Tennessee at Memphis
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Tennessee Volunteers will look to snap a four game losing streak when they go on the road to take on the Memphis Tigers. The Volunteers struggled on the road last week, falling to South Carolina 38-24, and have yet to win a conference game this season. The Tigers haven’t been much better, they lost 56-17 to Houston last week for their fifth straight loss. The Volunteers are 21-1 against the Tigers, including a 56-28 win at Tennessee last year. If you are thinking about betting on the game this weekend, the current odds have the Volunteers favored by 20-points over the Tigers.
Tennessee (2-6, 0-5 SEC): The Volunteers started off strong against South Carolina last week, as the two teams were tied 10-10 going into the second half. The Gamecocks scored two touchdowns in the first five minutes of the second half thanks to a 24 yard interception returned for a touchdown, but the Volunteers fought back and tied it at 24-24 with just over 13 minutes to play in the fourth. South Carolina quickly responded with a 70 yard touchdown pass and then added another late score to secure the win.
While the Volunteers lost he game, there were a few good things to take away from this game. Backup freshman quarterback Tyler Bray stepped in and completed 9 of 15 attempts for 159 yards and two touchdowns, including one to wide out Denarius Moore, who finished with 228 yarsd and on just six catches. Bray is expected to start this Saturday against Memphis, and that could mean another huge day for Moore, as the Tigers come into the game this week allowing and average of 278 passing yards a game.
Memphis (1-7, 0-5 C-USA): As bad as it has been for the Volunteers, the Tigers have been even worse this season. Over the last four games the Tigers have lost by an average of 39.5 points per game. They have only scored more than 20 points twice this season. Memphis has the 112th ranked offense and the 116th ranked defense.
It doesn’t even appear that the Memphis is trying to win. Last week against Houston, the Tigers were down 35-3 at the end of the first half, and normally when you are down you throw the football. The Tigers attempted just 12 passes the entire game. Running back Gregory Ray had 176 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, and the Tigers finished with 229 yards for the game, but when the other team is up by that many points, who cares how many yards you rush for, especially when the other team has 651 yards of total offense, and actually out gains you on the ground.
Looking at the Odds: This is one of those games I don’t think you can pass up on if you are looking to make some money. The Volunteers are showing improvements and the Tigers players and coaches are showing they want the season to be over. Memphis might be able to put up some points against the Volunteers, but the fact that they will just keep running the ball when Tennessee has blown this thing wide open, really makes the 20 point spread worth betting. My final score prediction is Tennessee 54, Memphis 24.
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