You're not going catch Danny Wimprine or the rest of The University of Memphis football team talking about an easy win.
They've made that mistake before.
Wimprine has learned -- if not in his four years of experience, then in this young season -- anyone can beat you if you don't respect them.
"What I've been trying to tell everybody is that Tulane hasn't played as well as they would've liked to (this season), but this is college football and you've got to be ready to play every week," Wimprine said.
New Orlean's University of Tulane Green Wave (1-3 overall, 0-2 in Conference USA) have suffered losses at the hands of Southern Miss, East Carolina and were handled easily by Mississippi State. Tulane's only win came with a 39-19 decision over I-AA Florida A&M.
Alternately, the Tigers seem to be finally hitting their stride.A well-rested Memphis squad (4-1, 1-1) is coming off of a bye week following their 41-14 stomping of Houston two weeks ago. The Tigers' offense played as well as they had all season against the Cougars and there's no reason why the team shouldn't pick up where they left off against Tulane.
The Green Wave's pass defense is ranked No. 29 nationally, but some of their success is attributed to the team's they've played. East Carolina ranks 61st in pass offense, with Southern Miss at No. 97 and Mississppi State, No. 107, respectively.
Wimprine said the Tigers offense, ranked 11th in passing nationally, is successful because of the rapid succession of receivers they can throw at opposing defenses.
"We have a lot of weapons that we can spread the ball around to," he said. "We have a lot of guys that could go somewhere else and get eight or nine balls a week, but instead we have eight or nine guys that get three or four."
The Green Wave's biggest playmaker is Jovon Jackson. The running back ranks 40th nationally with 91 rushing yards a game.
That should suit Memphis well. The Tigers defense has acted like a Berlin Wall to opposing runners, giving up an average of just 85 total yards a game on the ground, ranking No. 9 nationally.
However, their passing defense is another story. It's been atrocious.Memphis is getting torched for 297 yards a game through the air. Fortunately for the Tigers, Tulane quarterback Lester Ricard has shown little ability to exploit defensive backfields. The sophomore is ninth in C-USA in passing, throwing for 135.8 yards per game.
Memphis coach Tommy West said his team can add to Ricard's struggles if they do a better job of getting pressure on the quarterback and not letting him sit in the pocket and pick apart the Memphis secondary.
"I think our guys sometimes take for granted the blitz," West said. "Most teams you coach, when you get a chance to blitz they go all out. We've let (opposing quarterbacks) hold the ball for too long and we've been giving them too much time to get it down the field."
One way or the other, history shows this game shouldn't be close. The winner of the last 10 meetings between the two teams has won by an average of 22.5 points.
