For the first time in his illustrious college career, Seth Henigan did not throw a touchdown pass on Saturday night.

That streak spanned 41 games, tying him with Heisman winner Marcus Mariota for second-longest all time behind Marshall's Rakeem Cato, who finished with 46. Henigan seemed almost destined to break that record later this season, but now he'll be forever alongside Mariota in the record books.

"It didn't really matter to me, to be honest," Henigan said. "It would've been a cool thing, just to continue scoring touchdowns, every single game. I'm happy with whatever I had in the first place. To even be close to any record."

He was close. Inches away, actually, when tight end Anthony Landphere took a reception near the goal-line that needed a lengthy replay review. He could've done it on a run-pass option play that he decided to hand off to Brandon Thomas.

Receivers Roc Taylor and Koby Drake each had their hands on passes in the end zone, but neither of those plays ended in touchdowns.

"There were definitely some plays that we left out there, I left out there, our receivers left out there that we need to make to win games in the future, but overall, when you could out with a win, that's what it's all about," Henigan said. "You can't hang your head after a win. I've learned that throughout my years in college football."

The Tigers (4-1) ultimately beat MTSU 24-7 on Saturday, with Thomas rushing for two touchdowns and Mario Anderson rushing for the other. It was another game where Memphis was led by its defense, an about-face from last year's team that ended up in a shootout seemingly every game.

Henigan returned alongside Taylor, Drake and Demeer Blankumsee, and the passing attack was expected to be dynamic again. The tight ends have stepped up, with four receiving touchdowns between Landphere and Brendan Doyle. Henigan, who threw for 227 yards on Saturday, has also spread the ball around — he connected with nine different receivers against the Blue Raiders.

Taylor's acrobatic touchdown catch against Navy is the only touchdown catch by a Memphis receiver this season, though. Coach Ryan Silverfield said he wasn't concerned with that, especially because the Tigers have found a formula that works in the red zone.

"When we get in the red zone, if Brandon Thomas can run over people, we're going to continue to do that," he said. "Last year, you guys asked me about how bad our run game was constantly, and we're going to take what they give us. They lined up in a five down front and blitzed us almost exclusively.

"Roc and Koby both had drops in the end zone. They've got to catch the ball. And that's the reality of it. Seth's got to throw better footballs. But I'm about those stats. That's cool and all. But every time we get to the 1-yard line, we're going to hand the ball off or throw it to the tight end. I mean, that's what we do. And we've been pretty good at it when we do it."

Last season, Blake Watson rushed for over 1,000 yards and was a consistent threat for the Tigers in the passing game. Though there have been multiple injuries to the running back room this season, that's mostly continued. Anderson rushed for over 100 yards for the second straight game on Saturday.

Memphis has an open week before facing South Florida on the road. Silverfield said there will be a focus moving forward on maximizing one on one opportunities.

"We need to make those catches," he said. "We're going to have to be more explosive and find ways to make those catches when we get the 1 on 1s. That's the key. And tonight, we didn't win every one on one in the passing game."

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

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How Memphis, Seth Henigan are looking for passing game consistency