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Marshall Thundering Herd at the Memphis Tigers
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Tonight, the University of Memphis Tigers will host the visiting Marshall Thundering Herd before a capacity croud of over 63,000, in a nationally televised game at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis Tennessee.
Tradgedy struck the University of Memphis just two days ago. After practice this past Sunday, Taylor Bradford, a 21 year old defensive lineman for the Tigers, was shot to death at a University of Memphis housing complex on the school campus. Bradford was a transfer to Memphis, after playing 2 years at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and had not yet appeared in a game for Memphis this year. The Memphis police department, who have sole jurisdiction in the case, have determined that the gunshots were directed specifically at Bradford, that it was not a random act of violence, and that there was no need for extra security measures to be taken for tonight's game.
It is certainly a tribute to the University of Memphis, and a strong show of dedication by the Memphis players, that they are going to go forward with the game as scheduled, in the great sport of football that they have all chosen to participate in. When something like this happens in the world of sports, and in our world in general, a somber feeling comes over all of us in the realization of just how fragile our very existence is.
It would not be fitting to go on here, without mentioning that the University of Marshall also experienced tragedy, but on a much larger scale, not many years ago. I will not delve into the past, and there is no need to go into the details of that tradgic accident. I can only say that my sympathy goes out to the entire Memphis team and the family of Taylor Bradford.
But life goes on, and somehow we push ourselves to the breaking point to make that happen.
Playing three games in the past ten days will take its toll on this Memphis team, and they may not be as emotionally pumped up for this game, as usually is the case. The Tigers have a really decent QB in Martin Hankins. Last years numbers were 226 comp on 377 attempts for 2550 yards with a % of 59.9 and 13 int's and 18 TD. He will be aided by the services of Joseph Doss and Earnest Williams at RB. Doss on 244 attempts rushed for 910 yds, averaging 4.1 ypc and 7 TDs last year. Those numbers are not exactly outstanding, and he will have to do better tonight for Memphis to have a chance to win this game. I am bothered by the 13 int's that Hankins threw last year, and the 4 that he gave up to MIssissippi in the first game of the season. Doss rushed 14 times for 59 yards, and taking into consideration that one of those runs was for 13 yards, he didn't exactly stun the croud with his performance. Singleton, Calhoun and Jones combined for 23 receptions and 220 yards in that game, which is respectable. Hankins put the ball in the air 60 times and completed 41 for 343 yards and a % of 68.3. WOW!!!!But he threw those 4 int's. Actually that was the tale of the game and the reason for the loss, because Memphis bested Ole Miss in every catagory except punting. The other game they played with a respectable team was when they played at Central Florida, and were coureosly shown the exit ramp in a 56-20 beating. In that game Hankins was only 10 of 23 for 81 yards , sharing the QB duties with W. Hudgens who was 5 of 9 for 88 yards. Doss managed only 48 yards on 9 carries. Taking away the 14 yard longest run, here again, he did not spark much fire. The other thing that concerns me is that Memphis is very vulnerable to the pass of 40+ yards. This is not the greatest secondary in the world, and I do believe that Marshall will exploit that weakness.
Marshall has played the best competition(at Miami a 31-3 loss, West Virginia at home a 48-23 loss, and at Cincinnati a 40-14 loss). Not exactly impressive, is it? Their QB is Bernard Morris(last year 116 comp on 188 atts for 1346 and a 61.7 completion % with "12" ints and 8 TDs)and they were 49th in the nation in total offense. This game will be very interesting, as Marshall is very vulnerable to the long run, doesn't have much of a rushing attack and will put the ball in the air whenever they can. Last years game ended with Marshall winning 41-27, but they had Ahmad Bradshaw's 1523 yards on 249 carries for a 6.1 avg per rush, not to mention the 19 TDs he scored. Now he is gone.
I think this game will be mistake prone, to say the least. Marshall has the worst stats by far, but somehow when you play agaist decent teams it makes you just a little bit better, even when you lose. A let down by the Memphis Tigers(remember, these are just kids trying to get through a tradgedy) and the right long pass at the right time and Marshall can win this game. On the other hand they could lose it by 20 or more, but somehow I must go against the grain and take Marshall with the points.
"Everybody plays the fool sometimes.......there's no exception to the rule."
