It took two overtime periods to settle the matter, but the Memphis Tigers beat the BYU Cougars, 55-48, in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl on Monday. Here are four observations from the game:
A 33-yard pass from Paxton Lynch to Keiwone Malone put seven points on the scoreboard for Memphis just 66 seconds into the game. A mere 97 seconds later BYU answered with a 47-yard pass from Christian Stewart to Mitchell Juergens.
Not only were both teams moving the football at will, big plays were happening.
When the first 15 minutes were in the books, the teams had combined for 31 points, 377 total yards (189 for BYU, 188 for Memphis), 15 first downs and two turnovers. The football was flying with little regard for anything other than pasting points up in lights.
To put into perspective how active the first quarter was, Memphis -- a team that entered the Miami Beach Bowl as the 10th-ranked scoring defense in the country -- held six teams this season to 14 points of fewer. BYU scored 14 in the first quarter. The Tigers, on average, gave up just 19.5 points per game.
Scoring calmed in the second and third quarters -- if you can call 35 points combined calm -- before opening back up for 24 in the fourth and 13 in overtime.
Memphis and BYU combined for 103 points, 46 first downs, 905 total yards and nine turnovers. The game was played fast and sloppy, but created some awe-inspiring team statistics.
The 48 points allowed by Memphis was the biggest total of the season, with a ranked UCLA team the most points allowed prior, putting 42 points up on Sept. 6.
A quick glance at the fourth-down numbers might lead one to believe that neither team punted much on Monday. Memphis was 3 for 3 on fourth downs while BYU was 2 for 2.
The teams did punt the football, however.
BYU needed nine punts in the Miami Beach Bowl as drives stalled, and Memphis six. One of the big reasons why both punts and fourth-down plays were plentiful was because both struggled on third down.
The Cougars were a mere 6 for 20 (30 percent) on third down, well below their 44.6 percent showing during the regular season. The Tigers were 8 for 20 (40 percent), actually a little better than their 36.2 percent showing in their first 12 games. But failure on third down almost killed Memphis late.
Memphis was 0 for 6 on third downs in the fourth quarter.
Had Lynch and Malone not hooked up for a 5-yard touchdown on fourth-and-4 with 45 seconds left to play, the game would have ended in a 45-38 BYU win.
Both teams at 100 percent on fourth down was a bit like playing a game of Madden; success usually doesn't come like that in high-pressure situations without a game controller involved. But that success was absolutely vital to Memphis' win.
When the Tigers won the Miami Beach Bowl on Monday, they put a number 10 in the win column for the first time in school history.
Memphis started its football program in 1960 and enjoyed 33 wins over its first four seasons (33-5-1). The Tigers first played in a bowl game in 1971 when their Pasadena Bowl victory pushed the team to 5-6 on the season.
The next bowl visit, and win, came in 2003 with a victory in the New Orleans Bowl. Prior to Monday's game in Miami, Memphis had played in six bowl games (3-3) and enjoyed three nine-win seasons (1963, 2003 and 2014). Beating BYU pushed the Tigers into double digits for the first time in 55 seasons.
Memphis' overall record moved to 280-319-8 with the win.
Jake Elliott couldn't have been happy when the first two plays Memphis ran in the first overtime period went backward. Lynch was sacked for nine yards and then Brandon Hayes was tackled for a 3-yard loss.
When a third-down incompletion send Elliott out to tie the game, how confident could he have been?
Elliott was just 20 for 30 (66 percent) on the season with a long field goal of 53 yards. The ball was set on the 44-yard line, 54 yards away from a tie football game.
Matters were made worse when BYU iced Elliott with a time out and his "practice" kick was shanked as badly as any kick had ever been hooked. The ball didn't even make it to the end zone, and landed closer to the sideline than the goalpost.
The miss didn't seem to affect Elliott, who lined up and punched the football directly through the uprights. Not only did he accurately connect on the field goal, he put enough foot behind it to connect from 64 yards if he would have needed to.
For a kicker that was 2 for 6 on field goals of 50 yards or more this season, Elliott manned up and gave his team a chance to win in the second overtime period.
