The University of Memphis football team has shown great promise in the early part of the season with a 1-1 start featuring a road loss in a nail-biter against No. 12 UCLA, but the Tigers have their work cut out for them in a critical home matchup against MTSU this Saturday.
The MTSU Blue Raiders are off to a hot start this season, holding a 2-1 record and the nation’s 19th-ranked rushing offense. MTSU defeated Memphis in four of the last five years with the Tigers’ most recent victory coming in 2010.
“They’ve leaned heavily on running the football and done a really good job of it, and really over the years this is not new to them,” Memphis head coach Justin Fuente said. “We’ll have our work cut out trying to limit that.”
MTSU is averaging 247 yards on the ground per contest this season and found success a year ago, ranking 31st in the country in rushing yards per game. The Blue Raiders boast a varied run game with four players on the roster already recording over 100 yards on the ground this season.
A key player on the offensive side of the ball for MTSU is sophomore quarterback Austin Grammer, who’s completed 65 percent of his passes while also scrambling out of the pocket and hurting defenses with the run game. In three games this season, Grammer has 158 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 32 attempts, including a 59-yard touchdown run in the Blue Raiders’ 50-47 triple overtime victory over Western Kentucky last weekend.
The MTSU offense has been effective in terms of scoring points and picking up yards, but it has struggled to hold on to the football. The Blue Raiders turned it over three times in their 61-7 season-opening win against Savannah State, and three more times in a 35-24 loss at Minnesota. The turnover department is one in which the Tigers may be able to take advantage, as Memphis has created three turnovers in its first two games.
While the Blue Raiders have been solid on the offensive end of the football, they’ve struggled to keep the opposition off the scoreboard. MTSU has given up 82 combined points against the two Football Bowl Subdivision opponents it’s played this season — a number which ranks among the worst in all of college football.
The MTSU pass defense ranks slightly below average at 77th in the country, and the run defense checks in at 93rd, yielding a dreadful 184.7 yards per game.
The run game is another area where Memphis can look to maximize its offensive output. The Tigers rushed for 164 yards against a quality UCLA defense in their last game, and are gaining an average of 233.5 yards on the ground per game in the 2014 campaign so far.
Despite the sub-optimal defensive numbers, the Blue Raiders have managed to turn their opponents over five times this season. Fuente said controlling the turnover battle will be critical in securing a win on Saturday.
“That’s what will give us a chance — taking the ball away on defense and not giving it back offensively,” the third-year coach said. “Hanging onto the football and trying to get it back defensively will be a big thing for us.”
Saturday’s game will be an important one, with the Tigers coming in with confidence and an energized fan-base following the close loss to UCLA. After MTSU, Memphis plays two of its toughest matchups of the season at No. 10 Ole Miss and at Cincinnati, so a win would be huge towards keeping the fans invested and keeping the losses from stacking up early on in the season.
The Tigers will kickoff against MTSU at 6 p.m. Saturday night at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, and the game will be streamed on ESPN3.
