Tickets Final Stats | Notes | USATSI 
By Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
MEMPHIS - The replay appeared to show that University of Cincinnati linebacker Mike Tyson had stripped the ball loose from Memphis receiver Roderick Proctor before Proctor's knee hit the ground.
At the least, there didn't look to be conclusive evidence for the replay official to overrule the call on the field that would have awarded the ball to UC on the Memphis 32-yard line with just over two minutes to play in a 46-46 game.
But the call was reversed, allowing Memphis to keep alive a drive that resulted in a 3-yard touchdown run by Sam Craft with 53 seconds left that proved to be the winning margin in a wild offensive battle that saw one of the most cherished records in UC history broken by Hayden Moore, a redshirt freshman quarterback who has never started a game.
In the end, the Tigers walked off with a 53-46 victory Thursday night to extend their winning streak to 11 - matching TCU with the second-longest winning streak in the country behind Ohio State's 16 - before a fired-up crowd of 45,172 in a nationally-televised game at the Liberty Bowl.
"We just didn't get that one break that we needed," said UC coach Tommy Tuberville. "I thought we got it right there at the end on the fumble but they overturned it. That'll be for future discussion."
The Bearcats (2-2 overall, 0-2 in the American Athletic Conference) had a chance to tie on the final drive when Moore led UC to the Memphis 19-yard line. On first-and-10, Moore was about to be sacked when he attempted to shovel the ball to running back Tion Green as he was being spun around. But his pass was high, tipped off Green's hands and into the hands of Memphis' Leonard Pegues at the 24 with 10 seconds to play to seal the win for the Tigers (4-0, 1-0).
"We had four downs to throw it in the end zone," Moore said. "I need to throw it away. I got grabbed from behind. I got spun and I can't take a sack so I was trying to get it to my running back. My back was right there, I just threw it a little high while I was getting swung. He tipped it and it was just bad luck it went right to the defender."
Moore passed for 557 yards to break Greg Cook's school record of 554 passing yards set in 1968 vs. Ohio. Playing in relief of Gunner Kiel, who was forced from the game with a neck injury with 3:25 left in the first quarter, Moore completed 31 of 53 passes for four touchdowns with two interceptions.
"That's amazing," Tuberville said. "When your starting quarterback goes down you don't think you're going to break records, especially against a good defense, but I was proud of him. He struggled a little bit in the third quarter because they started giving him some things that gave him trouble reading, but what a performance. I'd say 90 percent of the time he was as good as any guy who's been out there starting that I've seen in a long time."
Kiel lay motionless on the field after he was hit, and was carted off to the locker room, where he was conscious, had movement in his arms and legs, and according to Tuberville felt numbness in his hands. He returned to Cincinnati on the team charter late Thursday night.
Moore also relieved Kiel last Saturday after Kiel was knocked out of the Miami game and led the Bearcats on the winning drive with 1:13 left after committing four turnovers. He praised his offensive line and his receivers and said he felt more at ease in this game thanks to his experience against the RedHawks.
"Last week was definitely good for me, to get more reps against a good Miami team," Moore said. "I came in this time with a better mindset and I was ready."
Moore's record was one of seven broken by the Bearcats. They also set new school marks for total yardage (752), first downs (38), total plays (100), team passing yards (620), passing attempts (64) and completions (38).
Eleven different receivers caught passes for UC, led by Max Morrison and Shaq Washington, each with nine receptions. Morrison's went for a career best 162 yards and two touchdowns, including one of 40 yards that tied the score at 46-46 with 5:56 to play.
Washington's were good for 120 yards and one touchdowns. Chris Moore caught five passes for 153 yards and one touchdown.
There were 12 lead changes, with neither team leading by more than a touchdown. UC's Andrew Gantz kicked field goals from 35 yards, 49 yards, 32 yards and 36 yards. The one from 49 yards was the longest of his career. He also had one blocked.
"The game went back and forth the whole entire time," Gantz said. "To be honest with you, I think we outplayed that team physically. We just couldn't put two and two together, I guess. It just seemed like we were going to get the ball and then go down and hit the game-winner but it just didn't go in our favor tonight."
The Bearcats were again victimized by turnovers, committing three to one for the Tigers, increasing UC's turnover margin for the season to minus-10, the worst in the nation. Two of those turnovers led directly to Memphis touchdowns, including a 59-yard return for a touchdown off a Kiel interception.
Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch was as good as advertised. He completed 24 of 36 passes for 412 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions and ran for 52 yards on 11 carries. The Tigers gained 570 yards overall.
"We went into the game to make him run it," Tuberville said. "He wasn't going to run it but then when the game got in doubt he started running the ball. We were hoping he would turn it over because he hadn't run the ball as much as we made him run it. He executed it, did a good job. He's a good football player."
Tuberville hinted that Moore would start at quarterback next Thursday at Nippert Stadium against Miami (Fla.), but said that decision would be made after he finds out more about Kiel's injury.
"We've just got to get him 100 percent," Tuberville said of Kiel. "We'll go with Hayden right now and let Gunner refuel. I'm not going to say 100 percent but (Moore) played good enough to start. We just don't want to put Gunner in a situation where something might make it worse. He could be the starter next week. I don't know."
Bill Koch covered UC Athletics for 27 years - 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer - before joining the staff of GoBEARCATS.com in January, 2015 as featured columnist. Follow him on Twitter @bkoch.