Tigers defeat Cyclones 36-26 in 65th annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The Memphis Tigers defeated the Iowa State Cyclones 36-26 to claim the 65th AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

The win marks the 10th victory for the Tigers this season, their fourth 10-win season since 2014.

Seth Henigan threw for 24 completions, 391 passing yards, and 4 touchdowns. Henigan also rushed for a touchdown.

Henigan became the career passing yards leader and single-season completions record holder for Memphis.

Blake Watson rushed for 107 yards and Roc Taylor caught eight passes for 102 yards.

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht threw for 22 completions, 446 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Jayden Higgins led the Cyclones with nine receptions, 214 yards, and one touchdown.

The story of the game was Memphis’ run defense as the Tigers held Iowa State to zero yards on the ground.

Memphis came out the gate strong as Seth Henigan found Demeer Blankumsee deep for a 70-yard touchdown to put the Tigers up 6-0.

The Tigers’ defense followed that up with a 4th down stop to give the offense the ball in Iowa State territory.

Memphis capitalized on the drive as Seth Henigan ran it in from 11 yards for a touchdown to put the Tigers up 13-0 in the first quarter.

On the next drive, Seth Henigan hit Joe Scates for a 51-yard touchdown to go up 19-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Iowa State got on the scoreboard in the beginning of the second quarter as Rocco Becht found Jayden Higgins for a 29-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 19-7.

After two defensive stops, Iowa State’s kicker Chase Contreraz posted two field goals to make it 19-13.

With 35 seconds remaining, Memphis made some quick work to get down the field to set up a 49-yard field goal for Tanner Gillis.

Memphis went into halftime with a 22-13 lead.

After forcing an Iowa State three-and-out to start the second half, Blake Watson took a carry for 53 yards to set the Tigers up inside the Iowa State 10-yard line.

The run set up a Seth Henigan touchdown to Anthony Landphere as the Tigers extended their lead to 29-13.

On the next offensive drive, Memphis’ Sutton Smith shook off multiple tackles to take a short gain all the way to the endzone for a 48-yard touchdown. The Tigers extended their lead to 23 points.

However, Iowa State retaliated with back-to-back touchdowns to make it a 36-26 lead in favor of Memphis with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Memphis failed to score again, but they killed over nine minutes of clock before giving the ball back to Iowa State, leaving them with only 42 seconds.

Stay tuned for more game highlights coming up at 10 p.m.

Ahead of the big win, thousands of fans flocked to Tiger Lane on Friday, spending the entire day tailgating at the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

It’s the last game to be held at the stadium before its multi-million-dollar makeover.

Bearing the cold and rain, hours before the big game, Cyclones and Tigers football fans lined Tiger Lane to tailgate and show off their school spirit for the 65th AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

“We’ve been out here since about 10 o’clock,” said one Memphis Tiger fan.

“We got some sandwiches, some fruit, a bunch of chips, a bunch of Christmas cookies and desserts. It’s a day out here,” said an Iowa State Cyclone fan.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl officials tell Action News 5 that this year, tailgaters sold out 3,000 on-site parking spots to see the two college teams.

When gates opened, over 48,700 fans filled the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

Both teams came looking for a taste of victory, while thousands of fans enjoyed the taste of tailgating.

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