TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Seth Henigan threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns — the 40th straight game he has tossed a TD pass — as Memphis beat Florida State 20-12 on Saturday.
Henigan connected with Greg Desrosiers Jr. and Anthony Landphere on touchdown passes as Memphis (3-0) jumped out to a 20-3 lead in the third quarter. The Tigers scored touchdowns on drives of 65 and 75 yards, finishing 7 of 17 on third downs and 2 of 3 on fourth downs in the game.
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“Winning is hard, and I never want to minimize a win,” Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield said. “But this is monumental. Let’s call it what it is. To go on the road, regardless of the record, they were preseason No. 10 in the country.
“It’s huge for our program. This is a game that’s going to be remembered for a long time.”
Memphis players, coaches and fans won’t soon forget it. And the Tigers take home quite the bonus: a $1.3 million guarantee as well as a resume-building victory on the road over a Power 4 team.
Memphis dominated on defense and made plenty of timely plays on offense.
“Our defense is much improved from last year,” Henigan said. “They’re playing extremely well right now. … I’m proud of our guys. I thought they played hard. We had that intensity coming out, that edge about ourselves, that Memphis toughness.”
DJ Uiagalelei completed 16 of 30 passes for 201 yards and an interception, struggling to move the Seminoles (0-3) until a pair of scoring drives in the third quarter.
Florida State moved to the Memphis 39 and then spiked the ball to set up a final play with two seconds left. But Uiagalelei’s Hail Mary was swatted down at the goal line by Memphis’ Julian Barnett.
Memphis’ defense pressured Uiagalelei throughout the day, recording four sacks. Linebacker Chandler Martin had eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss.
Florida State couldn’t run the ball, averaging 1.5 yards per carry. And the Seminoles were constantly facing third-and-long situations, where they converted on just 2 of 12 opportunities although they were 3 of 3 on fourth-down conversions.
“Extremely disappointed the way we played at time,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “The things that we work and emphasize throughout the course of the week, you know, pre-season, off-season, things that are critically important to being successful are not showing up as consistent as we need them to be.
“Obviously offensively very disappointing performance. Never able to really get much going. Second half we were able to move the ball but had a couple explosive plays up still had too many negatives.”
Ryan Fitzgerald made a 54-yard field-goal attempt, his third kick from 50 or more yards in three games, for the Seminoles.
Shorthanded Seminoles
Florida State played without starting safety Shyheim Brown, starting right tackle Jeremiah Byers and backup linebackers Omar Graham Jr. and Shawn Murphy, who were announced as out hours before kickoff. And the Seminoles lost starting left tackle Darius Washington during warmups, Norvell said.
The takeaway
Memphis: The Tigers manhandled Florida State’s offensive line, recording four sacks and holding the Seminoles to 37 yards rushing on 24 carries.
Florida State: The Seminoles turned the ball over three times — a fumble and interception on offense as well as a muffed punt return — and struggled to build drives.
Up next
Memphis plays at Navy on Saturday.
Florida State plays host to California on Saturday.
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