The heartbreak kids

Tigers strike early and often but allow go-ahead touchdown with just 11 seconds to play in loss at M

By Adam Douglas

Sports Editor

   

 

 

It was supposed to be another easy win for The University of Memphis Tigers football team.

At first glance it started out that way – as the Tigers built a 17-0 lead en route to having a 17-10 lead by halftime. The Tigers (1-4, 0-1 in C-USA) ended up succumbing to a late rally by Middle Tennessee, losing 38-31 in devastating fashion on the road in Murfreesboro.

The Tigers were spurred early by senior running back Billy Foster and freshman quarterback Taylor Reed, both of whom scored on the ground to help the Tigers build a lead midway through the second quarter. MTSU responded with 17 straight points to tie the game. The Blue Raiders eventually would capture the lead in the late stages, winning their first game of the season and handing the Tigers their fourth loss in five games this season.

"We were ready to play this game," head coach Larry Porter said. "Even when they came back, we responded. This is a painful loss, and there were a number of opportunities we had to win this game and we could not get it done. I hurt deeply for this team because I thought the effort they brought tonight was good enough to get a win."

The Tigers played one of their best games, this season, offensively on Saturday. The ground attack accumulated 165 yards of rushing, totaling three scores, and was led by Foster's two touchdowns on 23 carries and freshman Artaves Gibson's 54 yards on 14 carries. Reed completed 23-of-32 passes for 230 yards and one score, with 10 catches going to senior Tanner Rehrer. Seven of Rehrer's career high 10 catches were for first downs.

"The ball didn't bounce our way,'' Rehrer said. ‘‘This one hurts …hurts real bad. But on another note we battled our butts off and proved we can put up points.''

The 31 points were the most by a Porter-led team thus far in his tenure. But this time the defense struggled more so than the inept offense that hasn't shown progress over the last few weeks. The defense couldn't maintain the lead the offense gave them and allowed the winning touchdown in the closing seconds of the game. With only 1:41 remaining in the game and the score nodded at 31 apiece, MTSU drove down the field and scored, putting them up 38-31 and sending the Tigers home with another heartbreaking loss.

"It was a great effort by our team as a whole," junior defensive tackle Dontari Poe said. "There is a lot we can learn from this game. But at the end of the day, we have to learn how to pull out the win."