MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Will Young rushed for over 100 yards and Southeast Missouri (0-1) forced three turnovers in a 35-17 season-opening loss to Memphis (1-0) Saturday night at the Liberty Bowl.
 
SEMO met Memphis for the first time in 82 years in front of a crowd of 42,876.
 
A 22-point first quarter was the difference as the Redhawks regrouped to outscore the Tigers, 17-13, the rest of the way.
 
"Memphis came out firing on all cylinders and we took their best punch early," said SEMO head coach Tom Matukewicz. "It staggered us there for awhile, but I was proud of the way we battled back. Our defense was good and it kept things respectable."
 
Riley Ferguson engineered a quick opening drive as Memphis covered 75 yards in eight plays over a span of 2:17. Ferguson completed five of his first six attempts for 73 yards and tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to John Williams. A two-point conversion followed giving the Tigers an 8-0 lead with 12:43 left in the first quarter.
 
After gaining no more than nine yards on each of its first three drives, Memphis took over on downs at its own 27-yard line. Ferguson again went to work, this time completing passes of 16, 21 and 11 yards to get the Tigers in scoring position. Doroland Dorceus capped the march with a 3-yard run to push Memphis' lead to
15-0 with 1:15 left to play.
 
Dante Vandeven, the 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, replaced starter Jesse Hosket at quarterback for SEMO's fourth possession of the game. Following two incomplete passes, Vandeven was picked off by Arthur Maulet who ran to the Redhawks 18-yard line.
 
Three plays later, Ferguson threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Dorceus giving the Tigers a 22-0 advantage with 40 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
 
SEMO's offense started slow, picking up just 14 total yards on 17 plays in the game's first 15 minutes. The Redhawks averaged less than a yard per play in the first quarter.
 
Ferguson hooked up with Daniel Hurd on a 20-yard completion and a SEMO personal foul tacked on 15 more yards to give Memphis a first-and-10 at the Redhawks 25-yard line. Ferguson then threw a 23-yard strike to Darrell Henderson, his third touchdown pass of the game.
 
Fletcher Evans recovered a Ferguson fumble and the Redhawks had the ball at the Memphis 31-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Hosket completed a 21-yard pass to Kristian Wilkerson to give SEMO a first-and-Goal at the 10. The Redhawks, however, settled for a 26-yard field goal by Ryan McCrum to cut Memphis' lead to 29-3 at halftime.
 
SEMO's defense forced three turnovers in the first half with Roper Garrett and Mike Ford each getting an interception and Evans recovering a fumble. The Redhawks have had multiple takeaways in six-straight games dating back to last season.
 
The Redhawks struck first in the second half when Will Young broke several tackles on his way to a 61-yard touchdown run. Young's second career rushing touchdown made it a 29-10 game at the 10:13 mark of the third quarter.
 
Memphis responded with a 45-yard field goal by Jake Elliott. Elliott's kick closed out a 10-play, 34-yard drive that upped the Tigers lead to 32-10 with five seconds to go.
 
Another field goal by Elliott, this time from 40 yards out, completed a 41-yard scoring drive that expanded the Tigers' lead to 35-10 with 10:41 left to play in the fourth quarter.
 
Hosket's first career touchdown pass of eight yards to Adrian Davis polished off SEMO's longest drive of the night. The 14-play, 82-yard march ended the scoring.
 
Ferguson completed 26-of-40 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns and Anthony Miller finished with nine receptions for 103 yards to lead Memphis.
 
The Tigers outgained the Redhawks, 406-253, with 295 of their yards through the air.
 
Young ran for 114 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in his first career start at tailback. Hosket threw for 143 yards and a touchdown on 19-of-31 passes in his first start as SEMO's quarterback.
 
"We made adjustments at halftime and executed a lot better in the second half," said Young. "We were proud of the way we came back."
 
Defensively, Chad Meredith and Joshua Wilson led the Redhawks with eight and seven tackles, respectively. Meredith and Wilson also had one sack apiece as SEMO collected three sacks and six tackles for loss for the night. Ford's sixth career interception placed him in a tie for 19^th all-time at SEMO, as well.

SEMO fell to 9-17 all-time in season-openers since joining the Football Championship Subdivision in 1991.
 
The Redhawks return to action at regional-rival Southern Illinois Sept. 10.