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The victory cigar smoke wafted through the air, and Ryan Silverfield’s hat was stained with blood. The Gatorade bath after Memphis football’s 36-26 win over Iowa State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Friday had gone awry, leaving the Tigers’ coach with a gash on his forehead. But the tears he wiped from his eyes weren’t from a wound, or at least a physical one.
They were triggered by the emotions of this moment, by all the moments that led to this one, by a walk off the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium field that Silverfield had wanted to take for so long.
There were handshakes and hugs and selfie requests – from family, from fans, from players. From practically everyone. There was unencumbered joy, the kind this program hadn’t experienced in the four years since Silverfield became coach. There was a feeling – finally – that Memphis has momentum under his watch.
“That’s a statement the entire country got to watch on ESPN,” Silverfield said.
It was, more than that, a statement on a frigid Memphis afternoon to all those who have been critical of the roundabout manner in which Silverfield got the Tigers to this point (this columnist raises his hand).
A year that began with him on every national hot seat list is officially the fifth season in the 108 in Memphis football history to end with 10 wins.
It ended with the most important and impressive win of them all because it’s the first one the Tigers weren’t supposed to win. It ended with quarterback Seth Henigan becoming the all-time leading passer in school history after a sublime performance. It ended with the much-maligned defense giving up zero rushing yards while playing a new scheme under interim coordinator Jordon Hankins. It ended with no turnovers, no penalties and a victory Silverfield declared “the absolute very best” of his coaching…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/memphis-football-finally-momentum-under-032110610.html
Author : The Commercial Appeal
Publish date : 2023-12-30 03:21:10
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