College Football Preview: Memphis (1-0) at Navy (0-1)
Memphis at Navy (Image: NavySports.com)
Memphis Tigers at Navy Midshipmen
Saturday, September 8, 2018; 3:30 ET
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis
The Side-by-Side Stats
Both Navy and Memphis played their first games of the 2018 season last week. The results were vastly different. Here’s a side-by-side look at some of the key stats from Memphis’ 66-14 win against Mercer and Navy’s 59-41 loss at Hawai’i.
Total Offensive Yards: Memphis: 752… NAVY: 411
Rushing Yards: Memphis: 324… NAVY: 324
Passing Yards: Memphis: 428… NAVY: 85
Penalty Yards: Memphis: 7 for 57… NAVY: 2 for 18
First Downs: Memphis: 32… NAVY: 19
3rd Downs: Memphis: 10 of 15… NAVY: 5 of 12
4th Downs: Memphis: 2 of 2… NAVY: 2 of 3
Time of Possession: Memphis: 33:04… NAVY: 29:23
The QBs Last Week
Brady White, Memphis
The Arizona State graduate transfer, Brady White, dazzled in his Memphis debut in last week’s lopsided 66-14 victory over Mercer. White needed only the first half to put up record numbers. Completing 22 of 28 passes for 358 yards and five TDs, White came out at halftime with a 56-0 lead. His stats earned him a place on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll and an honorable mention nod for the CFPA National Performer of the Week award.
White did not have a favorite target either. Twelve Tigers caught a White pass, five different receivers bringing in his five touchdown throws.
Malcolm Perry & Zach Abey
Navy put all doubts to rest last week that a two-man QB plan could indeed work. Malcolm Perry got the start and took the majority of the snaps. He ended the day with 108 rushing yards on 17 attempts, including a 75-yard TD run. Asked to pass three times, Perry completed only one, but it was for a 19-yard TD.
The Midshipmen utilized short-yardage QB Zach Abey to perfection. Brought in exclusively for red zone situations, Abey scored four times on runs of three, one, seven and two yards. Two of his touchdowns came within 85 seconds of each other, energizing an offense that had faced a big deficit all night long.
Memphis Players to Watch
Patrick Taylor Jr. – junior WR, had six catches for 39 yards against Mercer
Darrell Henderson – junior RB, had nine carries including a 62-yard TD reception
Calvin Austin III – redshirt freshman WR and member of the track team, he had an 83-yard TD run
J.J. Russell – sophomore LB, led the Tigers with four tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, a sack and a forced fumble
Riley Patterson – sophomore PK, made nine PAT’s against Mercer, extending his streak of consecutive PATs to 68
Keys to a Navy Win
- Head coach Ken Niumatalolo said it best on Tuesday, “They (Memphis) don’t care that we got whooped… They’re coming to pummel us on Saturday.” Navy must put the loss to Hawai’i behind them. The Midshipmen will have enough to deal with on the field against their AAC West foes. Learn from mistakes but do not dwell on them.
- Nelson Smith, sophomore FB, had an impressive game with Navy last weekend. After spending his freshman year on special teams, Smith jumped at the opportunity to start. “His explosiveness is huge,” Navy’s fullbacks coach Mike Judge said this week. Niumatalolo added that “the sky’s the limit for that kid.” Simply put, Navy must utilize Nelson Smith, fully.
- Keep possession of the ball. Although Navy’s defense did not play up to expectations last week, the game plan for the Midshipmen must remain primarily the same. Keep the Navy offense on the field. Keep the Memphis offense off the field.
- It’s the home opener. Feed off the crowd.
