The Memphis Tigers face off against the Mercer Bears this Saturday to open their 2018 football season.
On both sides of the ball, the young teams have much to look forward to, and with so many new pieces being added to the starting lineups, fans will be looking closely at this game.
Despite Mercer’s 5-6 record last year, they boasted four rushers with at least four rushing touchdowns each and a returning dual-threat quarterback hoping to improve upon his freshman year.
Memphis Tigers
The Tigers will have a new starting quarterback in junior transfer from Arizona State Brady White. Over the summer, he tried to build a rapport with the offense and will look to utilize his new, talented receiving corps this first game.
Even though an adjustment period is warranted, leading rushers Darrell Henderson and Patrick Taylor Jr. will be more than willing to carry the load while the offensive line tries to give White enough time to find an open receiver.
Defensively, improving their pass rush has been the top priority this offseason, and with the long-awaited return of redshirt senior linebacker Jackson Dillon, it’s believed that changes will come early.
The defense will also be aided by their younger talent such as O’Bryan Goodson and Bryce Huff, who are looking forward to making a name for themselves.
Their secondary, though young, showed a lot of flashes last season, which helped them to be one of the leading team’s in the nation in creating turnovers. Sophomore defensive back TJ Carter will look to improve on his stellar freshman season when he caught four interceptions.
Mercer Bears
Mercer will be returning last year’s starting quarterback, running back and wide receiver to this year’s team, allowing them to have the continuity that Memphis is missing. Not only that, but the team has hired a new offensive coordinator in Joe Pizzo, who has been coaching in some college capacity for the past 22 years.
In a press conference Monday with head coach Bobby Lamb, he expressed the increased comfort level of quarterback Kaelan Riley and expects big things out of the sophomore.
While Mercer only was able to grab nine interceptions last year, they made up for it in physicality and forced a remarkable 18 fumbles while recovering 16 of them.
They’ve lost two of their three leading tacklers to graduation since last season, but linebacker Will Coneway is one of the more athletic members of the defense and will only improve as his junior year progresses. Senior Isaiah Buehler, who lead the team in sacks, is excited to keep the ‘Legion of Chaos’ moniker alive and help lead the younger players as well.
Game Predictions
Even with the interesting pieces that Mercer has, their defense may not be able to contain Memphis’ speed, and their offense should struggle to score at the volume that Memphis’ will. Still, the game has the potential to be close early on, but expect Memphis to pull away after the first quarter.
Raven’s Score Prediction: Memphis 42-17.
The Tiger football team gets set for a snap during training camp. The team will open against Mercer on Sept. 1.
