Memphis Survives USF's Furious Comeback, 52-41, as Marcus Stokes Accounts for Five Touchdowns in Tampa

Some wins are pretty. Some are just wins. Memphis will gladly take Thursday night's version, a 52-41 victory at South Florida that the Tigers nearly gave away before they grabbed it back in the final eight minutes ^[1].

The Tigers jumped out to a 21-0 lead in Tampa and looked ready to cruise. Instead, the Bulls stormed back, outscoring Memphis 41-17 to take a 41-38 lead in the fourth quarter, the Associated Press reported ^[1]. It took a long touchdown strike, a dropped pass in the end zone and a pair of late sacks for Memphis to escape with its eighth win of the season ^[1].

Stokes Answers Right Away

Marcus Stokes was the difference. The Memphis quarterback completed 15 of 31 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, and he added 73 rushing yards and two more scores on eight carries, according to the AP ^[1]. That is five touchdowns on a night when his team needed every one of them.

His biggest throw came at the biggest moment. USF kicker Nico Gramatica, who also hit from 47 yards in the second quarter, drilled a 38-yard field goal with 8:04 left to give the Bulls their first lead of the night, 41-38 ^[1]. Two plays later, Stokes found Jemyri Davis for a 76-yard touchdown, and Memphis never trailed again ^[1].

Running back Jaylin Carter carried the load on the ground, finishing with 109 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries ^[1]. His 26-yard run in the final minute put the game away ^[1]. Tight end Aidan O'Callaghan chipped in a 53-yard catch in the third quarter that set up a Memphis field goal ^[1].

Kromenhoek Nearly Pulls It Off

USF has nothing to hang its head about. Quarterback Luke Kromenhoek, making only the fourth start of his career, threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns and ran 30 times for more than 140 yards and a score, the AP reported ^[1]. Running back Jason Collins Jr. broke off a 75-yard touchdown run and caught a 13-yard touchdown pass ^[1].

The Bulls also had a golden chance to retake the lead. After the Davis touchdown, USF drove deep into Memphis territory, but Kromenhoek's fourth-and-2 pass was dropped in the end zone by Bryson Rodgers with 3:38 to play ^[1].

Even then, the Bulls got one more shot. Memphis went three-and-out, and Harrison Tuck's 51-yard punt from the back of his own end zone handed USF the ball at its own 47 ^[1]. That is when the Memphis defense finally stood tall. Collins was dropped for a 5-yard loss, J'Mond Tapp recorded back-to-back sacks, and a fourth-and-27 pass fell incomplete with 57 seconds left ^[1].

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Fox Sports' game statistics showed just how wide open this one was: both teams had topped 500 yards of total offense by late in the fourth quarter, and USF had held the ball for more than 33 minutes ^[2].

What It Means in the American

The win lifts Memphis to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in American Conference play, while USF falls to 6-4 and 2-4 ^[1]. Before kickoff, North Texas sat alone atop the league at 5-0, with Memphis and UTSA one game back at 4-1, according to pre-game standings published by VAVEL and Fox Sports ^[3][2]. VAVEL noted before the game that a loss would have left the Tigers two games behind North Texas with little time to make it up ^[3]. Instead, Memphis stays right in the hunt.

It was also a timely result for Memphis coach Charles Huff, whose name has surfaced in coaching-job rumors this week, as Fox News reported ^[4]. Winning on the road in a loud Thursday night setting is the kind of thing that keeps a program's season, and its coach's standing, on track.

For Brian Hartline's Bulls, the season is far from over. Six wins already makes USF bowl eligible, and the Bulls visit Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton on Nov. 21 ^[1]. Memphis gets Navy next ^[2].

My Take

A lot of college football games turn on a single snap, and this one turned on a quarterback who refused to flinch. When a 21-point lead evaporates on the road, the easy thing is to fold. Stokes and the Tigers took the punch, got up, and threw a haymaker on the very next possession.

Credit the Bulls, too. A young quarterback carried his team back from three touchdowns down and was one catch away from putting them in front for good. That is the kind of grit programs are built on. USF lost on the scoreboard Thursday, but Kromenhoek showed his teammates something about where this program is headed.

Memphis' defense gave up 41 points, and that has to be fixed before the stretch run. But when it mattered most, with the ball near midfield and the game on the line, the Tigers made the plays. In November, that is what contenders do.