Memphis defeated Tulsa 40-20 on Halloween night to improve its overall record to 5-3 (3-1 AAC). With the Tigers now just one win away from becoming bowl eligible, let’s take a look at who and what is trending up and/or down.
Trending Up:
Brandon Hayes – The Tigers have been in search of a true every-down type of back since the injury to Doroland Dorceus, and it appears, based off of Friday’s performance, they have found their man. Hayes carried the ball 29 times for 199 yards and three touchdowns and showed the ability to both hit the big play (Hayes had touchdown runs of 51, 30, and 14 yards) and grind out the tough three and four yard gains when needed.
Memphis’ Offense in Wins – In five wins this season, Memphis’ offense has gained 2,643 (528.6 yards per game) which is good enough for 21st in the country in total offense. In their three losses, the Tigers have gained a mere 941 yards (313.7 yards per game) of total offense which ranks 96th in the country. It’s simple; if the Memphis is firing on all cylinders offensively, they’re far more likely to win, and the offense, especially on the ground, looked as good as it has all season long.
Jake Elliott – If you will refer back to my midseason report card and look at the special teams section, you will see that Memphis place kicker Jake Elliott was really struggling after connecting on just six of 11 field goal attempts through six games. Well, it appears that Elliott has returned to his 2013 form. On Friday, Elliot connected on 4-of-5 field goal attempts including a 47-yard make and two makes over 50 yards. The Tigers sophomore kicker is now 6-of-7 on field goal attempts during the second half of the regular season.
Trending Down:
Jarvis Cooper’s Carries – True freshman Jarvis Cooper had been carrying the ball at, not only a high volume, but also for a high yard-per-carry average for the Tigers over the last few games. However, against Tulsa, Cooper carried the ball just two times for one yard. It remains to be seen if Cooper getting fewer carries was a product of head coach Justin Fuente feeding the hot hand in Brandon Hayes, or that Friday was indicative of how the carries will go the remainder of the season. But one thing is clear, Hayes has earned the right to be the primary tailback, for now.
Memphis’ Defense – This time last week, Memphis defense was beginning to climb in among the elite defenses around the country after a dominating effort against SMU. This week, the Tigers defense struggled a bit against Tulsa and its passing offense giving up 411 yards of total offense and 349 yards passing despite only surrendering 20 points. It is no surprise that Tulsa lit up the stat sheet without lighting up the scoreboard, though. Tulsa came int0 Friday’s game 52nd in total offense but just 97th in scoring offense (Tulsa now ranks 53rd in total offense and 100th in scoring offense).
Memphis knew it would be a challenge playing without star middle linebacker Tank Jakes for the first half due to finishing out his suspension for being ejected on targeting penalty, and Tulsa was seemingly able to take advantage of Jakes’ absence. The Golden Hurricanes scored 14 of their 20 points in the first half. Expect Memphis’ defense to quickly get back on track, but at least for this week, it finds itself dropping from 26th to 34th nationally in total defense.
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