Memphis had one of the worst bad beats of the year, but at least a Tigers wideout made an absolutely gorgeous 41-yard TD pass
Houston won Friday night – making it a brutally bad beat for folks who bet on Memphis – but the Tigers had whole lot of fun making Cougars coach Dana Holgersen really mad.
Memphis – who was favored by 2.5 points against the Cougars – had built a 20-7 lead by the start of the fourth quarter at the Liberty Bowl by scoring on some run-pass-option trickery, taking advantage of a really ugly missed field goal, and stuffing Houston on the goal line.
While the Tigers had a comfortable lead late in the game (and we’ll get to how they blew that in just a moment) they still had some more tricks up their sleeves, drawing up a play that would’ve made veterans of trickeration like Georgia’s Kenny McIntosh and Troy’s Luke Whittemore smile.
Lined up in a shotgun set with two receivers to the left and one to the right, Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan sent his tight end in motion, took the snap and threw a quick pass to wideout Gabriel Rogers. Houston defenders swarmed him, but Rogers left them in a dizzy as he scampered away. On the run, Rogers then fired a 41-yard strike downfield to fellow receiver Asa Martin, who hauled the pass in for a touchdown.
It was a receiver-to-receiver touchdown pass of beauty, and worked much better than whatever the Seattle Seahawks tried to do a few weeks ago.
See for yourself:
OH MY @MemphisFB #AmericanFB pic.twitter.com/huwnzqufLL
— American Football (@American_FB) October 8, 2022
Quarterback is just the latest position the super-talented Rogers has starred in for the Tigers. He was mostly a defensive back his first two seasons, played running back and returned kicks last year, and is now featuring at wide receiver for the Tigers.
It was another play by Memphis that likely drew this sort of reaction from Holgersen:
How are you supposed to react to whatever the hell that was??? pic.twitter.com/DSPhtLavmg
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthewCFB) October 8, 2022
But the joy for the Tigers wouldn’t last, and this game had plenty of more fireworks. Later in the fourth quarter, Houston’s Jaycee Rogers ran back a kick 100 yards for a touchdown to kickstart the Cougars’ comeback.
Jayce Rogers went ALL. THE. WAY. #AmericanFB x @UHCougarFB pic.twitter.com/6VNxCYku4a
— American Football (@American_FB) October 8, 2022
The point total in this game was set at 57.5 points. The Cougars wrecked the hopes of the folks who bet the under – and the bettors who grabbed the Memphis moneyline – by scoring twice in the final 90 seconds to take a 33-32 victory.
Memphis bettors with one of the worst beats of the season pic.twitter.com/upmiJ1CBGe
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) October 8, 2022
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) October 8, 2022