Memphis (4-3, 1-3 American Athletic Conference) fell to No. 10 UCF (6-0, 3-0) in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The 31-30 loss marks coach Mike Norvell’s first with a losing conference record. 

Weather Affected Both Sides 

Rain started pouring on Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium at halftime of Saturday’s game -- the third time this season the Tigers played in the rain and the third time they lost. 

UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton fumbled once while the Tigers fumbled twice. The last fumble came in the fourth quarter on a botched handoff from quarterback Brady White to wide receiver Kedarian Jones on the Knights 23-yard line. 

“The weather impacted the game,” UCF head coach Josh Heupel said. “You can’t watch that game and understand that the third quarter and the fourth quarter, the game was dramatically affected by the weather. Fumbles, when the ball came out of the back of McKenzie’s hand… the exchanges and bad snaps, on both sides, it affected it. That’s college football, you have to play through the elements and just keep fighting.” 

The rain presented challenges in the Tigers passing game, forcing Memphis to rely on the run game. UCF adjusted and limited the Tigers to less than 100 rushing yards in the second half. 

Both coaches said that in the end the weather is part of the game. Norvell told his young players they need to respond and keep growing together. 

“The rain in the second half is a factor, but it was wet for both sides,” Norvell said. “It was coming down pretty good. They did a good job in their adjustments and what they were trying to do. We were still able to throw the ball sometimes, but it was challenging in some of those moments. At the end of the day, it’s part of the game. We can’t control the weather. We can’t control any factor other than ourselves. We just have to keep growing and keep getting better.” 

Tigers Continue Working on Finishing 

The comeback by the Knights is the second time this season the Tigers allowed an opponent to overcome a double-digit deficit. Since the Navy loss, the Memphis coaching staff focused on finishing late in games. 

This is a young team with only seven seniors who contribute consistently. Only three of those are on offense, and White, a redshirt junior, appeared in only the ninth game of his career. 

“We just have to learn how to finish games,” running back Darrell Henderson said. “I think that we get too comfortable. We just have to stay focused and be ready to fight in the second half.” 

The attention of the Tigers turns to learning from their mistakes. White said Memphis needs to approach every day the rest of the way with intensity. 

The Tigers play the Missouri Tigers on Saturday in Columbia. It’s the last non-conference game of the season. 

“You have to learn from the mistakes you made this game, and you have to have great intensity and focus every single day,” White said. “Everyone was prepared and was ready to go for this game. It was a matter of not finishing. I don’t think anyone came out in the second half not focused or not ready to go, we just didn’t get it done. We have to bounce back, learn from our mistakes and press on.” 

Putting the Loss Behind Them 

The Tigers were disappointed after the loss to the ranked UCF team who now own 12 straight wins over Memphis since 2005. 

If the Tigers dwell on this loss for too long it could affect the rest of the season. It’s about putting it behind them and moving on to next week’s game against Missouri. 

“We have to keep fighting, flush this game, don’t let this game ruin our season and continue taking losses,” defensive tackle John Tate said. “We have to build from this game and look forward to the rest of the season.”