Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Memphis Caps 10-Win Season With AutoZone Liberty Bowl Win Against Iowa State

12.29.23

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Seth Henigan passed for 364 yards and four touchdowns and added a rushing TD as Memphis picked up its 10th win of the season with a 36-26 victory against Iowa State Friday in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at Simmons Liberty Bank Stadium.

Henigan staked Memphis to a 19-0 lead after the first quarter and added two third-quarter touchdown passes to give the Tigers a 36-13 lead before the Cyclones were able to close within 10. 

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht accounted for the balance of the Cyclones' 446 yards offense as he went 22 of 38 with three touchdowns, including second-half TDs that brought Iowa State within 36-26 with 9:55 left in the fourth quarter. But the Tigers responded with a 17-play, 73-yard drive that, despite coming up empty on the scoreboard, consumed 9 minutes, 13 seconds of the fourth quarter and ended on the Iowa State 2-yard line with only 42 seconds left.

Memphis' defensive front held Iowa State to zero rushing yards as the Cyclones' leading rusher, Abu Sama, was limited to four yards on 12 carries.

In addition to engineering the Tigers' win Friday, Henigan set Memphis' career passing record as he finished the game with 10,773 yards, passing Brady White for the all-time mark. Henigan will build upon those numbers as he plans to return to the Tigers in 2024.

Blake Watson rushed for 107 yards on 15 carries, while Roc Taylor had eight receptions for 102 yards for Memphis. The Tigers finished with double-digit wins for just the fifth time in the program's 108-year history - the fourth time since 2014 and the first time under head coach Ryan Silverfield, who improved to 31-19 in four years as head coach.

Iowa State wideout Jayden Higgins had nine catches for 214 yards and a touchdowns as the Cyclones finished the season at 7-6.

Memphis scored at least 20 points for the 27th consecutive game, extending the longest active streak nationally.