DENTON, Texas — Joe Scates was streaking down the middle of the DATCU Stadium turf, and he was open.

Seth Henigan lofted a ball, 40 yards on an invisible rope, and Scates dropped it.

"I can't even tell you how I dropped the ball," Scates said. "I don't even know how. It just went through my hands."

Three plays later, Memphis (6-2, 3-1 AAC) turned the ball over on downs, part of a shambolic second half in which the Tigers squandered a 24-point lead and nearly threw away their AAC title hopes.

But with 12 seconds left in the game, there was Scates, again streaking down the middle of the field. And there was Henigan, again putting it right on him. This time Scates caught it, salvaging a 45-42 win for Memphis, making the Tigers bowl-eligible and giving them legitimate confidence heading into the final four games of the season.

"Last year or years prior, that (drop) would've got to me," Scates said. "I would've beat myself up, but me just understanding the flow of life, the flow of football, everything's not going to always go your way. But it's about how you respond and how you stay level-headed in those moments."

How Memphis lost lead, gave Joe Scates chance at redemption

But what exactly happened in between that drop and that catch?

The Tigers had come out firing Saturday, their slow starts that had plagued them over the last month be damned. Running back Blake Watson took a handoff 65 yards to the end zone on the game's second play, and Memphis had a lead after just 46 seconds.

Everything was working, and Memphis had a 31-10 halftime lead in what felt like a workmanlike performance on the road against a newcomer to the conference.

But the Mean Green (3-5, 2-3 AAC) had other ideas. Just two minutes later, quarterback Chandler Rogers found Roderic Burns for his second receiving touchdown of the game, then easily converted the two-point conversion to make it 31-21. Memphis seemed to have salted the game away after a Jaylon Allen strip-sack led to a Brandon Thomas rushing touchdown, but North Texas was undeterred.

The home team scored three straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 6-yard pass from Rogers to Ja'Mori Maclin with just 47 seconds left to play.

At that point it seemed as if the Mean Green would get the spoils in front of the 18,062 fans in attendance for their homecoming, even as Henigan — who grew up 12 minutes from DATCU Stadium and starred for Denton Ryan High School — was trying to celebrate his own.

"We definitely know what it's like to lose close games," said Henigan, the quarterback of a team that went 0-4 in one-score games a season ago.

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Added coach Ryan Silverfield: "Hopefully we've all improved from previous seasons. If I'm the same head coach I was last season, shame on me. If Seth Henigan is the same quarterback, if all of us are the same, then shame on us. And we've all grown in the right direction, and I think hopefully it's showing by the results. Finding a way."

How Memphis rallied vs. North Texas

It's safe to say most Tiger fans didn't think their team would find a way as they came back on the field, now trailing for the first time in the game. It was a situation Memphis practices every Wednesday: Ball on the 25-yard-line, down by four points (so they need a touchdown), three timeouts.

Henigan first found Koby Drake — the reliable slot receiver who's "always open," according to his coaches and teammates.

That was a 19-yard gain to take Memphis to the 44-yard-line.

Then, after a penalty, Henigan connected with tight end Anthony Landphere for 18 yards.

A few plays later, the ball reached the North Texas 36-yard line. That's when offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey decided to call the same play he'd called about an hour earlier, with Scates streaking across the other end of the North Texas field.

"I knew he was going to throw it to me, no matter what coverage," Scates said.

Scates cut inside on cornerback Tarik Luckett, then beelined for the center of the end zone. Henigan stepped up in the pocket — the makeshift offensive line, with two starters injured, held up for the game's most important play.

"I think we ran it earlier in the game and you dropped it, right?" Henigan asked Scates postgame.

"Yup," Scates said.

Maybe Scates was thinking about that as the ball sailed toward him. Maybe he was thinking about the rest of Memphis' season, about how a loss would effectively end the Tigers' chance at reaching the AAC title game, at achieving all the goals they set out for themselves before the season kicked off in August. The margin for error, in those few seconds and in the entire season, was nonexistent.

"I knew I was gonna catch it," Scates said. "I ain't have no choice but to catch it."

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Joe Scates and a Memphis football TD to save a season: 'Catch it'