Underdog Dynasty - Week Seven Underdog RecapsAn unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52546/ud_favicon.png2015-10-18T00:44:50-04:00http://www.underdogdynasty.com/rss/stream/93260642015-10-18T00:44:50-04:002015-10-18T00:44:50-04:00App Routs ULM 59-14, Sets Up Thursday Showdown
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<p>After Going Down 14-10, The Mountaineers Roll Off 49 Unanswered Points To Rout Warhawks</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">After going down 14-10 early in the second quarter, App State used a long touchdown drive and a goal line stand to turn a four-point deficit into a 45-point victory as the Mountaineers demolished the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/ulm-warhawks">ULM Warhawks</a> 59-14 Saturday night in Monroe.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The App effort was held up by Taylor Lamb going 8-15 for 261 yards and three touchdowns, plus seven carries for 106 yards on the ground. A week after having his seven-game streak of rushing for 100 yards broken, Marcus Cox had 22 carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In the losing effort, <span>Garrett Smith</span> went 17 of 30 for 192 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, both by Eric Boggs. Hunter Kissinger turned in a monster defensive effort for the Warhawks with 18 tackles, 10 of them solo including a tackle for loss.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The Warhawks looked to make it a game early, taking the opening drive down the field and scoring on a 35-yard pass from Smith to Kaylon Watson. After the Apps couldn't answer and punted it back, Boggs' first interception of Smith took the ball down to the ULM 2, where Cox punched it in to tie the game 7-7.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">After a Warhawks' punt, the Apps drove the field, but had to settle for a 38-yard Zach Matics field goal to go up 10-7. ULM responded by going down the field with <span>Marcus Green</span> taking in a pass from 31 yards out on a 3rd down to put ULM back up 14-10 early in the second.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">App State responded in short order with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Jones to go back up 17-14. The Warhawks next drive look to retake the lead, but a 4th and 2 from the App 4 was snuffed out and the Apps got the ball back. After a 78-yard Lamb run, Lamb finished things off with a 13-yard touchdown run to make it 24-14.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Smith was intercepted again by Boggs on the ensuing drive, but the Mountaineers fumbled the ball right before half. But with the ball coming out of the break Lamb found Bobo Beathard across the middle and 58 yards later, it was 31-14,</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">After a quick three and out, Marcus Cox took control of the next drive, but was overshadowed by a fake punt on 4th and 1 with Bentlee Critcher finding longsnapper Elias McMurry for 14 yards.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">With the Warhawks will broken, Cox finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown run to make it 38-14. ULM then drove into App territory, but a 4th down pass feel incomplete and four plays later, Lamb found Simms McElfresh from 37 yards out to make it 45-14 in what quickly became a rout.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">ULM next' drive again went nowhere and as the third became the fourth, App got over half a hundred with a Terrence Upshaw eight-yard score to make it 52-14. With backups in, ULM did drive into the App red-zone, but a 4th down pass was dropped. After trading punts, App's Ricky Fergeson added an exclamation point with a 46-yard touchdown with seconds left to make it 59-14.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">App State moves to 5-1 on the season and 2-0 in Sun Belt play. ULM falls to 1-5 and 0-2 in league play, The Mountaineers face a quick turnaround as they will host rivals Georgia Southern this Thursday night on ESPNU. The Warhawks fly up to Idaho next Saturday for a 5:00 pm ET kickoff.</p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/10/18/9562533/app-state-counter-punches-ulm-runs-away-with-59-14-winTK Maxwell2015-10-18T00:29:26-04:002015-10-18T00:29:26-04:00Owls Win Ugly Against Heavy Underdog UCF
