After a disappointing loss to Navy, Memphis will look to get back to its winning ways against Middle Tennessee State University on Saturday. There are several interesting components of this matchup.
Familiar faces
Being one of the closest D1 colleges to Memphis, a lot of high school kids and transfers from Memphis attend the university. Here are some of the hometown kids.
Terry Wilkins-RB-RS SR Fairley HS
Tyrell Raby-CB-RS JR Transfer from Memphis
James Stewart-DE-RS JR Transfer from Memphis
Morgan Scott-OL-RS JR Houston HS
What to know: MTSU
MTSU (1-3) has not been anything special this season. Through four games they are allowing a whopping 43 points per game, while only scoring 18 points per game.
Their only win was against an FCS school, Tennessee Tech, and they only won by a touchdown. While the team has struggled, their quarterback, Nicholas Vattiato has played well.
So, what holds them back? They do not have any type of defense. Their O-line, and halfbacks also hold them back. All of these areas have caused major problems for the Blue Raiders.
The Blue Raiders have a heavy pass offense. For this game to be close, their defense will have to stop the pass, which is something they have been horrendous at this season.
Improvements Memphis Should Make Against MTSU
After the Florida State game, it seemed like the Tigers had their best defense in years. Memphis made a lot of plays stopping Florida State and keeping them away from the endzone, holding FSU to 12 points.
Against Navy, Memphis struggled defensively and could not stop Navy’s notorious running game. Navy’s quarterback thrived in read option plays and Memphis was unable to stop it, cost them the game.
Against MTSU, the Tigers must keep doing what they have been doing offensively and utilize the weapons they have in the running back and wide receiver positions.
Although MTSU is not a strong running team, Memphis must prepare to stop MTSU when they decide to run those types of plays, especially if MTSU is close to the endzone.
What Should the Tigers Be Worried About Against the Blue Raiders?
MTSU does not really possess a strong run game, but they do have a running back threat in Frank Peasant who scored two touchdowns against Tennessee Tech. If Navy was able to expose Memphis’ struggles against the run game, then MTSU is likely taking note of that and getting Peasant ready.
MTSU is stronger at passing than running and that is what gets them down the field the majority of the time. They utilize their passing to get them close to the endzone and run the ball to get a touchdown.
MTSU struggles with stopping running backs as well and shows more flaws than Memphis did against Navy. Ole Miss dominated MTSU with run plays and Memphis can do the same thing, if they utilize running back Mario Anderson Jr. a lot Saturday.
Score Prediction
Owen: Memphis will bounce back, Ryan Silverfield will get them right back on track. With two of their top four running backs out, look for Brandon Thomas and Mario Anderson to rush for 50 yards each. My prediction is 48-21 Memphis.
Tyson: When breaking down both teams, this game favors Memphis. The Tigers have a better defense, and their offense is more complete than MTSU’s. Memphis likely will improve what they lacked against Navy and use MTSU to get right back on track like they were before the Navy game. MTSU struggles to stop running plays and Memphis has running backs that are good enough to dominate the trenches. My prediction is 40-14 Memphis.
The game will be at 6:30 p.m. CT at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium and it will be available on ESPNU.
