SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 22, 2014
Memphis 31, South Florida 20: Paxton Lynch threw
for two touchdowns and ran for two others as the American Athletic
Conference-leading Tigers beat the visiting Bulls.
Lynch rushed for 44 yards and was 18-of-23 for 232
yards, tossing scoring passes to Mose Frazier and Brandon Hayes for Memphis
(8-3, 6-1 AAC), which won for the fifth straight time. The Tigers, who also
received 189 rushing yards on 21 carries from Hayes, can earn a share of the
conference title with a win over visiting Connecticut next Saturday.
Freshman Marlon Mack ran for 102 yards and a
touchdown, and Mike White was 21-of-35 for 244 yards before leaving with a
fourth-quarter leg injury for South Florida (4-7, 3-4) which saw its bowl hopes
end with its fifth loss in the last seven games. The Bulls also received a
late-game touchdown pass from No. 3 quarterback Steven Bench to Andre Davis and
a pair of first-half field goals from Marvin Kloss.
Following a short punt and 12-yard return, Memphis
took possession at the South Florida 27-yard line on its second drive of the
third quarter and scored 28 seconds later on an 11-yard pass from Lynch to
Hayes. The Bulls reached the Tigers’ 4-yard-line on the ensuing drive, but
Memphis’ Donald Pennington pounced on a botched handoff on a third-down
end-around play, leading to a 67-yard drive and a 35-yard Jake Elliott field
goal which capped the Tigers’ scoring.
South Florida grabbed the early lead with Kloss
kicking a 21-yard field goal on its first drive, but Memphis answered with
Lynch scoring runs on back-to-back possessions to give the hosts a 14-3 lead. After
the teams traded TDs – a 75-yard Mack run and a 42-yard pass from Lynch to Frazier
– on the ensuing two possessions, Kloss capped a 17-play, 76-yard Bulls’ march
with a 35-yard field goal with 1:17 left in the second quarter to cut the
Tigers’ lead to 21-13 at the half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Memphis has reached eight wins for
only the fifth time in the last 50 years. … Lynch has accounted for 24 TDs
this season (14 passing and 10 rushing). … Mack now has rushed for 1,009 yards this
year – the fourth 1,000-yard rushing season in the program’s history.