Though the University of Memphis football team scored seven touchdowns in last week’s 52-33 win over Houston, head coach Tommy West said his team still has work to do before Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. game at East Carolina — especially defensively.
West said the Tigers will have to play better defense than they did last week against Houston to get their fifth win of the season. Against the Cougars, the Memphis defense was torched for five touchdowns and a season-high 461 total yards, including 331 passing yards by Houston’s Nick Eddy, who was starting his first game at quarterback.
“They did whatever the flip they wanted to do,” West said earlier this week about Houston’s offense. “At some point in time, I’d like to see us try to tackle somebody.”
With a win Saturday, the Tigers (4-2, 2-1 in Conference USA) would move into the upper echelon of the C-USA standings while also surpassing last year’s win total of four.
When Memphis and East Carolina met last season, the Tigers won, 17-10, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium behind a strong performance by then sophomore quarterback Scott Scherer. The win was Memphis’ biggest of the 2000 season and its last after beginning the season 4-2. The Tigers went on to lose their last five consecutive games to end the season at 4-11 before Scherer’s father, Rip, was fired and replaced by West, who had served as the team’s defensive coordinator.
This season, West and his Tigers’ will focus plenty of attention on ECU senior tailback Leonard Henry, who leads the nation in yards per carry at 9.2. Henry also ranks eighth in the nation and second in C-USA in yards per game with 135.2.
The 6-0, 197-pound All C-USA running back, who led his team with eight touchdowns last season, has already surpassed his career-high season total of 711 rushing yards in 11 games last season.
On the other side of the ball, Tiger running back Dante Brown, C-USA’s Co-Offensive Player of the Week this week, enters Saturday’s game as C-USA’s third-leading rusher. Last week against Houston, Brown carried the ball 26 times for 148 yards and broke two Tiger scoring records with four touchdowns.
Tiger redshirt freshman quarterback Danny Wimprine got his first start against the Cougars last week, completing 11-of-24 pass attempts for 100 yards and two touchdowns. He added another TD and 85 yards rushing on 15 carries. West said he likes his team with Wimprine at quarterback.
“I think Danny is the starter coming into this weekend,” West said. “I don’t think Travis did anything not to start, but Danny has been working hard. The guy who practices best will play.”
