The Tigers open with a memorable Vegas vacation
It took until early Sunday morning for Memphis football to finish out their first game of the year, but ask anyone who managed to stay awake, and they’ll tell you it was definitely worth it. After a tenuous first half, the Tigers figured things out in the second half, pulling away for a stirring 27-21 win on the road at UNLV in new head coach Charles Huff’s debut.
UNLV and coach Dan Mullen may have been led out on the field by an Elvis impersonator, but as the game went along, it was the Rebels who seemed like a shell of themselves. Because in the first half, UNLV looked like one of Mullen’s Florida teams, gashing Memphis repeatedly down the middle of the field. But Memphis tuned up in the second half, as new QB Markus Stokes completed a few big shots and the Memphis defense morphed into the ’76 Steelers, sacking UNLV QB Jackson Arnold half a dozen times.
The last few years, it’s often felt like the Tigers have been good almost in spite of their defense, an offensive powerhouse that seemed like they were trying to keep up on the defensive side of things. It’s early, sure, but this year’s Tigers have the opportunity to flip that script. The Vegas version of the Tigers seemed like a balanced attack that improved as the game went along, aggressive and productive on both sides of the ball.
The Tigers now need to hope what happened in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas. On Saturday, Memphis will open the newly renovated Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium by hosting Arkansas State, a game in which the Tigers are opening as double-digit favorites. Memphis has momentum, and Coach Huff must make sure the Tigers don’t have a Vegas hangover against the Red Wolves.
Of course, college football is a marathon, not a sprint, a path marked by twists and turns along the way. Having a successful college football season is as much about perseverance as it is any single performance. After hosting Arkansas State, Memphis has what appears to be a gauntlet of a schedule. There will be days when you think the season is over. There will be days you think the Tigers are back. That’s just how it works.
For now, we’re one week in, so while we try and manage expectations, it’s fine to be excited about what we saw in Vegas. Coach Huff’s Tigers have set a new standard. If they can live up to it each weekend, things could get pretty interesting in the 901.