Online:
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Tonight, the University of Memphis Tigers will host the visiting Marshall Thundering Herd before a capacity croud of over 63,000, in a nationally televised game at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis Tennessee.
Tradgedy struck the University of Memphis just two days ago. After practice this past Sunday, Taylor Bradford, a 21 year old defensive lineman for the Tigers, was shot to death at a University of Memphis housing complex on the school campus. Bradford was a transfer to Memphis, after playing 2 years at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and had not yet appeared in a game for Memphis this year. The Memphis police department, who have sole jurisdiction in the case, have determined that the gunshots were directed specifically at Bradford, that it was not a random act of violence, and that there was no need for extra security measures to be taken for tonight's game.
It is certainly a tribute to the University of Memphis, and a strong show of dedication by the Memphis players, that they are going to go forward with the game as scheduled, in the great sport of football that they have all chosen to participate in. When something like this happens in the world of sports, and in our world in general, a somber feeling comes over all of us in the realization of just how fragile our very existence is.
It would not be fitting to go on here, without mentioning that the University of Marshall also experienced tragedy, but on a much larger scale, not many years ago. I will not delve into the past, and there is no need to go into the details of that tradgic accident. I can only say that my sympathy goes out to the entire Memphis team and the family of Taylor Bradford.
But life goes on, and somehow we push ourselves to the breaking point to make that happen.
Playing three games in the past ten days will take its toll on this Memphis team, and they may not be as emotionally pumped up for this game, as usually is the case. The Tigers have a really decent QB in Martin Hankins. Last years numbers were 226 comp on 377 attempts for 2550 yards with a % of 59.9 and 13 int's and 18 TD. He will be aided by the services of Joseph Doss and Earnest Williams at RB. Doss on 244 attempts rushed for 910 yds, averaging 4.1 ypc and 7 TDs last year. Those numbers are not exactly outstanding, and he will have to do better tonight for Memphis to have a chance to win this game. I am bothered by the 13 int's that Hankins threw last year, and the 4 that he gave up to MIssissippi in the first game of the season. Doss rushed 14 times for 59 yards, and taking into consideration that one of those runs was for 13 yards, he didn't exactly stun the croud with his performance. Singleton, Calhoun and Jones combined for 23 receptions and 220 yards in that game, which is respectable. Hankins put the ball in the air 60 times and completed 41 for 343 yards and a % of 68.3. WOW!!!!But he threw those 4 int's. Actually that was the tale of the game and the reason for the loss, because Memphis bested Ole Miss in every catagory except punting. The other game they played with a respectable team was when they played at Central Florida, and were coureosly shown the exit ramp in a 56-20 beating. In that game Hankins was only 10 of 23 for 81 yards , sharing the QB duties with W. Hudgens who was 5 of 9 for 88 yards. Doss managed only 48 yards on 9 carries. Taking away the 14 yard longest run, here again, he did not spark much fire. The other thing that concerns me is that Memphis is very vulnerable to the pass of 40+ yards. This is not the greatest secondary in the world, and I do believe that Marshall will exploit that weakness.
Marshall has played the best competition(at Miami a 31-3 loss, West Virginia at home a 48-23 loss, and at Cincinnati a 40-14 loss). Not exactly impressive, is it? Their QB is Bernard Morris(last year 116 comp on 188 atts for 1346 and a 61.7 completion % with "12" ints and 8 TDs)and they were 49th in the nation in total offense. This game will be very interesting, as Marshall is very vulnerable to the long run, doesn't have much of a rushing attack and will put the ball in the air whenever they can. Last years game ended with Marshall winning 41-27, but they had Ahmad Bradshaw's 1523 yards on 249 carries for a 6.1 avg per rush, not to mention the 19 TDs he scored. Now he is gone.
I think this game will be mistake prone, to say the least. Marshall has the worst stats by far, but somehow when you play agaist decent teams it makes you just a little bit better, even when you lose. A let down by the Memphis Tigers(remember, these are just kids trying to get through a tradgedy) and the right long pass at the right time and Marshall can win this game. On the other hand they could lose it by 20 or more, but somehow I must go against the grain and take Marshall with the points.
"Everybody plays the fool sometimes.......there's no exception to the rule."
Online: