As The University of Memphis’ football team approaches its mid-season point, head coach Tommy West said Wednesday he feels the Tigers are headed in the right direction after a 22-17 victory Saturday night over previously unbeaten Southern Miss.
“I think we’re making progress,” West said. “The key coming into this year is that we make improvements, and I think we’re doing that.”
The U of M, which moved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Conference USA, hadn’t won against Southern Mississippi (3-1,1-1 in C-USA) since 1993 and had not scored a touchdown against the Golden Eagles in three seasons. The latter changed Saturday when Dante Brown ran for a one-yard touchdown to give Memphis an early 7-0 lead following a fumble recovery by linebacker Greg Harper.
In fact, Memphis scored its next 10 points off Golden Eagle turnovers, a good sign that West’s defense, which had been run through by Louisville a week earlier, is playing more effectively.
Sophomore outside linebacker Derrick Ballard was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week because of his strong performance Saturday. Ballard, who returned a Jeff Kelly interception 29 yards for a TD and a 17-10 Tiger lead, also recorded five tackles, a sack and two pass breakups during the contest.
But not all the news is good for Memphis. The Tigers still appear to be hurting at the quarterback position.
Freshman redshirt quarterback Danny Wimprine was forced to take over for an injured Travis Anglin, who left Saturday’s game with a recurring shoulder injury. Wimprine played admirably, though, completing 13-of-27 passes for 102 yards while leading the Tigers to a fourth-quarter field goal which put the game out of reach.
West said Anglin has been practicing this week, but added a starter for Saturday’s game against Houston has yet to be named. Senior Neil Suber is still suffering from the effects of a sprained left shoulder.
“I really anticipate having Travis healthy,” West said. “We’re probably going to have two healthy (quarterbacks) and one close. That’s the best it’s been in a few weeks.”
West said the Tigers’ punt team will also be under close scrutiny this week. The Tigers had two more punts blocked against Southern Miss Saturday and another deflected.
“We’ve got to speed our operation up,” West said. “We’ve got to do a better job of blocking up front.”
West said he is also wary of the Tigers’ next opponent — winless Houston. He said he considers the game a “scary” one.
A note taped to the training room door at the Billy J. Murphy practice facility on South Campus reads: “Houston Week Focus — Follow one great win with another.”
“I know if we hadn’t won a game, we would be hungry,” West said. “I’m sure they’re (Houston) hungry. I just hope our guys understand that. They’ll be looking to get their first win.”
