A Cat Fight: Jags vs Tigers
South Alabama (1-1) exploded for a school record 413 yards rushing last week against Jackson State. Though it was against a FCS school, that amount of rushing yards is still quite a feat.
The Jags welcomes a more formidable opponent to Ladd-Peebles Stadium in the Memphis Tigers (2-0).
This one should be a cat fight from the beginning.
A year ago in Memphis, the Jags were only down by four points 31-27 late in the third quarter before the Tigers pulled away for a 52-35 victory. However UM got a big shot in the arm to start the 2019 season by knocking off Ole Miss 15-10 at home. They followed that up with a 55-24 win over FCS Southern University.
The Tigers quarterback Brady White may be one of the best quarterbacks the Jags will see this season. Against Southern, he went 17-of-21 for 337 yards and two touchdowns in only three quarters of work. Against Ole Miss he went 23-of-31 for 172 yards. That’s a 77% completion clip through the first two games.
While the Tigers will with without their starting running back Patrick Taylor, they have a freshmen in Kenneth Gainwell who started his first game last week and rushed for 85 yards. Also gone is Darrell Henderson, who went for 188 yards and two touchdowns in last years game as he left school early for the NFL draft (LA Rams).
The Jags will look to keep a Memphis streak alive, for each of the last three seasons the Tigers have dropped their first road game of the season. In 2016 it was Ole Miss, in 2017 it was UCF and last year it was Navy.
Can USA make it four in a row?
The Jags defense is currently ranked 24th nationally in passing yards allowed. Additionally their rushing defense has been playing pretty well so far and are looking to atone for their performance a year ago.
Tra Minter will be a focus for the Memphis defense. He averages 216.5 all-purpose yards per game, which is third in the nation. He was the majority of the Jags offense last week against JSU. The Tigers have yet to allow a 100 yard rusher this year, but Minter will be their biggest test yet.
Now with a clear #2 back behind Minter in Jared Wilson, the Jags have what looks like a nice 1-2 punch with a change of pace.
Concerning things from last week was the continued turnover problem with Cephus Johnson. Granted it was only his third start but with six total turnovers in two games, four interceptions and two fumbles, including two that resulted in defensive touchdowns and two other that occurred in the opponents red zone, protecting the ball will have to be a premium.
Johnson has been exploited because he had locked into a receiver early allowing the defenders to read his eyes. But the two fumbles came from backside pressure that he never felt.
The other concerning thing from last week was discipline. When they traveled to Nebraska, the Jags were very disciplined and commit few penalties. But at home against JSU, the Jags were flagged 11 times for 101 yards and had three players ejected for targeting, including two on back-to-back plays. Fortunately it was an FCS opponent and didn’t really hurt them against an over-matched opponent. But against another FBS school, it could very well cost them the game, especially if it were to be Riley Cole again.
Injuries:
Jags will be without WR Jalen Wayne, LB Kade Koler and LB Patrick Rosette. RB Jalin Buie is out for the season with a knee injury. Defensive lineman Tyree Turner is questionable for the game.
Memphis will be without RB Patrick Taylor and DB Chis Claybrooks. DL O’Bryan Goodson is questionable.
Line:
Memphis is favored by 19 points. I think the Jags have be good opportunity to keep this game close into the fourth quarter and sneak out a win. I’ll take the under in this game.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30pm at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game will be aired on ESPNU and can the radio broadcast can be heard on 99.5FM The Jag locally in Mobile and through the iHeartRadio app online.