Tigers Take On Veteran BGSU Team Saturday

The conversation this week has certainly centered around the teams' offenses as the University of Memphis is set to take on Bowling Green State University Saturday. Despite the expectation of a high-scoring game, for the Tigers, there is also respect for the Falcons' defense.

In last week's 48-27 win at Maryland, Bowling Green's defense forced four turnovers including interceptions that ended the Terrapins' final three offensive series of the game.

"I want to talk about the defense, they played outstanding at Maryland," BGSU head coach Dino Babers said earlier in the week. "To force four turnovers, have eight three-and-outs, and hold a Big Ten team to no offensive touchdowns in the first half is really incredible.

"Memphis is going to be bigger than us, faster than us," Babers added. "We are going to need all of our fans at The Doyt on Saturday supporting our team. This is a very difficult game."

UofM head coach Justin Fuente said the Tigers will take a significant step up in competition this week.

"They have a very veteran team. Defensively, their two deep is filled with juniors and seniors," Fuente said. "Offensively, they deserve every bit of credit they have received so far. They can run the ball and throw the ball with equal effectiveness."

Saturday's game is slated for a 2 p.m. Central kickoff. The game will be seen regionally on the American Sports Network in the Midwest and will also be available through ESPN3 and the WatchESPN.com app. The game can be heard locally on AM600 WREC as well as WAMB-AM 1160 in Nashville and WJAK-AM 1460 in Jackson, Tenn. For fans living outside of those radio markets, the game will be broadcast to subscribers through Memphis All-Access at www.GoTigersGo.com/Watch.

With the win at Maryland, Bowling Green has now beat a Big 10 team in back-to-back seasons.

The Falcons totaled 692 yards of total offense at Maryland, just 14 yards shy of the school record. Senior quarterback Matt Johnson passed for 491 yards and become the first quarterback at BGSU to pass for 400+ yards in consecutive games. He was named the Maxwell Award National Player of the Week as well as selected the Davey O'Brien Award National Quarterback of the Week following the performance at Maryland.

Johnson started last year's season opener at Western Kentucky but suffered a season-ending hip injry and missed the remainder of the year.

In two games in 2015, Johnson has passed for 918 yards and eight touchdowns.

"Their quarterback is a fantastic player," Fuente said of Johnson. "It says a lot about their team that last year when he got injured in the first game of the season and they still had an enough around them to go to the MAC Conference Championship and win their bowl game.

Along with Johnson, Bowling Green features four receivers and two running backs who each have over 1,000 career yards either receiving or rushing.

Senior running back Travis Green enters the game with 2,6552 career rushing yards, fourth-most in BGSU history. Ryan Burbrink's 1,695 career receiving yards leads the Falcons.

One key for Memphis could be working to set the tempo on defense. Last week, Bowling Green ran 105 plays in its win over Maryland.

"If you can win first down, hopefully you can put them in second-and-long," Fuente said. "It is a little bit harder to go fast when you're behind the chains. If they did not run the ball so well, then it would be a different dynamic but they really are a balanced team.

"They want to run the ball, do a lot of play action, and throw the ball over your head. So there's no real strategy to try to slow them down other than playing good defense."

Against a high-powered offense team like Bowling Green, Memphis' national defensive rankings could certainly drop. But through wins over Missouri State and Big 12 member Kansas, the Tigers have given up just 242 yards per game which ranks 12th nationally. Memphis' defense has allowed 30 points and the team's 15.0 points per game allowed.

Offensively, Memphis's 118 points in two games to begin the season is the most points ever scored in back-to-back games by the Tigers.

UofM junior quarterback Paxton Lynch is coming off a career-high 354 yards and two touchdowns in last week's 55-23 win at Kansas. Lynch was 22-for-25 passing.

Led by sophomore Jarvis Cooper's 159 rushing yards and three touchdowns, the Tigers have utilized four running back in the past four games. Senior receiver Mose Frazier has caught a team-high 10 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Jackson Dillon leads the Tigers with 10 tackles including one for lost yardage and has recovered a fumble. Linebacker Genard Avery has eight tackle through two games.

Following Saturday's game, the Tigers are back at home Thursday, opening American Athletic Conference play against Cincinnati. Memphis and UC are expected to win the American's West and East Divisions, respectively. Set for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff, the game is the national ESPN Thursday night game.

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Players Mentioned

Genard Avery

Jarvis Cooper

Jackson Dillon

Mose Frazier

Paxton Lynch

University of Memphis Athletics