Memphis suffered an embarrassing loss against Tulane last weekend in New Orleans. Now at 0-2 in conference play, the Tigers hope to rebound in their upcoming match against the UConn Huskies. Head coach Mike Norvell, who earlier this week described the Tigers’ play against the Green Wave as “dog crap,” said his team will not overlook any of their opponents. Memphis will host the Huskies (1-4) for homecoming this Saturday.
Sports reporter Frank Ramirez
Memphis once again faces an opponent that should be easy to win against, but UConn has faced some tough opponents this year.
UConn is 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the American Athletic Conference. Their lone win comes from a game against Rhode Island, an FCS team, but the rest of the games have resulted in losses against #21 UCF, #20 Boise State, Syracuse and an undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats team.
It’s obvious their schedule didn’t favor them much, leading them to become one of the worst defensive teams in the nation. On average, the Huskies give up 351 yards passing and 311 yards rushing per game, the fourth and second worst in the nation, respectively.
Darrell Henderson and the Tigers’ offensive line should give it their all against the Huskies in order to have the confidence needed against the “national champions” UCF next weekend. Henderson is still the leading rusher in the nation with 33 yards more than Jermar Jefferson, Oregon State freshman running back, and hopefully he will still be number one after playing UConn.
If Memphis loses against UConn, I would consider the season to be over for them, but I am confident Memphis can get back on track to have a chance to make the AAC championship game.
Final score prediction: Memphis 52, UConn 14
Sports reporter Zach Thompson
After a humbling loss at Tulane last week, this is a critical week for the Tiger football team. Tulane gashed the Tigers’ rush defense with 318 yards total on the ground and dominated the time of possession by nearly 13 minutes.
While they currently stand as 33.5-point favorites over UConn, nothing can be seen as a guarantee after such an uncharacteristic performance last week. Even though UConn has a 1-4 record so far, they had a much tougher schedule so far, resulting in losses to teams such as UCF, Boise State and Syracuse.
Overall, the Huskies are a young team focused on building towards the future, but they do boast a potent passing attack. Quarterback David Pindell leads the team in passing and rushing yards, throwing for nearly 900 yards during five games this season.
While a high-scoring affair is not what the Tigers need after last week’s shaky defensive effort, it may take a strong outing from Henderson and the rest of the offense to race past the Huskies for the homecoming victory.
Final score prediction: Memphis 27, UConn 17
Sports editor Joshua A. Vinson
Without a doubt, Memphis is going to beat UConn because Mike Norvell would not have it any other way. Frank and Zach made great points about last Friday’s game. That loss to Tulane was beneath this team. Yes, any good team can be beaten any day, but Memphis gave up.
All week long, Norvell has made it clear his team will take each game seriously and be prepared.
What I want to see is running back Darrell Henderson with more than seven carries. He is the heart and soul of this offense; if he is not getting many touches, this team tends to crumble apart.
Norvell said he was disappointed in his team’s performance against Tulane, so the Tigers will make it up to him. They know this season will be over if they fall to 0-3 in conference play ahead of next week’s biggest game of the season against UCF.
Final score prediction: Memphis 45, UConn 7
Mike Norvell speaking with reporters at his weekly press conference. He mentioned he was disappointed in the loss to Tulane.
