This Friday is going to be a spectacular game – a much-anticipated throw-down between two of the most emergent powers in the AAC. The Temple Owls are coming into this game just six days following their 20-10 upset over the ECU Pirates, hyped up and focused on the competition at hand. The Memphis Tigers are similarly coming off of a 40-20 besting of the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes last Friday.
Flaunting the ever-so-popular 5-3 record, both squads hope to come out on top after Friday night’s game, thus taking a bit more control over the AAC and securing their bids for a postseason appearance.
Temple is crossing its fingers for yet another upset over a statistically-superior team, while Memphis is instead locking down five different aspects of the game they need to hold fast to, in order to beat Temple, as this could be its first shot at a bowl game invitation since 2008.
For this reason, I have created a list of the top five things Memphis must do in order to have a fighting chance against these confident Owls.
Offensive Line, Protect Lynch!
When Lynch is sacked, Memphis loses games. It’s as simple as that. When we take a look back to UCLA, Ole Miss and Houston, each of those teams were able to stamp out any offensive spirit the Tigers had by simply cutting off one of their most influential resources at the source – if a quarterback doesn’t throw the ball, completions can’t be made. It’s not rocket science, but it is physical football that needs to be played. If the offensive line can protect Lynch long enough for him to get off a couple of short passes here and there, especially for third and fourth down conversions, then the Temple defense will be on their toes all night.
When in Doubt, Hold on to the Ball
Take the sack, and don’t take the risk. If, by some unfortunate happenstance, the Tigers’ offensive line cannot give Lynch the time he needs, Fuente will be forced to make one very specific choice; whether to continue trusting Lynch with the passing game and risk forced interceptions (Temple has not lost a game where they have caused an interception), or to keep the ball on the ground. I’m simply pointing out that turning the ball over never helps teams win games, so why risk it? Either go on the ground, or take the sack.
Run
Yes, we all have seen the good that Lynch can do when he gets the right opportunities. However, Temple has been defeated by Navy, Houston and UCF this season, each in large part because of the running game. Navy put up four rushing touchdowns against the Owls, Houston, one, and Central Florida, two. What’s more in Memphis’ favor, though, is that the Tigers only lose when their run game is stopped (UCLA allowed only 164 yards on the ground, Ole Miss, 23, and Houston, 125). This is the perfect opportunity for Hayes – and maybe even Cooper and Craft – to exploit a huge weakness in the Temple defense. If Memphis has any luck on the ground, it will be in great shape when all is said and done on Friday night.
Containment of Temple Run Game
Tank Jakes and his squad simply must contain Temple’s ground game. This is not necessarily because their rushing attack is a force to be reckoned with, but rather comes as an attempt to force the Owls to heavily rely on Walker’s passing ability. Now, I am not saying that Walker is a terrible quarterback by any means. What I am saying is that this season, Temple has had a near-even reliance on the results of their rushing and passing offense, with 911 yards on the ground for ten scores, and only 11 touchdowns through the air as a result of 1,630 passing yards. Just as well, the Owls have only lost when they haven’t score on the ground. These results, paired with a meager 55.7 completion percentage, leads me to believe that by limiting Temple’s rushing game, the Tigers would essentially be crippling their entire offense.
Gain the Lead by Halftime, Because Football is a Mental Sport
In all but one match-up, a Memphis loss followed trailing at halftime. This last point is short and sweet. Football is a mental game just as much as it is a physical one. If this young, still-developing-yet-confident team is behind Temple at halftime, it is unlikely that they will return from the locker room with a newfound energy and spirit of competition about them. As we’ve always said with this year’s Memphis Tigers, a quick start is one of the best weapons they have at their disposal. This is not just a weapon meant for attacking the opposing team, though. This is a weapon used to fight their own issues of faded confidence as a tiring game, which this will surely be, presses on.
Edited By: Ali Balchunas
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