The 4-3 Memphis Tigers will be traveling to Columbia, Missouri, to try to spoil the 3-3 Missouri Tigers’ homecoming this Saturday. This game will be their first contest against an SEC opponent since facing Ole Miss in 2016.
Last week, they suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the UCF Knights 31-30, and now they are looking to bounce back against another nationally recognized opponent. Missouri is currently on a three-game losing streak. Their most recent game was a crushing 39-10 fall against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Memphis Tigers
In what has started to become usual for the Tigers, their offense was run through their strong running game, which was led by running back Darrell Henderson. The rushing attack accounted for 281 of the team’s 490 total yards, as well as all three of their touchdowns.
Unfortunately, the passing game wasn’t nearly as effective and struggled to carry its weight aside from a couple of big gains here and there. Quarterback Brady White was having an adequate first half, completing 10 of his first 17 passes. However, when the rain started to fall rapidly during the second half, things only became more difficult for White and his team, as he only completed seven of his next 12 throws.
It also didn’t help that the team fumbled the ball three times and ended up losing two of them. Henderson was responsible for two of the fumbles and owned up to his mistakes in the post game press conference.
“I just have to learn from my mistakes,” Henderson said.
Defensively, the team made positive strides, holding draft-hopeful quarterback McKenzie Milton to only 17 completions out of 29 passes, 296 passing yards and an uncharacteristic 30 points, which is disappointing for a team that was previously averaging 51.2 points per game.
A big part of the defense’s success came from the big games from defensive linemen John Tate IV and Joseph Dorceus. The pair earned the team four sacks (two sacks each), a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
After the game, Tate spoke on his breakout performance but acknowledged that because of the lack of consistent effort going into the second half, it didn’t matter much.
“We got to learn how to finish,” Tate said. “We have to come out of halftime with the mindset that we’re losing or the score is 0-0.”
Missouri Tigers
It was clear Missouri would have a tough time against No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, but it may have been even worse anticipated. After the first quarter, Missouri managed to keep the score close at 13-10. However, they were unable to keep things competitive and couldn’t score after the first quarter.
Quarterback and potential first-round pick Drew Lock had a rough game. He only completed 13 of his 26 passes and threw for 142 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions and lost a fumble. Their run game was equally lackluster with no player being able to rush more than 50 yards.
Defensively, Mizzou faired a bit better and was able to put pressure on quarterback and Heisman-hopeful Tua Tagovailoa early on and even produced a strip-sack. They also were able to limit a usually potent Crimson Tide run game without a 100-yard rusher.
However, their secondary struggled to stop big plays and allowed two 100-yard receivers and four receptions that went for 20 yards or more. These struggles aren’t new for the team. They’ve been allowing an average 324.2 passing yards per game, ranking them 127th in the nation in that category.
Missouri head coach Barry Odom isn’t a stranger to Memphis’ football program. He served as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2012-14 under then-head coach Justin Fuente. Though the team struggled, Odom said he credits that time for making him the coach he is today.
“It was a bad program when we got there,” Odom said. “I think (in) the first team meeting, we had about 37 guys on scholarship. There’s not really anything about that process that was easy.”
Prediction
Although Memphis left last week’s game with a sour taste in its mouth, there is a strong possibility the Tigers will get to wash it out when they play against a subpar Missouri team. Offensively, the team matches up very well against Mizzou’s defense. The Missouri Tigers’ defense is notorious for limiting big rushing games, so Memphis should look to exploit this with wide receivers Damonte Coxie and Tony Pollard as their weapons.
The Memphis defense may have their flaws, but they have shown they do not allow themselves to shrink against big-name quarterbacks, and I don’t see Drew Lock being an exception to that. As long as Memphis can consistently supply pressure and take care of business in the secondary, they have a chance to stifle Missouri’s offense.
Final score prediction: Memphis 28, Missouri 23
Brady White hands the ball off to the running back. Memphis was held scoreless in the second half in the losing efforts against UCF.
