Liberty Bowl: Seth Henigan & Memphis Beat Iowa State on Home Turf

Even with the constant onslaught of change in college football, the Memphis Tigers reaching the postseason has been an extremely dependable instance.  The
© Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Even with the constant onslaught of change in college football, the Memphis Tigers reaching the postseason has been an extremely dependable instance. 

The Tigers have been bowl eligible every season since 2014. Memphis earned a 36-26 victory over the Iowa State Cyclones in their own stadium at Friday's Liberty Bowl matchup.

Memphis' only real hiccups in this game came on third downs, as the Tigers converted just seven of 14 third down-conversion attempts. the Tigers also missed two fourth-down conversion attempts. Other than that, the Tigers accumulated 530 total yards in the victory over their Big 12 foes. 

Seth Henigan Is Him, Again

The veteran Memphis quarterback accounted for five total touchdowns, rushing for one and throwing for four. Henigan completed 24 passes on 34 attempts for 364 yards. He ends the season with 37 total touchdowns.

After three seasons with the Tigers, Henigan is now Memphis' career passing yards leader with 10,776, passing Brady White in the record books. 

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Defense Under Jordan Hankins

After Matt Barnes left for an assistant position at Mississippi State, Linebackers Coach Jordan Hankins was named the Tigers' Interim Defensive Coordinator earlier this week. His team did him proud, particularly in the second half. 

Memphis forced two critical three-and-outs to open the second half that allowed the offense to build a 23-point cushion. Sophomore linebacker Chandler Martin with eight tackles, five tackles for loss, and a sack.

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Memphis' Third-Straight Bowl Win

Ryan Silverfield hasn't achieved perfection as the head coach of the Tigers, but he continues to find ways to get Memphis to play their best ball late in the year. After today's win, the Tigers have now won each of their last three bowl games. They won last year's First Responder Bowl as well as the 2020 Mongomery Bowl. Memphis was scheduled to play in the 2021 Hawaii Bowl, but COVID-19 issues caused that game to be cancelled.

Silverfield now has a 3-0 record with Memphis in bowl games. The Tigers have achieve their fourth 10-win season since 2014.


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Joe Londergan
JOE LONDERGAN

Joe covers college sports from the Group of Five ranks and beyond. He has worked in the sports industry since 2008, earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville, and a Master's degree from Seattle University.