who the hell had the idea to play this game at 2:00? it ain't like the marlins are using the stadium Monday night.
Memphis (-2) 3 units. really like the tigers in this game. huge motivational edge between the team coming off 5 straight losing seasons vs a team that was hoping to get into the playoffs early in the season. Memphis played really well against 2 of the better teams in the country. they went toe-to-toe at ucla, ultimately losing by a td. 3 weeks later, they went into the 4th quarter at ole miss trailing 7-3. sure, the wheels came off in the 4th quarter, but that's impressive. even including the td ole miss scored in garbage time, the 24 points the rebels scored that game was their 4th lowest total on the season. who are the 3 teams that held ole miss to less than 24? Alabama, LSU, and Arkansas. what I'm saying is that the Memphis defense, which returned almost it's entire front 7 from last year, is pretty solid.
on offense, paxton lynch has had a very good sophomore season, completing 64% of his passes for 18 tds and only 6 INTs. and he didn't throw an INT in the last 6 games.
one big concern for me is Memphis sustaining drives. despite some solid offensive numbers, they only convert 36.4% of their 3rd down attempts, which is 96th in the country.
of course, in bowl games, turnovers and penalties can be huge factors (just like in any game during the season. duh.). Memphis is 6th in the country in TO margin. byu is 74th. and byu committed the 9th most penalties in the country.
so between the motivational edge and the TOs and penalties, I love memphis' chance to get a nice win on Monday.
Memphis (-2) 3 units. really like the tigers in this game. huge motivational edge between the team coming off 5 straight losing seasons vs a team that was hoping to get into the playoffs early in the season. Memphis played really well against 2 of the better teams in the country. they went toe-to-toe at ucla, ultimately losing by a td. 3 weeks later, they went into the 4th quarter at ole miss trailing 7-3. sure, the wheels came off in the 4th quarter, but that's impressive. even including the td ole miss scored in garbage time, the 24 points the rebels scored that game was their 4th lowest total on the season. who are the 3 teams that held ole miss to less than 24? Alabama, LSU, and Arkansas. what I'm saying is that the Memphis defense, which returned almost it's entire front 7 from last year, is pretty solid.
on offense, paxton lynch has had a very good sophomore season, completing 64% of his passes for 18 tds and only 6 INTs. and he didn't throw an INT in the last 6 games.
one big concern for me is Memphis sustaining drives. despite some solid offensive numbers, they only convert 36.4% of their 3rd down attempts, which is 96th in the country.
of course, in bowl games, turnovers and penalties can be huge factors (just like in any game during the season. duh.). Memphis is 6th in the country in TO margin. byu is 74th. and byu committed the 9th most penalties in the country.
so between the motivational edge and the TOs and penalties, I love memphis' chance to get a nice win on Monday.
