Memphis football survived − barely − against East Carolina on Oct. 22 at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
The Tigers (6-2, 3-1 American Conference) found a way to win against the Pirates (3-4, 1-2) eking out a 41-34 victory in overtime after a disastrous first half and a much better second half. The win keeps the Tigers in the mix for the American Conference title and gives them a bounce-back victory coming off a loss at Tulane.
"The kids are resilient," Memphis coach Charles Huff said after the game. "It shows that the process works. Because we didn't change anything. We went right back to work watching film, breaking down film, same practice model."
Huff said Memphis didn't expect to have its trademark offensive explosiveness in the first half as it tried to get a better read on the East Carolina defense. But Memphis' offensive performance in the first half was underwhelming by any metric. The Tigers only scored three points and had trouble sustaining any drives.
"We knew it was going to be a struggle in the first half," Huff said. "We just wanted to make sure we were efficient enough in the first half until we could tell what we were doing to figure out what's the best option to go to in the second half. And I thought the kids did a really good job."
At halftime, though, Huff believed the Tigers would turn it around.
"I hear (quarterback) Marcus (Stokes), 'We good, we good,' " Huff said. "Then I hear the defense, 'We got you, we got you.' Then they put on Moneybagg Yo or something. And it was like pregame in there. And I said, 'You know what? If they're good, all we've got to do is put them in the right place.' "
That happened after that. Memphis came all the way back, taking the lead in the fourth quarter before the Pirates forced overtime with a late touchdown drive. Stokes rushed for a touchdown in overtime, and Ellis Ellis Jr. picked off Mitch Griffis on the ensuing drive to clinch the game for the Tigers.
Memphis is back in action on Oct. 31 (7 p.m., ESPNU) when it hosts Army at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What Memphis football coach Charles Huff said after comeback win vs ECU in OT