Can Memphis Shock SEC Nation by Defeating Ole Miss?

On Saturday, September 27, coach Justin Fuente and his Memphis Tigers will be put to the test for the first time this season.

I’m sure we all still have the final score of “The Heartbreaker” match-up between these tried Tigers and the UCLA Bruins ingrained into the back of our minds. To answer your question: yes. Yes, the Bruins were a true test of mental and physical fortitude. I am not attempting to take anything away from that team out west. They played a hard-fought game and came out the stronger team.

However, UCLA is a Pac-12 team; and while the Pac-12, between the likes of Oregon and UCLA, is quickly becoming the conference to beat, there still stands another conference that has proven itself time and time again, clawing its way into BCS National Championship games 10 times in the past 16 years, with a handful of those appearances pitting two SEC teams against one another.

Tomorrow, Memphis must face a growing force in the Southeastern Conference: the Ole Miss Rebels.

Though their first three games alone, the 11th-ranked Rebels have put up an impressive 132 points against their opponent’s 31. These rather large margins of defeat can largely be attributed to the defensive likes of Senquez Golston, who has stolen three of the Rebels’ eight interceptions, and Mike Hilton, recording 16 tackles in thus far in 2014.

Fans and opponents alike can’t forget the returning on-field personality of Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace, either. He has completed just over 75 percent of his pass attempts this season, eclipsing the 1,000-yard milestone for the third time in his young career at Ole Miss.

This is what Memphis is up against. The question is, what will it do differently against these Rebels, its second big-time opponent this season? What will change from its lackluster performance in the waning minutes of its last defeat to ensure that such a shot to the heart of Tiger nation is never again experienced?

They can adapt.

Coaches, players, even most fans around the country are familiar with a game plan in sports. A team of coaches will conference throughout the week before a select opponent – the Wallace-led Rebels in this case – combing over countless hours of the game tapes of their looming opponents and statistics of their own players, strategically crafting a plan for victory.

This plan should take into account the strengths of, say, the Tigers, and pit them against the weaknesses of the Rebels. And despite all of this planing, the late nights and the lost sleep, the game plan needs to be able to be changed at a moment’s notice.

Against UCLA, this meant better clock management and calling Paxton Lynch and his receivers to connect on some unconventionally long pass attempts late in the game. This obviously didn’t happen. However, this is a new week, and fresh off a 17-point win over Middle Tennessee, the Tigers are ready to adapt. They must adapt.

If the Ole Miss defense decides to live up to its reputation on Saturday and stomp out the fire in the hearts of running backs Doroland Dorceus and Brandon Hayes, Lynch has got to be ready and willing to take the game into his own hands, and I do not mean by scrambling double-digit times for a few measly yards like he did in Pasadena.

Going into Saturday’s game as a 17.5-point underdog and coming out on top of the Rebels in just 18 percent of their meetings in the past, Fuente and his maturing team have their work cut out for them.

As long as they are ready not only to adapt to anything Ole Miss brings against them, but also to set the tone and pace of the game on their first possession with a definitive score, Memphis is sure to shock SEC Nation tomorrow with a win.