AAC Championship 2019: 3 takeaways from Memphis’ win over Cincinnati

Here are three takeaways from the rematch for the AAC Championship Game between Memphis and Cincinnati with the Tigers winning a tight one.

In one of my favorite books, The Lord of the Rings; the Two Towers, the King Theoden told Aragorn, “If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end, as to be worthy of remembrance.” If this is Memphis head coach Mike Norvell’s last game at Memphis, what a game he’s had.

This one was an absolute classic. It was a back and forth affair, but ultimately the Memphis Tigers win the AAC Championship by sweeping the Cincinnati Bearcats 29-24.

This win helps the Tigers make their case for the Cotton Bowl and the New Year’s Six.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

3. It’s the little things

Games like this stand on a cliff. Both the Tigers and the Bearcats had exactly what they wanted in this game: an opportunity to win the game in the fourth quarter. In situations like on Saturday night, it’s hard to point to one specific thing that cost the losing team the game, but coaches are going to do what coaches do: dissect the game film for any mistake they think cost them the game.

There were two things the Bearcats can point to that contributed to their loss on Saturday.

First, quarterback Desmond Ridder was not efficient. He completed well under 50 percent of his passes, and did not throw a touchdown pass. His receivers left a lot of passes on the turf, too.

Second, if the Bearcats have had one Achilles’ heel this season it’s been penalties. On Saturday, they committed 11 penalties. None as critical as a false start on third down on a drive in which they were looking to score at the end of the game.