Memphis (4-5) at SMU (1-8)
Posted by ~Ray @ 2008-11-13 11:49:31
FACTS & STATS: Site: Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000) -- Dallas. Texas. Television: None. Home Record: Memphis 3-2. SMU 1-3. Away Record: Memphis 1-3. SMU 0-5. Neutral Record: Memphis 0-0. SMU 0-0. Conference Record: Memphis 2-3. SMU 0-5. Series Record: Memphis leads. 2-0.
GAME NOTES: The Memphis Tigers will try to stay hot when they visit Ford Stadium in Dallas for a Conference USA clash with the struggling SMU Mustangs. Both teams were idle last week. Memphis picked up a 36-30 win over Southern Miss two weeks ago. It was the Tigers' fourth win in their last six games. The Mustangs on the other hand are winless in five road games and winless in five conference games. They've lost seven straight dating back to September 13th. SMU has struggled while playing lots of young players. In fact more than 70 percent of the team's roster is comprised of either freshmen or sophomores. Memphis has a 2-0 edge in the all-time series with SMU. The two met a year ago with Memphis pulling out a 55-52 victory in triple overtime.
The Tigers' quarterback situation is a mess right now. Two weeks ago in a loss to East Carolina starting quarterback Arkelon Hall broke his right thumb on the first drive. Backup Will Hudgens took over on the second drive and blew out his knee. Two weeks ago against Southern Miss. Tyler Bass went down with an injury after completing 9-of-10 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. That leaves Brett Toney (19-of-31. 190 yds. TD. INT) as the only option with fifth-stringer Maurice Jones (one-yard touchdown pass on his only attempt) suddenly thrust into the mix. Obviously the bye week came at a good time for coach Tommy West and his staff to try and sort out the QB situation. At his weekly press conference he said Toney is the starter while they've put in a package for Jones. Regardless of who lines up under center running back Curtis Steele should expect a heavy workload. He carried 29 times for 178 yards and two TDs against Southern Miss.
The Memphis defense has been tagged for at least 30 points in each of the last four weeks. Two weeks ago the Golden Eagles put up 416 yards in total offense. The Tigers struggled mightily against the run allowing 230 yards and an average of 8.2 yards per carry. Two Southern Miss players eclipsed 100 yards on the ground including 121 from quarterback Austin Davis. Fortunately for the Tigers they aren't likely to see an abundance of running plays from June Jones and his run-and-shoot offense. But they better be ready for the dangerous wideout tandem of Aldrick Robinson and Emmanuel Sanders. Alton Starr leads the defense with 63 tackles on the season. Clinton McDonald has collected a team-high seven sacks.
The SMU offense boasts the nation's third-leading receiver in Robinson (1,003 receiving yards). He and Sanders form one of the top receiving tandems in all of college football. Together they've combined for 115 catches. 1,854 yards and 19 touchdowns. Those two are a big reason why SMU ranks 15th in the nation in passing offense (286 ypg). Bo Levi Mitchell is averaging 270.4 yards per game and has thrown 22 interceptions. However he has also been intercepted 19 times in nine games. Against Navy two weeks ago. Mitchell completed 16-of-28 passes for just 157 yards. Of course with the 119th-ranked rushing offense in the Football Bowl Subdivision teams never expect the Mustangs to run the ball and Mitchell must often deal with pass rushers coming from all angles. He's been sacked 23 times this season.
While the SMU offense has been putting up points in bunches the defense has been giving them up with even more frequency. Currently the Mustangs rank 115th in the nation in scoring defense (40.33 ppg) and 119th in total defense (491 ypg). They don't create many turnovers and they haven't been able to penetrate the line of scrimmage as they rank 118th in tackles for loss (3.89). All of those factors don't equate to many wins no matter how many yards the offense is able to generate. Two weeks ago against Navy the Mustangs allowed 404 yards -- all on the ground as the Midshipmen went the whole game without attempting a single pass. They converted 13-of-18 first downs and held the ball for more than 42 minutes. Navy jumped out to a 27-0 halftime lead and was able to grind down the clock and the Mustang defense in the second half. Pete Fleps leads the team with 82 tackles.
These teams put on a show when they met last year. The Mustangs haven't forgotten how that one ended and they've had this matchup circled on their calendar ever since. Now with Memphis down to the backup's backup at quarterback the conditions may be right for SMU to exact revenge and pick up a much-needed win.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: SMU 38. Memphis 30[ADVERTHERE]Related article:
http://www.kentucky.com/537/story/581575.html
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