Two seasons ago, in Justin Fuente’s first game as the University of Memphis head coach, the Tigers opened the season as heavy favorites against an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision opponent in the University of Tennessee-Martin.
Memphis struggled in that contest, and following a long-second-half weather delay a late UT-Martin field goal doomed the Tigers to an unexpected 20-17 loss.
Saturday evening at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium the U of M once again opened the season in rainy conditions against an FCS opponent, but this time they forced a much different result, thrashing Austin Peay State University 63-0.
The victory makes this the first year since 2004 that Memphis started out the football season with a win, but for Fuente perhaps the most valuable product of the blowout is what he and the rest of the coaches learned about the team going forward.
“We talked about before the game that we were going to grade how we played,” Fuente said. “That was the most important part of this game, and at times we played pretty well, and at times we had lapses in judgment.”
One area in particular Memphis excelled in was the rushing attack. The Tigers accumulated 303 yards on the ground, and five players combined to score seven rushing touchdowns.
Freshman running back Jarvis Cooper came into the game late and led the team with 101 rushing yards and a touchdown on just eight carries.
Sophomore quarterback Paxton Lynch produced both in the air and on the ground, completing 20-of-27 passes for 242 yards, two touchdowns and one interception while racking up 34 yards and two more scores on rushing attempts.
The Tiger defense was relentless, holding Austin Peay to 146 yards of offense and a dreadful 1-for-13 third down conversion rate.
The game got out of hand quickly, as Memphis sophomore Sam Craft punched in a two-yard touchdown run to cap off the opening drive of the ballgame, and then senior cornerback Bobby McCain picked off Austin Peay quarterback Trey Taylor on the following possession and took the return inside the Governors’ 20-yard line. The Tigers rushed it in again to go up 14-0, and the lead ballooned to 21 by the end of the first quarter and 42 by halftime.
The lopsided victory was not without faults, however, as Memphis turned the ball over twice — once by interception and once by a fumble. And while the Tigers lost only one fumble, they put the ball on the ground four times throughout the contest.
“We really didn’t fumble the ball that much in this fall camp, so it was kind of shocking,” senior running back Brandon Hayes said. “Not to make any excuses, we really didn’t have any rain in practices so I think that played a factor in it, but no matter if it’s rain, sleet or snow we can’t turn over the ball, so we’re going to have to minimize that.”
One downside of Saturday’s win was a leg injury to senior defensive end Martin Ifedi. Ifedi anchored the defensive line last year and is essential to the Tigers’ defensive front seven.
Fuente addressed the injury on Monday, saying Ifedi looked good and should be ready to play next Saturday.
Fuente’s squad will have to take better care of the football if they have any hopes of improving their record to 2-0, as they travel to Pasadena to take on the No. 11 UCLA Bruins next Saturday. The Bruins scored three defensive touchdowns in their 28-20 victory against the University of Virginia on Saturday.
Memphis will kickoff against UCLA at 9 p.m. Saturday, and the game will be nationally broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
