With the Ole Miss game two weeks from this Saturday, it might be easy to think Memphis could potentially overlook their next opponent when they go on the road Friday to play the University of South Florida Bulls.
However, Memphis coach Justin Fuente said his team knows the Bulls (1-2) have a lot of talented players on their roster.
“Our kids watch film,” Fuente said. “It’s just like last week. If you had taken the school colors of off Cincinnati’s uniforms, our kids are going to know they are going to play against really good players. It’s the same case here. They’ve been on the field with (Marlon) Mack. He took one to the house against a pretty good defense last year. You watch their defensive line attack the quarterback and play against the run, it’s pretty easy to tell they’ve got really talented kids over there.”
The Tigers (4-0) are off to their best start to a season since 1961. Memphis has also won 11 consecutive games dating back to last season, and a victory Friday ensures they will go an entire calendar year without a loss.
While the Memphis’ offense, led by redshirt junior quarterback Paxton Lynch, has been on a record-setting tear to start 2015 (215 points through four games). The defense has been feeling the effects of losing eight starters from last year’s squad to graduation.
The Tiger defense has given up 87 points in their last two games, including giving up a team record 752 yards to the Cincinnati Bearcats last week. The Tiger defense is currently ranked 89th in the country in points allowed, giving up more than 29 points per game, a far cry from last season’s defense.
In fairness, the defense has made critical stops when needed, whether it was stopping Bowling Green three consecutive times two weeks ago or senior linebacker Leonard Pegues’ game-ending interception against the Bearcats last week.
Nevertheless, Memphis redshirt sophomore defensive end Ernest Suttles said the defense remains a confident unit.
“We have to stay confident,” Suttles said. “We have to be trustworthy of our coaches and (them) putting us in the right positions. We have to be confident in our playmaking ability. It’s just about learning from our mistakes and getting ready for the next week.”
USF’s offense is averaging 27.3 points per game with sophomore running back Marlon Mack leading the attack. Mack led the American Athletic Conference in rushing last season, and is currently averaging 5.9 yards per carry this season. But given the Bulls’ struggles this season, the opportunity for the Tiger defense to have a bounce back game is there.
Memphis’ offense will be facing the second best defense in the AAC. The Bulls’ defense gives up only 344 yards a game. However, given Lynch and the Tigers’ success on offense this season, they will be expected to continue to score points at a high-volume.
One advantage USF has going into this week was that they’ve had two weeks to prepare for the Tigers.
“They are big and athletic and well accomplished on defense,” Fuente said. “They have added new coordinators and will present a challenge. They are athletic at quarterback and incredibly dynamic at tailback. They are playing a tough schedule obviously playing Florida State and Maryland. They had last week off so they have had enough time to prepare for us. We played them last year at the Liberty Bowl and it was a very close game. I would expect that it will be the same this year."
Memphis will travel to Tampa, Florida, to play USF at Raymond James Stadium, also home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 6 p.m. Friday. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Memphis linebacker Leonard Pegues will hope to make a similar impact in Friday’s game like he did last week when he had the game-ending interception against Cincinnati.
