TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Ryan Silverfield has his signature win.

It wasn't easy, but Memphis football (3-0) escaped Doak Campbell Stadium with a 20-12 win Saturday over Florida State. The Tigers jumped to an early lead and quarterback Seth Henigan made enough plays through the air in a win that will boost its College Football Playoff résumé.

Florida State's offense was disastrous in the first half and Memphis forced two first-half turnovers to take a 13-3 lead into halftime. But the Seminoles looked rejuvenated in the second half, and it was a dogfight until the end.

Florida State (0-3) got the ball back with just over two minutes remaining and had a chance to tie the game. But the Memphis defense dominated the drive, using two sacks to pin Florida State back and make sure there was no comeback to be had.

Here are our takeaways from the game.

Memphis made enough plays when it mattered

It wasn't a pretty win by any stretch of the imagination. And while Memphis' usually dynamic offense struggled to move the ball consistently, Henigan and the passing attack did what they needed to do when it mattered.

The defense stepped up, too, most critically on Florida State's final drive. Chandler Martin started that drive with a sack, part of an eight-tackle performance that was especially important because fellow linebacker Elijah Herring missed the game with an injury.

Memphis' defense started strong again

The defense was the main storyline from the Tigers' first two wins of the season, and it continued to be so on Saturday. The Tigers forced a turnover on the second play of the game, when An'Darius Coffey knocked the ball away from Roydell Williams, and Martin fell on it. That set up the opening score for Memphis.

That wasn't the only turnover of the half. Tahj Ra-El came down with an interception a few drives later. And Memphis recovered a muffed punt just before halftime to set up a field goal.

Seth Henigan played his best game of the season

Memphis' passing attack didn't need to be great during the first two weeks of the season. That was a talking point going into Saturday's game, and Henigan stepped up. The senior was 25 of 38 for 272 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, repeatedly coming up with key conversions on third downs to engineer long drives.

The Tigers needed their best players to show up against Florida State, and Henigan made sure the offense was humming all day.

Florida State's offense was anemic . . . until it wasn't

Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and the Florida State offense has been hit by criticism the past two weeks. And they looked out of sorts during the first half, with Uiagalelei ineffective and the Seminoles completely unable to run the ball.

That changed in the second half. Uiagalelei's first pass of the half was a 67-yard completion to Malik Benson, and the offense was reborn briefly with the three-play, 75-yard drive. Williams scored on a 4-yard run, but the two-point conversion attempt failed.

Next up

Memphis heads into American Athletic Conference play when it travels to Annapolis to face Navy on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT).

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis football outlasts Florida State to earn signature road win