The University of Cincinnati football team entered its 2019 regular-season finale on a nine-game winning streak.
Memphis snapped that streak, defeating the Bearcats, 34-24, in Memphis.
Cincinnati returned to the Tigers' Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium eight days later to face Memphis in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) championship game.
The Tigers again beat the Bearcats, 29-24.
Both games came down to a lack of late-game execution by UC, which is unacceptable, Cincinnati Head Coach Luke Fickell said.
"It comes down to your ability to finish," he said. "Your ability to have the mental toughness to be in one of those games that's going to come down to the last 4-6 minutes of the game and be able to come out on top.