Ryan Silverfield's critics will grow louder after Memphis football loss to UCF | Giannotto

Gut reactions from Memphis football's 35-28 loss to No. 25 UCF on Saturday at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

Ryan Silverfield's bold (and bad) choice

It was a baffling decision.

A decision that reeked of desperation, when there was no need for it.

A decision that cast the spotlight ever brighter on Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield because it’s a decision that eventually sped up the Tigers’ demise. It was, as it turned out, the difference in the game.

The touchdown that gave UCF the lead for good came in the immediate aftermath of a call that will only embolden Silverfield’s biggest critics more.

The score was tied late in the third quarter. Memphis had the ball on UCF’s 39-yard-line facing a 4th-and-16. A promising drive had been derailed by a lengthy break in the action as referees deliberated over a targeting penalty on Tigers tight end John Hassell.

But Memphis had forced two UCF punts to start the second half. Here was an opportunity to pin the Knights deep, especially since kicker Chris Howard had already come up short on a 53-yard field goal before halftime.

Here, though, is where Silverfield decided to go for it. To take a chance that felt needlessly reckless, in the moment and in retrospect. He elected to have quarterback Seth Henigan roll out looking for an open receiver and essentially throw the ball up for grabs.

Nobody grabbed it, and nobody among the crowd of 28,048 quite knew what Silverfield was thinking.

The biggest question now, though, is what the Memphis decision makers were thinking as they saw it play out. That, unfortunately, is what this season has devolved into.

The Tigers lost another game in which they out-played their opponent for long stretches, only to suffer a death of a thousand cuts brought on mostly by themselves.

This was a win that could have preserved Silverfield’s job. Instead, it turned into a moment in which his deficiencies were exposed yet again.

How many gut punches are too many?

It has been 36 days since Memphis won a football game, and it will be a little longer until the Tigers win another one.

It's a shame because this team is playing hard. It's resilient. It hasn't let go of the rope, and the first game out of the bye week proved it. Memphis kept punching back every time UCF took the lead, and every time their own mistakes killed momentum. But it's only making each setback sit like a gut punch.

Many of those in attendance against UCF were gone by the time Memphis tried to get one last defensive stand, and "U-C-F" chants rang out in the stadium.

The Tigers play Tulsa on Thursday night on national television. How many will be back? How many will brave senior day against FCS opponent North Alabama?

We know Calvin Austin III won't be there after an unfortunate jumbotron gaffe misidentified someone else as him on the big screen.

These, though, are the optics Memphis must wrangle with now.

The decline of this program under Silverfield is unmistakable. Is extending the bowl streak enough for Silverfield to keep his job? University officials may want to avoid paying his buyout, but they can't just ignore the discontent that's mounting with every defeat that feels avoidable.

None of this is a complete disaster. How it keeps playing out, though, has been nothing less than discouraging. In many ways, it's the worst place for a college football program to be.

The little things hurt (again)

The details could have been costly for Memphis, and the first half cast a particularly poor spotlight on them.

The Tigers had the ball inside the 10-yard line three times before halftime and came away with no points, a development that overshadowed their two resilient touchdown drives in response to UCF scores.

The sequence bridging the first and second quarters were especially maddening.

Memphis faced a third-and-4 from UCF 9-yard line, ran it up the gut once for three yards, and then ran it up the gut once more for a loss, eschewing the chip shot field goal or a more creative play call. I didn’t mind the decision to go for it as much as the decision to lean on an offensive line that hasn’t been reliable.

But Silverfield got bailed out by his defense when defensive back Davion Ross came up with an interception when UCF took over possession.

Memphis had the ball at the 9-yard line again, and this time quarterback Seth Henigan threw a bubble screen that bounced off the hands of wide receiver Eddie Lewis, and then off the hands and helmets of several UCF players, before settling into the arms of defensive back Davonte Brown.

UCF then proceeded to take a 14-7 lead with an 89-yard touchdown march highlighted by a penalty on Memphis defensive lineman Cam’ron Jackson when he jumped offsides on 4th-and-1 from the Tigers’ 15-yard line.

Taken individually, they were all little mistakes. Taken together, however, they were discouraging reminders of the problems Silverfield has harped on for weeks now, with no solution seemingly in sight.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ryan Silverfield critics grow louder after Memphis football loss to UCF