second-straight week the tandem both gained more than 100 yards on the ground.
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Curtis Akins (14 total tackles) and TJ Carter (11) paced the Memphis defense. Carter's 11 tackles were a season-high, and his 10 solo stops were a career-best.
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The Memphis offense was hot early, running out to a 24-7 lead in the first quarter. The Tigers built their lead on two Henderson rushing touchdowns (62 and 12 yards) and a Taylor 70-yard scoring scamper. Taylor's run was a career-long.
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Riley Patterson's 36-yard field goal ended the Tigers' scoring in the first quarter.
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After UCF cut the Memphis lead to 24-14 early in the second quarter, the Tigers had a quick answer. On the second play from scrimmage on Memphis' possession, Henderson raced 82 yards for his third touchdown of the game. The score gave Memphis a 31-14 advantage.
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The Knights sliced the Memphis lead to 10 points again at 31-21 with just under three minutes left. But, the Tigers had a final response before halftime.
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The Tigers went 31 yards in five plays, and the drive culminated in Henderson's first career touchdown pass. Henderson tossed a five-yard scoring strike to Sean Dykes for a 38-21 Memphis lead at the break.
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After halftime, it was all UCF. The Knights scored two quick touchdowns to cut the Memphis lead down to three at 38-35 midway through the third period.
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A 19-yard Patterson field goal stemmed the UCF tide for a brief moment and increased the Tigers' lead to 41-35 to end the third quarter.
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UCF finished strong with three touchdown scores in the final period for the 56-41 final.
Team Stats
MEM 7, UCF 0
MEM - HENDERSON, D. 62 yd run (PATTERSON, R. kick), 4 plays, 77 yards, TOP 1:47
MEM 14, UCF 0
MEM - HENDERSON, D. 12 yd run (PATTERSON, R. kick), 2 plays, 27 yards, TOP 0:29
MEM 14, UCF 7
UCF - MCCRAE, Greg 14 yd run (WRIGHT, Matthew kick), 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:07
MEM 21, UCF 7
MEM - TAYLOR, Patrick 70 yd run (PATTERSON, R. kick), 3 plays, 76 yards, TOP 1:26
MEM 24, UCF 7
MEM - PATTERSON, R. 36 yd field goal 11 plays, 32 yards, TOP 4:58
MEM 24, UCF 14
UCF - COLUBIALE, M. 0 yd fumble recovery (WRIGHT, Matthew kick)
MEM 31, UCF 14
MEM - HENDERSON, D. 82 yd run (PATTERSON, R. kick), 2 plays, 81 yards, TOP 0:28
MEM 31, UCF 21
UCF - HESCOCK, Jake 4 yd pass from MACK, Darriel (WRIGHT, Matthew kick) 4 plays, 94 yards, TOP 1:04
MEM 38, UCF 21
MEM - DYKES, Sean 4 yd pass from HENDERSON, D. (PATTERSON, R. kick) 5 plays, 31 yards, TOP 1:29
MEM 38, UCF 28
UCF - ANDERSON, O. 54 yd pass from MACK, Darriel (WRIGHT, Matthew kick) 7 plays, 79 yards, TOP 2:39
MEM 38, UCF 35
UCF - MACK, Darriel 4 yd run (WRIGHT, Matthew kick), 8 plays, 45 yards, TOP 3:24
MEM 41, UCF 35
MEM - PATTERSON, R. 19 yd field goal 11 plays, 78 yards, TOP 4:42
MEM 41, UCF 42
UCF - MACK, Darriel 2 yd run (WRIGHT, Matthew kick), 8 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:45
MEM 41, UCF 49
UCF - MACK, Darriel 2 yd run (WRIGHT, Matthew kick), 8 plays, 71 yards, TOP 2:49
MEM 41, UCF 56
UCF - MACK, Darriel 5 yd run (WRIGHT, Matthew kick), 8 plays, 82 yards, TOP 2:37