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<p>A 21.5 point favorite heading into the game, Temple had a lackluster third quarter performance almost translate into a major upset Saturday night. Jahad Thomas fueled the Owls surge in the fourth quarter with two rushing touchdowns.</p> <p>It was far from pretty, but the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/temple-owls">Owls</a> avoided a major scare by defeating the UCF Golden Knights 30-16 on a chilly Saturday afternoon in Philly.</p>
<p>UCF would enter the scoring column first, as <span>Matthew Wright</span> drilled a 48-yard field goal to put the winless visitors ahead 3-0. Temple would respond as <span>Jahad Thomas</span> scored for a fifth straight game with a rushing touchdown and <span>P.J. Walker</span> found freshman wideout Ventell Bryant, and Temple pushed their lead to 14-3. The touchdown was Bryant's first as an Owl.</p>
<p>The Knights would storm back on a pick-six from corner Shaquil Griffin on an overthrow by Walker to cut the lead to just four points. Wright continued to make his presence known with two straight field goal conversions to put the Knights up 16-14.</p>
<p>Mishaps all over the field, including not one but two fumbled punts, stagnated the Owls comeback before Thomas hit pay dirt once again on a 22-yard rush early in the fourth quarter, followed by a rollout and fade to Collin Thompson for the two point conversion.</p>
<p>Thomas got the elusive hat trick in the fourth, as his 21-yard run iced the game for Temple. Thomas spearheaded the Owls attack as he has all year, racking up 199 yards on 31 carries plus three scores. Temple hasn't had a consistent rushing attack to utilize in years, and this gives head coach Matt Rhule a valuable asset to feature.</p>
<p>Saturday's game was Walker's least efficient performance of the season, going 15-for-27 for 144 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Plenty of those could have been picked off (but weren't) by the UCF defenders, which kept the game closer than the final score indicated. Despite leading the team in catches (4) and yards (42), Robby Anderson had issues on special teams, as he muffed a UCF punt which led to a field goal.</p>
<p>Special teams looked to be a nightmare for the Owls, as both Robby Anderson and cornerback <span>Sean Chandler</span> muffed punts, but Chandler responded with a 65-yard punt return to put the Owls at the UCF 21-yard line to set up Thomas' clinching TD run.</p>
<p>While both the offense and special teams were ineffective, the defense stepped up. They held the Golden Knights to just 64 yards total in the first half and harassed QB Justin Holman all night. The dual-threat signal caller struggled mightily to find his targets, completing just 10-of-31 passes for an underwhelming 67 yards and two picks. He wasn't helped much by his wideouts, who struggled to get open against Chandler and <span>Tavon Young</span> and dropped balls repeatedly.</p>
<p>After allowing just eight rushing yards against Tulane last week, Temple doubled down on the run stuffing mantra. UCF totaled 130 yards on the ground and two touchdowns last season against the Owls, but were limited to just 67 yards on 29 carries.</p>
<p>Senior linebacker <span>Tyler Matakevich</span> recorded his 400th career tackle in the contest and was a key contributor in Temple's defensive effort Saturday night. He also recorded an interception in the fourth quarter, his third on the season.</p>
<p>Temple (6-0, 3-0) ties the school's record for most wins to start a season and faces ECU (4-3, 2-1) on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.</p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/american-athletic-conference/2015/10/18/9561959/temple-owls-vs-ucf-knights-final-score-recapJake Hymangeeves2015-10-17T22:37:36-04:002015-10-17T22:37:36-04:00Southern Miss Out Muscles UTSA 32-10
