The University of Memphis Football team kicks off its season against the Austin Peay State University Governors at 6 p.m. Saturday evening at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
“We're finally here,” Memphis head coach Justin Fuente said. “We are obviously excited to start this season. Our kids have worked extremely hard through spring practice and into the summertime and through two-a-days. I know they're anxious to get on the football field and prove how much we've improved. We've got a long season ahead of us and we're all anxious.”
The Governors are coming off an unsuccessful 2013 campaign, going 0-12 last season. Regardless, Fuente still believes this to be a very important game. He believes this will be a great way to evaluate were his team is in terms of progress and discipline.
“I think they're all important, obviously, but I'm anxious to watch us play,” Fuente said. “I want to see how we play. I'm going to judge our guys on the way we execute, how we handle adversity and how we play. There will be game situations for guys that have never been out there before. I want to see us execute and be a disciplined football team and we'll let the rest take care of itself.”
Senior running back Brandon Hayes, who led the Tigers with 806 rushing yards and five touchdowns last season, echoed this sentiment and said it doesn’t matter who they play. He said it’s just about getting out there and getting wins.
“No, honestly it doesn't matter (who we play),” Hayes said. “Whoever it is, I just want to win. I know that's how the whole team feels. If it's Austin Peay or it's UCLA, Ole Miss, Middle Tennessee or whoever it is, we want to get the W at the end of the day.”
Memphis returns seven starters to its defense, which ranked 16 in the nation in total yards allowed in 2013 according to espn.com, giving up only 371 yards per game. Senior defensive lineman Martin Ifedi ranked top ten in the nation in sacks last season, registering 12.
However the real question for this season is on the other side of the football. Has Memphis’s young offense, led by sophomore quarterback Paxton Lynch, improved since last year? Fuente believes consistency and making simple plays are key for this year’s offense.
“We need a group of guys, including Paxton, who can exhibit the ability to execute on a consistent basis,” Fuente said. “That's the charge for many of our guys. I don't think we have to be in over our head and play out of our minds. We have to do a good job of preparing and being ready to play at a high level. We have to be able to make routine plays on a consistent basis. Sometimes when guys get out there, they press. They want to do well so bad that sometimes they do things detrimental to the team.”
Hayes said the defense has really helped inspire the offense and prepare them for the upcoming season.
“That's what we've been focusing on this whole offseason - the opportunity to go against some of these guys every day,” Hayes said in a press conference. “Guys like Martin Ifedi, Charles Harris, Bobby McCain, we're going against some of the top guys period. Those guys can compete with anybody. Being able to go against those guys is definitely helping our offense. It's huge.”
Fuente went on to explain how a major goal this season is to have his players play selflessly and consistently do the little things that make a great football team.
“Some of our kids have been in the program for three years now,” Fuente said in the press conference. “They know what to expect and how things operate. We have better numbers than when we started. The key for us is the internal battle. Can we do the things that good programs do on a daily basis? That's very easy to say and very difficult to accomplish.”
As Fuente and his team prepare for Saturday and the rest of the 2014 season, he wants to make sure they maintain the right mindset, focusing on the task at hand and not getting too far ahead of themselves.
“It's very internal for us,” Fuente said. “It is very much about how we handle what's before us. That's a crucial part for the team: doing what's best for the team to stay focused on the task at hand. We have several things that we're trying to adhere to throughout the season. All of them are internal. None of them pertain to anyone or anything outside of our program. We've tried to turn it back inside and focus on ourselves.”
Before the game Saturday, Kevin and Bethany Paige will perform at 2:45 p.m. as part of the free Memphis Tiger Tailgate Concert Series on Tiger Lane.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
