MEMPHIS – The Memphis Tigers are off and running… literally.

Memphis opening up a new season with a dominant ground game in a blowout win over Bethune-Cookman this past weekend.

Transfer running back Blake Watson made the most of his Memphis debut by becoming the first Tiger since Darrell Henderson to score three rushing touchdowns, in the first half.

Then there’s Sutton Smith.

All this talented sophomore did was become the first Tiger in almost two years to run for over 100 yards in a game.  Smith finished with 115 yards and two touchdowns in the U of M’s 56-14 win over the Wildcats.

“It’s a testament to my hard work. I was a little nervous before today, but I felt like I was also confident,” Smith said.  “But it was a good thing that I rushed for over a hundred yards. Just thankful for my O-line and my coach for putting me in a position to be successful.”

“This is my sixth year and it never gets old,” Watson said.  “Keep on building and just keep on getting better every week. Keep on going 1 and 0. I’ll just keep on doing what we do.”

That talented Tiger twosome also drawing high praise from the team’s offensive coaching staff.

“Sutton and Blake played really well. I think they made guys miss. I think the offensive line opened up the holes and got hats on hats,” said Tigers Offensive Coordinator Tim Cramsey.  “Overall, I think the run game was solid. I think it was efficient. I think we had eight explosive runs, which is a good number.”

Another good number is 450.  That’s the amount of rushing yards the Tigers have had the last two years against Arkansas State.

The U of M heads to Jonesboro this weekend, trying to run their winning streak over the Red Wolves to five straight.