Memphis vs. UConn – Memphis Flyer

• The Tigers couldn’t have scripted a better opponent for this Saturday’s game at the Liberty Bowl. It’s both a recovery game (after the disaster at Tulane) and a tune-up (with UCF on the way) for Memphis, and the Tigers need to hit a reset button on their season. UConn (1-4) has allowed the most points (267) in the American Athletic Conference (AAC), and by some distance (SMU has surrendered 190).

The Huskies have been outscored by an average of 53.4 to 21.6. (The lone game UConn won: a 56-49 shootout with Rhode Island.) Connecticut’s defense has allowed a staggering 663 yards per game, dead last among the 130 FBS teams. (At 129 is Oregon State, and they’ve only allowed 543.6 per game.)

But here’s the catch from the other sideline: Memphis now looks like a soft spot on the Husky schedule. Their losses have been to UCF, Boise State, Syracuse, and Cincinnati. Tiger coach Mike Norvell has emphasized all week how his team can overlook no one. They better not this week, because an undermanned (on paper) foe will be stoked for this clash.

• To his credit, Norvell has owned his team’s performance at Tulane. He’s come across, honestly, as the most disappointed “fan” in Memphis . . . and that’s precisely as it should be. From Monday’s press conference: “Part of the reason we are in this situation are things we have allowed to take place and allowed to happen, and it’s hurt us in playing to the top level of our ability. We’re going to continue to work. We had a good practice [Sunday]. Everyone is owning where we are and what we’ve done to this point.”
Larry Kuzniewski

Mike Norvell

With any painful loss, it’s not so much the what, but the why that a coaching staff must address. The defense was significantly short-handed by injuries, particularly the line. (The secondary, minus two starters, looked significantly slower than it has in recent years.) Tulane’s defense managed to bottle up the country’s top rusher, Darrell Henderson. Tiger quarterback Brady White was unable to stretch the Green Wave defense by connecting with receivers downfield. These and other factors made for the ugliest outing in Norvell’s three seasons as a head coach. Time for that age-old cliche: It’s not how hard you fall, but how quickly you get up.

• What has happened to Mid-South football? Memphis fans are pouting over an 0-2 start in the AAC. Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Arkansas are all 0-2 in the SEC. Tennessee is 0-2 in league play and Vanderbilt 0-1. Six regional programs with a combined league record of 0-11. There’s Alabama, of course. (Always Alabama.) LSU, Georgia, and Auburn are also Top-10 teams. But I’ve bumped into some slump-shouldered football fans as October has arrived. Better days are surely ahead. If nothing else, I know five SEC programs Memphis athletic director Tom Bowen should consider scheduling.

• Something is rotten in the state of defense, at least the version played by the Memphis Tigers. Four games into the 2017 season, Memphis ranks 126th nationally (out of 130 teams) in total defense, allowing 513.5 yards per game. Last weekend’s debacle at UCF was the second time the Tigers have allowed at least 40 points this season, and the eighth such game since the start of the 2016 season. Injuries have compromised defensive coordinator Chris Ball’s unit (perhaps most significantly the loss of pass rusher Jackson Dillon for the season). But games must still be played. Four teams on the Tigers’ remaining schedule are averaging more than 450 yards of offense, including the next two (UConn and Navy). We’ve reached the point where an old cliche applies: The Tigers’ best defense is a strong offense. The irony, though, is that Memphis has a quick-strike attack, one capable of scoring in less than three minutes of possession time. Short drives mean only more time on the field for that 126th-ranked defense. Head coach Mike Norvell and offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey face an uncomfortable challenge: score lots of points . . . but do it slowly.

Jay McCoy

• With his third touchdown catch of the season (against Southern Illinois), Tiger receiver Anthony Miller became just the fourth Memphis player to score 25 career touchdowns. You’ve surely heard of DeAngelo Williams (60 TDs from 2002 to 2005). And Dave Casinelli (36, 1960-63). Each of them has had his jersey number retired by the U of M. But what can you tell me about Jay McCoy, who scored 27 touchdowns as a Tiger? I had to call on the preeminent Tiger historian of them all — sideline reporter Matt Dillon — to learn about this unsung star, who did his damage at the Liberty Bowl from 1968 to 1970. “Coach [Billy] Murphy used him generally to run outside as a tailback,” says Dillon, “but he was strong enough to get tough yards between the tackles if needed. Jay was one of the most versatile players in that era when it was basically three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense. He was also called on to be the backup kicker on field goals and PATs [as a senior]. Skeeter Gowen got most of the publicity McCoy’s last two years, but Jay was one of those multipurpose guys who held everything together. One of the very underrated players in Tiger history.” McCoy is one of only six non-kickers to lead the Tigers in scoring twice (1968 and 1970). He scored 10 touchdowns as a sophomore, eight as a junior, and nine as a senior.

• New England is lovely in the fall. This trip to Connecticut comes at a perfect time for the Tigers. You see, the Huskies rank 127th in total defense, allowing 541.8 yards per game. Their only win this season came against Holy Cross in the opener. Memphis and UConn haven’t played since the 2014 season, when the Tigers won handily (41-10) at the Liberty Bowl. The U of M, though, lost (handily) its only game in East Hartford, the 2013 season finale (Justin Fuente’s second on the sidelines for Memphis). Norvell didn’t pull any verbal punches at his press conference Monday: “I’m embarrassed as a head coach for how we had them prepared to play [at UCF]. We’re going to respond. Talk is cheap; what you see is who you are.” Friday night will indeed be a time for the Memphis football program to respond, and reset its direction for a season not so young any more.