Memphis wins American to clinch Cotton Bowl, but loses Mike Norvell to Florida State

The Memphis Tigers defeat the Cincinnati Bearcats again to win the AAC and reach the Cotton Bowl, but will reportedly be losing head coach Mike Norvell.

The third time’s a charm for the Memphis Tigers, as the AAC West division champion finally won a conference title under head coach Mike Norvell. After losing to the UCF Knights in back-to-back AAC Conference Championship games, Memphis finally got it done by outlasting Luke Fickell‘s Cincinnati Bearcats, 29-24, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Antonio Gibson was the game’s MVP after running for a game-high 130 yards and a touchdown and adding 32 yards and another touchdown through the air. The latter was the game-winner from Brady White with 1:14 remaining in the game.

This is a huge win for the Memphis program, as the Tigers will represent the Group of 5 in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Though this was Memphis’ first outright conference championship in school history, Norvell will not be walking in Memphis much longer.

Norvell will be named the new head coach of Florida State at a Sunday press conference. It remains to be seen if he will coach Memphis in the Cotton Bowl or if he will focus on his new job and putting together a recruiting class and coaching staff. Former UCF head coach Scott Frost coached the Knights in the Peach Bowl win against Auburn after accepting the job at Nebraska. P.J. Fleck was able to do that with the Western Michigan Broncos before taking over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Perhaps, Norvell will follow that same script.

But let’s not overlook what is a huge moment for Memphis football. Earning the New Year’s Six bowl out of the Group of 5 is an incredible accomplishment. Given that programs like the Boise State Broncos and UCF Knights have dominated the Group of 5 in the College Football Playoff era, winning the American and getting to the Cotton Bowl can’t be overlooked.

Yet, all we’re going to really be talking about next week will be if Norvell can get Florida State back to respectability as quickly as possible.

Unless Dabo Swinney wants to replace Nick Saban in a few years at his alma mater, the Clemson program isn’t going away any time soon. Add in the other good coaches in the division like Dino Babers, Dave Clawson and Scott Satterfield and this could be a challenging transition for Norvel.

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