Tigers Get Statement Win in Queen City

The Memphis Tigers bounced back nicely from their 24-3 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels with a 41-14 trouncing of the Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday night in Paul Brown Stadium.

With the victory over the preseason AAC favorites, it marked the first time in ten years that Memphis has started a season 3-2, which says a lot about a program that three years ago was deemed one of the worst in the country.

After Gunner Kiel found Mekale McKay for an 80-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, the Tigers were off to the races as Paxton Lynch found Tevin Jones for a touchdown pass of nine yards and Adrian Henderson for a 29-yard TD pass. Lynch would finish the night with 311 yards passing as well as 45 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Another star of the game for Memphis was running back Sam Craft, who had a big day at the "Jungle". One of the best running backs in the American, Craft ran for 170 yards and a touchdown. As a team, Memphis ran for 299 yards on 69 attempts.

For Cincinnati, who allowed 610 yards of total offense a week after giving up over 700 to Ohio State like they were playing NFL Blitz (remember that game?), they struggled to find a rhythm offensively.

Despite the opening drive touchdown pass by Kiel, who eventually would leave the game with a bruised right arm at the end of the first half, Cincinnati struggled to find a rhythm offensively, especially with the running game, rushing for only 97 yards, the second lowest amount allowed by the Tigers in 2014.

Up next for the Tigers is a home matchup with the Houston Cougars Saturday night.

Game time is at 6:00 p.m. central.