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<figcaption>Nick Mullens passes through the UTSA defense | Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Ugly fails to describe the scene in Hattiesburg as UTSA continued to regress throughout the 2015 season. </p> <p>I wrote earlier this week about the Roadrunners having their backs to the wall, desperately in need of a win to keep bowl eligibility dreams in tact. The flat start by the Roadrunners would have you thinking otherwise. <br> <br> With both the offensive and defensive lines being thoroughly dominated, the Roadrunners permitted a 16-0 halftime lead. Quarterback Dalton Sturm was regularly hammered in the first half, allowing the offense to pile up a miserly 81 yards of offense despite the defense creating three turnovers in the first half. <br> <br>Dalton Sturm was able to get the Roadrunners into the red zone but he promptly fumbled the ball to kill what little momentum UTSA had created. A 30 second possession by the offense to end the half put USM into position to extend their lead with an easy field goal. <br> <br> UTSA came out to a little bit more of offensive success in the third quarter as they managed to generate ten points. Running back <span>Jarveon Williams</span> ran with some serious inspiration to put UTSA into scoring position twice. <br> <br> Despite some acrobatic turnovers, UTSA was habitually unable to get off the field on third down due to break downs in zone coverage. That included a morale-crushing 37 yard conversion on third and 32. As you may be able to deduce, USM was able to surpass the 500 yard mark early in the fourth quarter. <br> <br> The third-down failures for both sides of the ball can be traced back to the play of the offensive line. The defense was out muscled on nearly every snap while the offense was clueless when faced with stunts and blitzes. To add to the bad taste the game left in fans' mouths, <span>Juan Perez</span> left the game in the second half due to an apparent lower body injury. <br> <br> USM would coast through the fourth quarter to a 32-10 finish. The Roadrunners fall to 1-6 heading into the bye week while USM put themselves in great position to make a much-anticipated return to bowl eligibility.</p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/10/17/9562069/southern-miss-out-muscles-utsa-32-10Jared Kalmus2015-10-17T21:53:13-04:002015-10-17T21:53:13-04:00Missed Game-Tying Field Goal Drops Troy To 1-5
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<p>No matter who you are, you shouldn't be dominated by the Idaho Vandals for three quarters, and that's exactly what happened to the Troy Trojans.</p> <p>It was an ugly afternoon for the Troy faithful who attended Saturday's homecoming game against the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/idaho-vandals" class="sbn-auto-link" style="background-color: #ffffff;">Idaho Vandals</a>. For those there, we expected to see a Troy team determined to beat an inferior opponent as the Trojans started what would hopefully become a turnaround.</p>
<p>Instead, Trojan fans saw no signs of life from the team for three full quarters as they faced off against an Idaho Vandals team that has become a laughingstock to some this year.</p>
<p>But things quickly turned around for those who were in attendance, as the Troy coaching staff replaced Saturday's starting quarterback <span>Dontreal Pruitt</span> with <span>Dallas Tidwell</span> as the third quarter came to an end.</p>
<p>Tidwell provided the spark that the Trojans so desperately needed. Down 16-3, the Trojans moved the ball down the field to set up a <span>Jed Solomon</span> field goal in the early seconds of the fourth quarter. Tidwell then led the offense down the field again, this time finding wide receiver <span>Teddy Ruben</span> for a 43 yards touchdown strike.</p>
<p>On Troy's next possession, Tidwell once again led the Trojans down the field on the way to a 34-yard Jed Solomon kick that completed the comeback, knotting things up at 16. Idaho would then regain confidence on offense as they answered back with a field goal of their own to reclaim the lead.</p>
<p>Then things got good.</p>
<p>Troy went on an incredible drive, one that involved quarterback scrambles, crazy catches, and huge fourth down conversions. Veterans Memorial Stadium was rocking, and the Trojans looked to have all the momentum.</p>
<p>After moving the ball into the red zone, the offense stalled out and was forced to once again send out kicker Jed Solomon, who had been exceptional all game long.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for Troy fans, he was as far from exceptional as one can be in that moment. Solomon's kick smacked straight into the upright, and the game ended shortly after as Idaho delivered one last gut-wrenching blow to Trojan fans with a quarterback kneel.</p>
<p>Players on the Idaho sideline erupted as they finished off the road victory, while Troy fans came to the painful realization that the season may have ended with the conference loss to Idaho.</p>
