11/01/2026
Memphis Gains 554 Yards and Scores Seven TD in Dominant 49-22 Win Over Army Saturday Night
by John Chuhran for CaMMVets Media
Memphis, TN – The Memphis Tigers were all but unstoppable Saturday night, giving up 554 total offensive yards (371 passing, 183 rushing) scoring seven touchdowns in a 49-22 victory over the Army Black Knights at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. With the loss, Army falls to 5-3 (4-2 in the American Conference) and is effectively out of contention for the American Conference championship.
“That’s just an old fashioned ass whipping,” said Army Head Coach Jeff Monken. “I know what that feels like. I sure wish we played better. They played really well – they’ve got a terrific team, they’re talented, very well coached. They just completely outplayed us tonight. I’m disappointed. There’s a lot of lessons to learn; hopefully we will.”
Statistically, Memphis dominated. In addition to outscoring Army and gaining 189 total offensive yards more than Army, the Tigers had 27 first downs (vs. Army’s 18), converted 11 of 15 third downs to Army’s 3 of 10, they won the turnover battle (1 vs. Army’s 2), and had fewer penalties (2 for 15 yards vs. Army’s 4 for 40 yards). Memphis quarterback Marcus Stokes completed 29 of 36 passes for 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. Seven Memphis players caught passes during the game led by Jermane Hayes (9 catches for 86 yards and 2 TD) and Jerymi Davis (4 catches for 75 yards and 2 TD).
Army running back Godspower Nwawuihe had a game-high 100 yards and a TD on 19 carries and Zach Mundell had 79 yards on just 2 carries, but quarterback Cale Hellums had an unusually low total of carries (13) and yardage (34 yards) as the Black Knight struggled to find consistent success all night long.
Army lost the coin toss and Memphis (7-1, 4-10 deferred possession to the second half. The Black Knights had some reasonable results – a pair of six-yard runs and a completed pass for a gain of seven – but the drive stalled after Parker Poloskey got a 15-yard penalty for a chop block.
Stokes got to work with a balanced attack, alternating runs with passes for 12 plays as he moved the Tigers 80 yards downfield. Ultimately, Memphis took a 7-0 lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jermane Hayes along the left sideline in the end zone with 7:36 left on the first quarter clock.
The Black Knights responded with an eight-play, 75-yard drive as Hellums went back to basics – handing off or keeping the ball for eight straight runs and ending with Nwawuihe pushing through the left-side B gap from the Memphis 5 yard line to knot the score at 7-7.
On the second play after the kickoff, Stokes saw Hunter Tipton (five catches for 86 yards) get past Army’s Elijah Walton and he fired a bullet to the Memphis receiver, who charged 51 yards to the Army 18. Two more pass completions got the ball down to the Army 5 and Stokes again found Hayes for the TD, this time wide open as Noah Nixon was eliminated with a block.
Down 14-7, Hellums called a traditional Army drive -- eight running plays – but Memphis read the alignments well and limited Army yardage. With the ball at the Memphis 49, Armry’s James Wagenseller pounded a 44-yard punt. On the first play of the Memphis possession, Stokes found Davis on the right sideline at the Memphis 22. Davis tried a crossing pattern, but a hard hit by Army’s Nixon jarred the ball loose on the Memphis 22 and Army’s Kody Harris-Miller fell on the pigskin. Army gained 19 yards on three consecutive runs before Hellums called a forward pitch (which was officially credited as a pass completion) to Samari Howard, who was crossing left to right. Right Tackle Teddy Williams opened a massive hole, allowing Howard to charge through and dash eight yards untouched to make it 14-14.
Army’s defense continued to struggle against the Memphis pass attack. Stoke had completions of 16, 11, 19, 16 yards to get the ball to the Army 1. Jaylin Carter (team-high 23 carries for 96 yards and 2 TD) scored his ninth rushing touchdown with a carry behind some blockers to give Memphis another lead, 21-14 with 6:14 left in the half.
Army was trapped in a dangerous situation – the Black Knights needed a touchdown to tie the score and they really needed a sustained running drive to chew time off the clock and limit Memphis from getting the ball and scoring again. After Mundell sped through a gap for 10 yards and Hellums found Mundell for a 16-yard completion, the Army offense again stumbled as Hellums made an incompletion and Howard was dropped for a four-yard loss. Under pressure, Hellums forced another pass into heavy defensive coverage that luckily was incomplete.
Stokes and the Memphis offense returned to the field and the signal caller continued to move the Tigers at will. This time it was a 12-play, 86-yard drive that ended with a 15-yard TD pass to Davis. Army was down 28-14 and the Black Knights were fortunate to hold the deficit to just 14 points going into intermission.
That loss of the opening coin toss hung around the necks of the cadets at the beginning of the second half as they had to try to keep Memphis from building the gap to three scores. Though Manny Covey took the second-half kickoff and gained 27 yards for the Tigers, the Army defense held and allowed just four yards on three plays, forcing a Memphis punt. Army’s fortunes didn’t improve on the boot, which the Black Knights caught on their own 3 yard line. Memphis was swarming the middle and Army could only gain 16 yards on six plays before punting the ball which bounced out of bounds at midfield.
Stokes again led Memphis down the field as two runs and three passes put the ball on the Army 26. Stokes dropped back and again found Davis, who pulled the ball in on the 12 and spun across the goal line to give the Tigers three-score advantage.
Army now gained a second opponent – rain. The precipitation began slowly, but Army was moving fast. On the second play from scrimmage, Mundell found a hole on the left and slipped through, cutting towards the sideline as he raced 68 yards downfield before being caught and brought down on the Memphis 5. Three plays later, Hellums followed a pair of lead blockers into the end zone and then tossed a pass to the right side of the endzone to the waiting arms of an uncovered Mundell, to cut the deficit to 35-22 with 4:46 left in the third quarter.
But the rain got worse and both teams struggled to find the handle on the ball and to get secure footing on the turf. The two teams each mounted fruitless drives before Memphis finally simplified its attack to basic straight forward running and passing plays that resulted in a 12-play, 92-yard TD drive that ended when stokes rolled left, fumbled the ball as he stepped forward, and then got a fortuitous bounce off the turf that landed back in his hands just as he was about to cross the endzone to make it 42-22. Hellums was intercepted on the second play of the next series to effectively end Army’s challenge with 5:02 left in the game.
Army now prepares for its first Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy game – the annual match up against Air Force. This year, Army will host the contest at Michie Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM next Saturday (November 7) with live national TV coverage on the CBS network. Air Force defeated Navy 14-9 on October 3, so the Falcons can take possession of the trophy for the next 12 months with a victory. Army needs to defeat Air Force and top Navy on December 12 (3:30 PM start, also on CBS TV) to gain bragging rights and the massive silver and black award for the next year.
(-CaMMVets Media-)
