ARLINGTON, TX – Memphis and Penn State faced off in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium. This was a big game for Memphis as they are now under the direction of new head coach, Ryan Silverfield, and this was also the first New Year’s Six Bowl in the Memphis Football Program’s history. To say this was an intense game would be an understatement and it was clear both teams came onto the field with something to prove. Memphis absolutely proved they were worthy of a New Year’s Six Bowl but they just couldn’t come away with the win. Penn State sealed the deal and defeated the Tigers 53-39.
The first quarter alone was eventful. Memphis won the toss and chose to defer but they quickly forced Penn State to punt and they took advantage of that quickly. While the Tigers moved into scoring territory quickly, Penn State’s defense put in serious work and Memphis had to settle for a 48-yard field goal from Riley Patterson (36). It didn’t take long for Penn State to answer back and a 32-yard rush by Journey Brown (4) put the Nittany Lions ahead 7-3.
Memphis made it clear they came to Texas to do work and a 56-yard pass from Brady White (3) to Kedarian Jones (13) just continued to fuel the Tiger’s fire. With Memphis in scoring territory, Patrick Taylor (6) took the opportunity and rushed 3-yards for a Memphis touchdown and the lead over Penn State 10-3. Memphis made sure Penn State didn’t answer back and forced them to punt again. Memphis made their way down the field once again and Patterson put up another 3 points with a 37-yard field goal to push their lead to 13-7.
It’s hard to believe that was just the first quarter, but it was. Penn State found themselves on the 2-yard line and quickly scored a touchdown from Noah Cain (21) to put the Nittany Lions ahead 14-13. Penn State quickly forced Memphis to punt and the Nittany Lions’ Devyn Ford (28) found himself in the endzone for another Penn State touchdown. Memphis once again couldn’t make anything happen and when Penn State got the ball back, Brown once again showed what a powerhouse he can be with a 56-yard touchdown run with 5:51 remaining in the quarter to put the Nittany Lions up 28-13. Memphis finally found a groove for the quarter with a touchdown from Kenneth Gainwell (19) to bring the Tigers within 8 points of Penn State. Penn State once again found the end zone for another touchdown late in the quarter. Patterson locked in another field goal for the Tigers before halftime but Memphis went off the field trailing Penn State 35-23.
Despite trailing going into half, that didn’t bring Memphis down and they came out ready to fight. Memphis started the half with the ball and took complete advantage of that. White quickly found the end zone after three long distance completed passes and put the Tigers within 5 points of Penn State. Penn State didn’t hold on to the ball for long as Memphis’ Austin Hall (25) intercepted a pass from Sean Clifford (14). While the Tigers weren’t able to find the endzone, Patterson once again put up 3 points for Memphis to make it an even closer game. Penn State went hard on offense again but Memphis put in serious work on defense, holding the Nittany Lions to a field goal. It seemed it was going to be a battle of the field goals with Memphis once again earning 3 points putting them just 2 points behind Penn State. Memphis held Penn State on the next drive and earned that ball from a turnover on downs. Unfortunately, Penn State would go on to intercept a pass from White and quickly put up 7 points to extend their lead 45-36.
The 4th quarter was full of tension with both Penn State and Memphis players and fans hyped up to see which team would come away with the victory. On the first drive of the quarter, Memphis was unable to find the end zone but Patterson once again locked in a field goal. Penn State was hungry on their next drive and Cain earned himself another touchdown to push the Nittany Lions ahead 53-39. Penn State would maintain that lead for the remainder of the game and come away with the 2019 Cotton Bowl Championship trophy.
Despite their loss, Memphis kicker Riley Patterson set new Cotton Bowl records with most field goals (6 in one game), the longest field goal (51-yards) and the most points by a kicker in a game (21 points total). Despite breaking records, Patterson spoke at the post-game press conference and stated he still wasn’t happy because his team didn’t get the victory.
While this brings the football season to a close for these teams, Coach Silverfield stated that he promises to continue to improve the football program for the Memphis Tigers for as long as he is the head coach of the program.
Written by Kiley Compton