<p><b>Troy Takeaways: </b></p>
<p><b>Dallas Tidwell:</b> With Brandon Silvers ruled out with an injury and quarterback Dontreal Pruitt struggling, senior quarterback Dallas Tidwell stepped up in a big way. He put the Trojans in a position to score with every drive that he led. Tidwell finished with 168 yards and a touchdown. With the poise he showed in the pocket and the precision with which he threw the ball, I would not be at all surprised if he was given a chance to start in the near future.</p>
<p><b>Turnovers:</b> For the third consecutive game, the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/troy-trojans" class="sbn-auto-link">Troy Trojans</a> shot themselves in the foot with turnover-after-turnover. The Trojans totaled four turnovers on the afternoon while the Vandals did not have a single giveaway. Troy flew down the field to open the second half, only to cough the ball up on a fumble at the two-yard line.</p>
<p>That fumble, among the four other turnovers, is largely the reason why Troy was forced to fight back late in the game. If the Trojans can't get this issue worked out soon, it's going to be an ugly rest of the year.</p>
<p><b>Idaho Takeaways: </b></p>
<p><b>Mixing it up:</b> In my <a target="_blank" href="http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/10/17/9555551/idaho-vandals-at-troy-trojans-preview-start-time-tv-streaming-betting?utm_campaign=jacob_bbs&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter">preview</a> of Saturday's game, I said that mixing up the playcalling against the Troy defense would be critical to any success Idaho was to have. The coaching staff did just that, as the Vandals hit the Trojans with a healthy mix of both the run and pass. The team finished with 123 yards on the ground along with 207 yards through the air.</p>
<p><b><span>Dezmon Epps</span></b>: Idaho wide receiver Dezmon Epps was a game changer for the Vandals. The senior put up a career performance, hauling in 10 passes for 131 of Idaho's 207 passing yards. Troy's defense had no answer, as Epps seemed to get open at will.</p>
<p>Troy drops to 1-5 on the year, and will travel to New Mexico State next week. Idaho improves to 2-4, and will return home to take on ULM next Saturday.</p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/10/17/9562043/troy-trojans-fall-at-home-to-idaho-on-last-second-field-goal-missJacobYoung2015-10-17T21:31:14-04:002015-10-17T21:31:14-04:00GSU Ready to Rock Thursday Night
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<p>All signs point to next Thursday and Appalachian State.</p> <p>If your homecoming party carried right on through the game, don't worry. Georgia Southern kept the mood right with a big win over New Mexico State that went according to the script.</p>
<p>The Eagles (5-1, 3-0 Sun Belt) made short work of the visiting Aggies (0-6, 0-2) in front of a raucous crowd of 23,551 at Paulson Stadium.</p>
<p>Georgia Southern earned its first score off of a partially blocked New Mexico State punt. Two plays later a 35-yard drive was capped off by Wesley Fields as he ran cleanly into the end zone. The Eagles doubled their lead later in the quarter when Matt Breida, A.K.A. #HeGone, A.K.A. I Do Matt Breida Things, did Matt Breida things by scoring his tenth touchdown of the year to put the home team up 14-0.</p>
<p><span>Kevin Ellison</span> added a career-long 67-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Not to be outdone, Breida caught up with Ellison midway through the run and got in a key block that secured the score.</p>
<p>Everything seemed to go right for Georgia Southern in the first half. When backup quarterback <span>Favian Upshaw</span> threw a pass that was tipped, the ball fell into the waiting arms of Myles Campbell for a first down. The drive ended with LA Ramsby converting an option pitch into a touchdown and becoming the fourth different Eagle to score on the night. New Mexico State's Terrill Hanks was ejected for targeting on the play.</p>
<p><span>Andrew Allen</span> started at quarterback for NMSU for the injured <span>Tyler Rogers</span> and connected with Royce Caldwell for a 61-yard catch and run on the team's next possession. New Mexico State scored on a touchdown pass to <span>Jordan Bergstrom</span> on the next play.</p>
