The Memphis Tigers open up the season against the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks at 6 p.m. Saturday at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
The Redhawks have continued to struggle in the Ohio Valley Conference with 2010 being their last winning season.
Riley Ferguson will be making his first start for the Memphis Tigers as he attempts to fill the hole left behind by Paxton Lynch.
The Tigers have multiple running backs who are capable of having big games. Something to look for will be who gets the majority of the early touches or if the ball is evenly distributed to the backs. Doroland Dorceus is a returning starter and is expected to get the majority of the carries this season, but Darrell Henderson, Sam Craft and Tony Pollard are also expected to receive touches.
Anthony Miller and Phil Mayhue are the two receivers to watch in this game. They were the second and third targets for Lynch last season behind Mose Frazier. Tight end Daniel Montiel could also see an increased role as he takes over the starting position left vacant by Alan Cross.
Linebacker Shareef White, nose tackle Donald Pennington and defense end Christian Johnson have the chance to cause havoc in the backfield throughout the game. Linebacker Jackson Dillon will not be starting against the Redhawks after recovering from a knee injury this summer, but should see some time on the field.
The Redhawks are a team that ran the ball much better than they threw last season and their top returning receiver had less than 300 yards last season. Memphis should be able to take advantage of the poor passing game and hold the Redhawks passing to a minimum.
The game can be seen on ESPN3.
