Memphis remains “bought-in”, “excited” ahead of Boise State matchup

On Monday, Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield contributed two factors to their loss against Missouri in St. Louis — surrendering too many explosive plays and a lack of offensive consistency. While the Tiger defense held Missouri to 0-8 on 3rd down conversions on Saturday, St. Louis natives Luther Burden III, Cody Schrader, and Mookie Cooper combined for 353 total yards and a touchdown inside The Dome at America’s Center. Combine that with two turnovers and five consecutive scoreless possessions for Memphis and the Tigers couldn’t quite overcome a raucous pro-Missouri crowd of over 45,000.

Memphis has turned the page, however, to prepare for a first-ever matchup with Mountain West Conference power Boise State on Saturday. The Broncos will arrive in Memphis with a 2-2 record after winning back-to-back matchups against North Dakota and San Diego State in the previous two weeks. While it will be Boise State’s first long road trip of the season, the Broncos have faired historically well when playing in the eastern portion of the country. Since 2013, Boise State boasts an impressive 5-2 record when playing east of the Mississippi River. The Broncos most notably traveled over 2,400 miles to defeat Florida State in Tallahassee in 2019. Boise State last traveled to the east coast in the first year of the Andy Avalos era, falling 31-36 to UCF in Orlando. “They’ve got a kicker that hasn’t missed, the top punter in the entire country, they’ve got a quarterback that is absolutely phenomenal — big, strong arm that can run — they’ve got one of the best running backs I’ve seen so far on film,” Ryan Silverfield said during media availability on Monday.

Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty will enter Saturday’s matchup coming off a career game against San Diego State. The true sophomore recorded 254 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in the Broncos’ victory over the Aztecs last week. 2022 Mountain West Freshman of the Year Taylen Green leads Boise State at QB for the second consecutive year. The Tigers will need to limit Green’s running ability after struggling to contain mobile quarterbacks in previous matchups. Defensively, the Broncos allow an average of 294 passing yards per game and 430 yards overall. The turnover battle will be worth monitoring Saturday, as both teams have surrendered a combined 13 turnovers through their first four games.

Memphis will enter Saturday with its offensive roles becoming rather solidified. Blake Watson has proven to be the Tigers’ most prolific weapon on offense with 555 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns through four weeks of play. Roc Taylor will look to build upon the most impressive performance of his career with 7 receptions for 143 yards against Missouri. The third-year Tiger was particularly impressive in down-field opportunities with a 20.4 yard-per-catch average. Following a quiet two weeks, DeMeer Blankumsee saw his role increase in St. Louis, logging seven receptions for 36 yards against the Tigers. ETSU transfer Chandler Martin continues to star in his first year at Memphis, leading the Tiger defense in tackles with 26 total on the year.

Memphis missed an opportunity to make a national statement last week. Nevertheless, Ryan Silverfield told the media on Monday his team remains “bought-in” and “excited” for arguably the most anticipated home game of the season this Saturday. “One thing I think we can hang our hat on.. is we’re resilient, the guys fight, and they have grit,” Ryan Silverfield said Monday, “those are those things that will carry us far through this season.” “I’ve never talked about our players’ eyes like I have these past few weeks,” he continued, “that gives me hope because they’re bought into what we’re doing.”

“We obviously have the challenge of traveling across the country this week and go into a place that a lot of guys on this team and in this program haven’t been,” Andy Avalos said on Monday, “that in and of itself is going to create challenges.” After starting the season with a loss to a team that looks to be among the best in the country in Washington followed by a last-second defeat to UCF, the Broncos will present a tougher challenge than they perhaps show on paper. Ryan Silverfield agreed with that notion Monday, stating, “You watch the film and you think you’re watching an SEC team because of what they’re capable of.”

The Tigers will appear in a nationally televised game for the second-consecutive week, hosting Boise State on ESPN2 at 3 PM CST.