Midway through his postgame interview Saturday night - after his record-setting debut as a University of Memphis starting quarterback - Tyler Bass' thoughtful answer to a reporter's question was interrupted by an intruder's kiss.
Tiger receiver Duke Calhoun leaned into the circle of cameras and digital recorders and planted a kiss squarely on the top of Bass' head.
And why not? In Bass' first game as a starter, the sophomore passed for 293 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a 41- 14 victory over UT Martin Saturday night before 21,428 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
Bass' passing yards surpassed those of other first-game starters - among them Kenton Evans (214) and Martin Hankins (211) - and no other first-game starter was more accurate. Bass completed 22 of 28, roughly the same percentage as Hankins, now a Tigers graduate assistant.
"It was surreal almost," Bass said. "I'd never thrown for more than 225 yards in high school. To throw for 293? That was fun."
After the Tiger offense had struggled in its opening games against Ole Miss and Middle Tennessee, Bass guided the unit to 24 points and 292 yards in the first half. The Tigers had been held to 14 points in each of their first two games and hadn't thrown a touchdown pass.
Bass, a former Maryland signee, also added a running element the Memphis spread offense covets. He finished with 80 yards on 16 carries, displaying the dual-threat capability he showed during a victory over Southern Miss last season, a game in which he torn his ACL.
His performance gave the Tigers (1-2) momentum leading into next weekend's Conference USA opener against Marshall at the Liberty Bowl.
"I thought that Tyler executed well in our option game and he executed pretty good in our play-action game, but he struggled in our drop-back game," Tiger coach Tommy West said. "We have to get him better right now.
"I left him in once the game was won because he needs to get all of the reps he can get. We have to keep trying to get him better. ... I thought, overall, for his first complete game, I thought he played well."
After sputtering in the first quarter, the Tiger offense awakened in the second. The UofM scored 24 points in the quarter and amassed nearly 200 yards.
Bass tossed touchdown passes of 19 yards to Carlos Singleton and 85 to Calhoun, while scoring himself on a 7-yard run. Matt Reagan added a 20-yard field goal as the Tigers scored on their four possessions to pull away before the half.
Singleton's touchdown grab - on a perfectly lobbed pass to the left corner of the end zone - was the UofM's first passing TD of the season. Singleton's catch also set a school record for career touchdowns, breaking the mark of 19 held by Tavares Gideon.
Calhoun's touchdown - one in which he took a short pass on the left side from Bass and outraced the Skyhawks defense 85 yards to the end zone - capped the 24-point quarter.
"In the second quarter, the O-line did a tremendous job as far as blocking," Bass said. "And the running backs did a tremendous job carrying out the fakes when we run our zone-read option. And the receivers did a great job. ... The overall team effort was amazing. (Calhoun) was getting out on screens and (Steven Joachim) and (Singleton) were catching fades and Cam Baker was crack-backing guys out there. Everyone was doing their job."
Memphis finished with 460 total yards, including 316 passing, but allowed 406. After the game, West was disappointed in the play of his secondary, which he termed "soft."
But Bass's play nearly overshadowed any deficiencies.
At the half, Bass was 13-of-16 for 204 yards and Calhoun had three receptions for 108 yards.
In the third quarter, Bass added touchdown passes of 21 yards to Singleton and 8 yards to Joachim to up the Tiger lead to 38-14. UT Martin got its scores on a 44-yard pass from Cade Thompson to Eunique Williams and a 17-yard run by former Tiger back Miguel Barnes.
Barnes led all rushers with 105 yards on 19 carries. Thompson, a South Carolina transfer, was 11-of-29 for 209 yards.
"We played physical," said UT Martin coach Jason Simpson. "That team is just better than us."
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