Blue White Illustrated

| D uring a 24-hour span earlier this month, the Memphis football team won its confer- ence championship game, lost its head coach and received the first New Year's Six bowl invitation in school history. It was a disorienting experi- ence, but to hear new coach Ryan Sil- verfield tell it, the Tigers have come out on the other side with a sense of purpose and a determination to make the most of the opportunity they earned by going 12-1 in what turned out to be Mike Norvell's final season with the surging program. "We're moving forward," said Silver- field, who was the team's offensive line coach before being promoted to take over for the Florida State-bound Norvell. "We're just focused on the staff that's in place right now, coaching this bowl game. Chips will fall where they may. At the end of the day, the focus is the people." Norvell's exit may have introduced some uncertainty into what would oth- erwise have been one of the most cele- bratory moments in the program's history. But Silverfield has been preaching the need for continuity and said the mood among players was upbeat fol- lowing the deluge of news. "They're excited," Silverfield said. "We've got a hungry team. Yes, we just won the conference championship, but that's not the final deal. Since I've been here, we haven't won a bowl game. That sticks in a lot of our craws, and that's something we need to go out and accomplish. The mindset is that it doesn't matter who the opponent is, we'll be excited." There's been a lot to be excited about lately. The day before the bowl bids were re- vealed, Memphis defeated Cincinnati, 29-24, in the American Athletic Con- ference championship game, claiming the spot in the New Year's Six field that goes to the highest-ranked finisher in the Group of Five. In the wake of their second victory over Cincinnati in as many weeks – they also defeated the Bearcats, 34-24, in their regular-sea- son finale – the Tigers are 17th in the College Football Playoff rankings. The success that Memphis has en- joyed this season has been predicated on a versatile and highly productive of- fense. Redshirt junior quarterback Brady White is completing 64 percent of his passes and has averaged 273.9 yards per game, with 33 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. White, a Californian who trans- ferred to Memphis after beginning his college ca- reer at Arizona State, sur- passed 300 yards in five games and only twice has been held below 200. One of White's strengths has been his ability to spread the ball Having overwhelmed its challengers in the AAC, Memphis turns its attention to Penn State and the chance for a history-making victory AMERICAN DREAM P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> TROPHY GAME Players cele- brate the Tigers' victory over Cincinnati in the AAC championship game. Photo by Matthew A. Smith/Tiger Athletics

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