Conference USA’s two top-rated quarterbacks will go head-to-head Saturday at 1 p.m. when the Tigers and Louisville square off at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in Louisville.
Memphis junior quarterback Travis Anglin is ranked No. 1 in the conference with a quarterback efficiency rating of 165.8 and remains the only starting quarterback in C-USA who hasn’t thrown an interception.
Cardinal junior quarterback Dave Ragone, whose 148.1 rating ranks second in C-USA, is the conference leader in per game passing average and total offense with 291.8 yards. Anglin ranks last in passing offense at 98.3 yards per game and near the bottom of the total offense category.
Yet during Memphis’ win last week against South Florida, Anglin caught a 45-yard pass for his first career reception as a Tiger. He added 49 rushing yards on 10 carries to go with 94 yards passing, giving him 188 of the Tigers’ 325 total yards.
In fact, head coach Tommy West said Anglin may be catching the ball more often.
“We’ll always have special plays for Travis,” West said.
Anglin is the only quarterback in the conference ranked in the top 10 in rushing with 54.3 yards per game, good enough for seventh.
Defensively West said he plans to throw Ragone’s timing off by showing him various looks.
“We have to do a great job of disguising our fronts, blitzes and coverage,” West said. “We have to look like we’re not coming when we are, and we have to look like we’re coming when we’re not.
The disguised coverages will keep Ragone guessing and could lead to some bad decisions, according to West.
“We want to confuse him and get inside his head,” West said. “We want him to make decisions after the ball has been snapped.”
While Memphis has the best-ranked pass efficiency defense in Conference USA, the team is giving up nearly 220 yards passing per game.
West said his team has improved since the South Florida game, though, and morale is high going into Louisville.
“We’ve had a good week in practice and they’ve been working hard,” West said. “We’re a better team now than we were leaving Saturday's game.”
The running of Dante Brown will be another point of interest for the Tiger offense. Brown is third in C-USA in rushing with 93.3 yards per game.
As far as Louisville’s running game, their top running back, T.J. Patterson, who leads the Cardinals in rushing with 54.5 per game, should miss the game with a fractured right ankle.
In their loss to Illinois last week, Louisville rushed for just 29 yards on 25 carries. Freshman Lionel Gates may get the start Saturday because running back Tony Stallings has been suffering from fluid in his right knee.
