College Football Playoff Top 25 Projections: Week 14
By Zach Bigalke
Memphis emphatically capped a nearly perfect regular season on Saturday. The Tigers demolished East Carolina 70-13 to finish 10-1 leading up to the American Athletic Conference championship game in Orlando next weekend. Though they gave up nearly 500 yards, the Tigers defense snatched three interceptions.
Riley Ferguson had a relatively quiet day, throwing the ball just 13 times all day. But on his nine completions, the Memphis quarterback racked up 299 yards and three touchdowns. The ground game took charge for the Tigers. Patrick Taylor Jr. led the way with 127 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries. Darrell Henderson added 122 yards and two scores on 10 carries. Doroland Dorceus also had a touchdown and 51 yards on his eight touches.
They now prepare for a rematch against undefeated UCF, source of their only loss this season, for the AAC title. If Memphis can dish out the first loss of the year for the Knights, they would instantly become the frontrunner to be chosen by the College Football Playoff selection committee as the Group of Five representative in a New Year’s Six bowl.