UT-Chattanooga Memphis, TN - University of Memphis junior quarterback Travis Anglin accounted for four touchdowns – rushing for two and passing for two more – as the Tigers defeated Chattanooga 4310 in their home opener. Anglin completed 15 of 22 passes for 145 yards while running for 78 yards on 17 carries Liberty Bowl Stadium against the Division I-AA Mocs. Memphis, TN The four scores Sept. 8, 2001 were the most by a Tiger player since Att. 24,053 Steve Matthews tossed four touchdown passes against Tulane in 1992. Anglin was not the sole player to have a banner day for the Tigers. Junior college transfer Dante Brown netted 158 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries and also caught a touchdown pass. Senior defensive end Tony Brown, a Chattanooga native, totaled 1½ quarterback sacks, had two tackles and six assists while sophomore defensive lineman Albert Means broke up one pass and drifted back into coverage to intercept another. The victory was the first at Memphis for Tommy West who was elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach last December. In the end, Memphis had scored more points and netted more yards of total offense (443) since a 49-7 win over Tulane on Oct. 30, 1999. The U of M had 500 yards of total offense against the Green Wave two years ago. It didn’t take long for the Tigers to get on the scoreboard against Chattanooga. On the first play from scrimmage, Brown raced 62 yards to the Moc 15. He would carry for 11 on the next play and two plays later Anglin would score from two yards out. Chattanooga would answer later in the quarter. After a short punt, the Mocs took over at their own 45. Starting quarterback Chuck Spearman would convert a couple of third-down plays, hitting Cos DeMatteo for a 21-yard pick up to the U of M 34 and later tossing a 3-yard completion to Jason Ball for a first down at the 24. However, Chattanooga’s drive would stall and the Mocs settled for a 34-yard Ben Thompson field goal to cut Memphis’s lead to 7-3 with 3:46 to play in the first quarter.
2 Game
Brown also did damage to begin the second quarter. Just a play into the second quarter, Brown went over the 100-yard mark rushing with a 26-yard pickup to the U of M 47. He would cap an 81-yard, 8-play drive when he caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Anglin. Memphis led 14-3 with 12:01 left in the first half and Brown had accounted for 129 yards of offense on just five touches of the football. Later in the quarter freshman punter James Gaither pinned the Mocs inside their own 10. With a steady rain coming down in the Liberty Bowl, Chattanooga quarterback Justin Barnes slipped on the turf and was down at the 1-yard line. On the ensuing play Moc running back Charles McNeill was tackled in the end zone by Coot Terry for a safety. Memphis then put together an 11-play, 50-yard drive with Brown capping the series with a five-yard touchdown run to give Memphis a 22-3 lead. The drive appeared to have ended when Anglin lost three yards on a fourth-and-four play from the 33 but a personal foul penalty on the Mocs moved the ball inside the Chattanooga 20. The Mocs would cut Memphis’s lead to 22-10 before the end of the half. Over half of Chattanooga’s yards on an 80-yard drive would come from penalties. The Tigers were flagged four times for 47 yards during the series – a personal foul, a roughing the passer call which nullified what would have been rookie defensive back Scott Vogel’s second interception of the season, a pass interference call and a seven-yard facemask penalty tagged on to an 11-yard run by Jason Ball to give the Mocs first down at the Memphis six. From there, Ball would pick up five yards before plunging into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run. The U of M was penalized 13 times for 110 yards. Chattanooga was flagged just three times for 35 yards. Memphis would score 21 unanswered points in the second half to account for the 43-10 final score. In the third quarter Anglin directed an 87-yard drive which ended with a scoring pass to Tripp Higgins. Anglin completed five of seven passes during the series, including strikes of 12 and 10 yards to Ryan Johnson. The junior signal caller also scrambled for 11 yards on a third-and-four from midfield. A 43-yard pass to Bunkie Perkins in the fourth quarter would help set up a 15-yard touchdown run by Anglin. Later in the quarter Chattanooga had moved the ball from its 22 to the 44 and faced first down. All 6-4, 345 pounds of Means dropped back in coverage on first down and intercepted a Spearman pass. The pick would lead to Memphis’s final score as quarterback Neil Suber completed passes of 10 and 24 yards to Antoine Harden and Darron White before Travarious Davis scored on a 12-yard pass reception. Despite the playing conditions, Memphis did not have a turnover in the game. It was the first time the U of M played turnover free since last year’s win at Arkansas State.
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MEMPHIS SCORING SUMMARY Chattanooga Memphis
3 7 7 15
0 0 7 14
- 10 - 43
UM (13:08 re 1st) Anglin 2 run (White kick) UTC (3:46 re 1st) Thompson 34 FG UM (12:01 re 2nd) Brown 26 pass from Anglin (White kick) UM (7:59 re 2nd) Terry safety UM (4:54 re 2nd) Brown 5 run (run failed) UTC (1:30 re 2nd) Ball 1 run (Thompson kick) UM (2:20 re 3rd) Higgins 0 FUM Recovery (White kick) UM (8:54 re 4th) Anglin 15 run (White kick) UM (4:51 re 4th) Davis 12 pass from Suber (White kick)
TEAM STATS
MEM
UTC
First Downs Rushes-Yds Passes Passing Yds KO Return Yds Punts-Avg Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yds Time of Poss. Sacks by
22 43-198 20-29-0 198 48 7-41.6 1-0 13-110 29:34 2-13
20 29-201 20-46-1 201 114 7-41.7 0-0 3-35 30:26 0-0
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing: MEM-Brown 18-158-1, Anglin 1778-2, Sanders 5-14-0. UTC-Ball 16-24-1, McNeill 616-0. Passing: MEM-Anglin 15-22-0-145-2, Suber 5-7-0-53-1. UTC-Spearman 17-35-1-180-0, Barnes 3-11-0-21-0. Receiving: MEM-Perkins 4-57-0, White 4-390, Johnson 3-26-0, Brown 2-21-1, Garcia 2-10-0, Davis 1-12-1, Higgins 1-12-1. UTC-DeMatteo 7-55-0, Bandy 2-30-0, Jones 2-26-0, Peters 2-24-0. Interceptions: MEM-Means 1-4-0. UTCNone. A-24,053 (Weather: Cloudy, Intermittent Showers, Wind: SSW 14, 83 Degrees)
NOTES
◆ Junior tailback Dante Brown gained a career high 158 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns in the win over UTC. His 158 yards were the most by a Tiger back since Teofilo Riley gained 190 yards against Arkansas State in 1998. ◆ Junior wide receiver Tripp Higgins caught his first career touchdown pass against UTC. Higgins caught a 12-yard pass from Travis Anglin. ◆ Freshman receiver Tavarious Davis caught his first career pass against UT-Chattanooga and turned the catch into a 12-yard touchdown. Senior Neil Suber tossed the pass to Davis. ◆ Sophomore defensive tackle Albert Means intercepted his first career pass in the Chattanooga victory. He returned the interception four yards.