<p>Georgia Southern got its first passing touchdown of the year on a 60-yarder from Ellison to Fields before halftime. The pass put Ellison into the career 2,000 yard club for both rushing and passing.</p>
<p><span></span></p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">It’s been 371 days since the Eagles had a passing touchdown, but what a way to break the streak as Ellison joins the 2K/2K club!</p>
— GS Football (@GSAthletics_FB) <a href="https://twitter.com/GSAthletics_FB/status/655525719141847040">October 17, 2015</a>
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<p>Georgia Southern led 35-7 at the half and the stands cleared rapidly from then on out. The second half featured touchdowns from Fields, Upshaw and Ramsby as the home team cruised down the stretch.</p>
<p>NMSU played somewhat better in the second half as well and added three of its own touchdowns to leave the final at 56-26.</p>
<p>With the homecoming sacrifice out the way, only four days stand between Georgia Southern and the matchup fans have been waiting for since the middle of the Western Michigan game. Appalachian State and Georgia Southern each stand at 5-1 with a massive showdown set for Thursday night.</p>
<p>With no other teams above .500 in the conference the matchup could be the defacto Sun Belt championship game. Boone will be rocking on Thursday night and hopefully a good number of Eagle fans have enough time off of work to make it to the mountains.</p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/georgia-southern-eagles/2015/10/17/9561723/georgia-southern-runs-to-homecoming-win-over-new-mexico-state-56-26Haisten Willis2015-10-17T16:52:44-04:002015-10-17T16:52:44-04:00LA Tech Stumbles at Starkville
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<figcaption>Dak Prescott Threw for 347 yards and 3 TD's against LA Tech. | Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Louisiana Tech jumped out to a14-0 lead on Mississippi State, but it was all Dak Prescott after that. State finished the game on a 45-6 run and blew out the visiting Bulldogs.</p> <p>With no <span>Kenneth Dixon</span> for the second straight week, LA Tech decided to come out throwing. The strategy paid off early as the visiting Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead by mostly using five receiver sets.</p>
<p><span>Jeff Driskel</span> passed for 303 yards and 2 touchdowns for the game and <span>Trent Taylor</span> finished with 10 catches for 130 yards and a touchdown. LA Tech had 413 yards of offense for the game, but they had just 110 yards on the ground.</p>
<p><span>Dak Prescott</span> had three passing touchdowns for the home team and he added another one on the ground. <span>De'Runnya Wilson</span> had 7 catches for 85 yards and 2 TD's.</p>
<p>LA Tech out rushed State and held the ball for over 7 more minutes than their SEC hosts. In the end, 3-14 on 3rd down and a late interception return for a touchdown put the visitors away.</p>
<p>Tech (4-3, 2-1) returns home next week to host MTSU in a key Conference USA game.</p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/10/17/9561287/mississippi-state-45-la-tech-20Jason Jones SBN2015-10-17T16:04:30-04:002015-10-17T16:04:30-04:00ECU Defense Comes Up Big In Win Over Tulsa
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<p>Defense was the name of the game as East Carolina moved to 4-3 on the season with a dominant homecoming win over Tulsa.</p> <p>Looking very impressive on defense, the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/east-carolina-pirates" class="sbn-auto-link">East Carolina Pirates</a> (4-3, 2-1 AAC) moved one game closer to bowl eligibility with a 30-10 win over the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/tulsa-golden-hurricane" class="sbn-auto-link">Tulsa Golden Hurricane</a> (3-3, 0-2 AAC).</p>
<p>Again using their two quarterback system, the Pirates passed for 239 yards and rushed for 145 yards in the impressive win.</p>
<p>The ECU defense looked shaky in the opening minutes as <span>Dane Evans</span> led Tulsa to the Pirates 12-yard line on the opening drive. <span>Josh Hawkins</span> completely changed things on the next play with an interception that was returned 100 yards for a touchdown. The PAT by <span>Davis Plowman</span> gave ECU a 7-0 lead.</p>
<p>After several traded punts from both sides, <span>Blake Kemp</span> found success in the passing game with six straight completions to the Tulsa 10-yard line. The Golden Hurricane defense bowed up and stopped ECU on third down, forcing a 24-yard field goal attempt. The kick was good and ECU led 10-0.</p>
