With more than half of the season behind them, the Memphis Tiger football team now turns its attention towards a road contest against East Carolina in hopes of bouncing back from two consecutive losses.
Head coach Mike Norvell spoke with the media Monday about what his team got out of their week off and how they’re preparing for their third conference road game of the season.
“Coming off a bye week, I was pleased with our team and the approach last week,” Norvell said. “The main focus was on ourselves. We got a lot of good work and kept the speed of the game. With our team, it was working on the details and communication, working to execute throughout.”
After a 4-4 start that has left some fans disappointed with unfulfilled hopes of what this season could have been, closing out games and finishing the campaign strong will be the Tigers’ priority with the rest of their schedule slated against conference opponents.
“We get to go on the road and play at East Carolina,” Norvell said. “They have been very competitive in their conference games this year. You look at their last game against UCF, it’s a one-score game, and they are about to go in, but a mishap was returned for a touchdown or else they’re about to make it a three-point game there in the fourth quarter. This is an opponent that is very capable.”
During the road loss to Missouri, one key factor that derailed the team’s offense was the injury to star running back Darrell Henderson. This week, Henderson was announced as a semi-finalist for the Maxwell Award, which is awarded annually to the National Player of the Year.
“It was unfortunate he was not able to play more in the Missouri game when he went out,” Norvell said. “But with every opportunity he’s had to showcase his skill set and what he means to this football team, he’s performed at an elite level.”
With Henderson in good health and ready to go, the Tigers will look to pick up their second American Athletic Conference win of this year. However, the Pirates’ defense will look to stifle the run game just as they have throughout 2018 thus far.
“It’s a defense that likes to attack,” Norvell said. “They have impressive guys off the edge. They have one of the nation’s leading tacklers in TFLs (tackles for loss) and quarterback sacks. They are going to be aggressive in all that they do. You’re going to see their safeties get involved in the run game. They want to be able to stop the run.”
As the Tigers ready themselves for four straight conference tilts to end the regular season, some fans may be underwhelmed with the results of 2018 compared to the expectations coming into the beginning of the campaign.
However, with bowl eligibility still two wins away, the Tigers must finish strong against their remaining opponents in order to secure postseason play for the fifth consecutive year.
Memphis Tigers head coach Mike Norvell runs out of the tunnel with his team.