<p>In the next possession, <span>James Summers</span> took over at quarterback and promptly threw an interception to Darrell Williams. That turnover was not costly as <span>Demage Bailey</span> forced a fumble by Tulsa running back <span>Zack Langer</span> that was recovered by <span>Jordan Williams</span> on the Tulsa 29-yard line.</p>
<p>Five plays later, Summers found <span>Chris Hairston</span> for a 12-yard touchdown strike to give the Pirates an impressive 17-0 lead with 5:50 left in the half. The Pirates added a 23-yard field goal by Plowman to give them a 20-0 halftime lead.</p>
<p>Led by Summers, the Pirates again drove inside the Tulsa 20-yard line early in the third quarter, facing a third and ten. Summers was sacked by <span>Petera Wilson</span>, forcing Plowman to attempt another field goal. His 41-yard attempt was good, giving ECU a 23-0 lead.</p>
<p>The Golden Hurricane finally broke through with a score early in the fourth quarter, capping a 10-play, 81-yard drive. Langer found the end zone from one yard out to cut the ECU lead to 23-7 with 12:13 left in the game. ECU again gave up an 80+ yard drive, this time 88 yards, but were able to make a stop on a third and goal from the four yard line. A <span>Redford Jones</span> field goal made the score 23-10 with only 7:12 left in the game.</p>
<p>The East Carolina defense found its footing once again in the next two drives, forcing Tulsa to turn the ball over on downs on both occasions. Following the second turnover on downs, the Pirates took advantage with Summers finding the end zone two plays later to take a 30-10 lead.</p>
<p>Tulsa added a garbage time touchdown, going 74 yards in five plays, capped by <span>Keyarris Garrett</span> catching a 47-yard touchdown pass with :30 left in the game.</p>
<p>One kneel down later, East Carolina improved to 4-3 on the season with a 30-17 win over Tulsa.</p>
<p>The Pirates have no time to rest as they have another game on Thursday, this one at home versus the undefeated <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/temple-owls" class="sbn-auto-link">Temple Owls</a> in a battle for the AAC East Division lead.</p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/american-athletic-conference/2015/10/17/9561169/east-carolina-cruises-to-a-win-30-17-over-tulsaJeremy Adcock2015-10-17T15:46:18-04:002015-10-17T15:46:18-04:00Tigers Top Rebels, Now Tops In AAC?
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<p>Paxton Lynch and company took advantage of some luck and used skill to take care of the rest of the Rebel threat.</p> <p>Take a look at that final score again. 37-24. That's pretty impressive, isn't it?</p>
<p>Now remember, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/memphis-tigers">Memphis Tigers</a> were <i>trailing</i> 14-0 just a shade over five minutes into this game. So over the course of 55 minutes, they outscored the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redcuprebellion.com/">Ole Miss Rebels</a> 37-10. That is damned impressive, people.</p>
<p>Yes, I understand that they had numerous things go their way, like <span>Robert Nkemdiche</span> suffering a concussion early on that clearly had an impact on the Rebel game plan.</p>
<p>That said, <span>Paxton Lynch</span> threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns, while <span>Jarvis Cooper</span>, <span>Doroland Dorceus</span> and <span>Sam Craft</span> carried the ball 30 times for 112 yards and another score.</p>
<p>I was definitely concerned despite the Tigers' 31-14 lead when Jae'lon Oglesby decided that attempting to outrun every defender he saw was a good idea. One that resulted in a reverse becoming a 19 yard loss and a punt that led straight into the Rebels and <span>Chad Kelly</span> marching straight down the field for a lead-slicing touchdown.</p>
<p>In the end, the Tigers held it together for just long enough and kept pace with Houston in the AAC West, and will now begin a short week of prep for a game next Friday night at Tulsa. That said, if Memphis can look this good against a top-tier SEC team, the rest of their own conference should be on high alert.</p>
https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/10/17/9561109/memphis-tigers-vs-ole-miss-rebels-final-score-recap-tigers-pull-offgeeves