MIAMI BEACH BOWL PREVIEW BYU (8-4) vs MEMPHIS (9-3, CO-AAC CHAMPIONS)
Two of the more successful non-power five schools of the 2014 regular season will battle it out on South Beach in the Miami Beach Bowl. Independent BYU will battle Memphis who finished as co-champions of the American Athletic Conference. This should be one of the most competitive and highly anticipated postseason bowl match-ups.
BYU’s streaky season began 4-0 and they appeared to be a contender for the Group of Five New Years Day bowl bid behind standout quarterback Taysom Hill. Hill gave defenses a dual-threat look, averaging just over eight yards per carry on the ground while completing an impressive 67 percent of his passes. He threw for 975 yards and accounted for nine touchdowns in just over four games of action. However, Hill would break his leg in a 35-20 loss to Utah State in Week 5 and was declared out for the season. The Cougars would not only drop that game, but four in a row.
It would take some time for them to get comfortable under new quarterback Christian Stewart, but he received a lot of help from star receivers Mitch Mathews and Jordan Leslie, helping the Cougars end the season with another four game winning streak.
The Cougars played an impressive independent schedule this season, facing eleven FBS programs, including seven who will play in bowl games this postseason. BYU’s most impressive win of the season came in week two when they traveled to Austin, Texas to play the Longhorns. The Cougars ran all over Texas in route to a 41-7 victory. BYU played seven bowl eligible teams in 2014 and two others who finished at 5-7.
The Memphis Tigers also played a competitive schedule on their way to a 9-3 season and a shared conference title. The Tigers went 7-1 in conference play and played six bowl eligible teams including traveling to national powers and aspiring CFP teams UCLA and Ole Miss out of conference. Memphis gave UCLA all they could handle in week two, falling just short in a wild 42-35 contest. They wouldn’t fare so well against Ole Miss, falling 24-3.
Both the Cougars and Tigers shared a common opponent in Middle Tennessee State. BYU went on the road to MTSU and came away with a dominating 27-7 victory. Memphis hosted the Blue Raiders and won by almost the same exact amount in their 36-17 win. The stats were also fairly similar which could also indicate just how closely matched the two teams are despite the small sample size.
Stats vs. Middle Tennessee:
1st Downs: BYU 25 Memphis 26
Total Yards: BYU 444 Memphis 480
Passing Yards: BYU 316 Memphis 219
Rushing Yards: BYU 128 Memphis 261
Turnover Diff: BYU -2 Memphis -2
BYU is carried by a balanced offensive attack that was still able to average 36.2 points per game despite the mid-season change at quarterback. The Cougars were 33rd in the nation with 272.9 passing yards per game and ranked 42nd with 190.5 yards per game on the ground.
They will need to stay balanced in their attack and try to move the chains and have success on offense early against a very stout and capable Memphis defense. If they can have long, clock grinding drives early, they may be able to wear the Tiger defense down for more success late in the game. They need to try and do this because Memphis is giving up only 17.1 points per game, good for fifth in the nation. Those numbers are skewed just a bit since Memphis played six teams this season with a record of 4-8 or worse and just 13-59 overall. They gave up just 11 points a game in those six contests against inferior opponents. In their six games against bowl eligible teams, the Tigers points per game average ballooned to 23 points per game.
Memphis isn’t far behind BYU’s 36.2, averaging 34.7 points per game. The Tigers are led on offense by quarterback Paxton Lynch who has thrown for 2,725 yards and 18 touchdowns to just six interceptions. Brandon Hayes carries their running game and amassed 900 yards and five touchdowns on 174 carries during the regular season. Keiwone Malone and Mose Frasier are equally dangerous threats in the receiving corp. with 480 and 475 yards receiving respectively.
The Tigers’ only blemishes this season came to UCLA, Ole Miss, and Houston. UCLA and Ole Miss both finished 9-3 in two of the toughest conferences in the nation. They were also ranked in the Top Ten for a good portion of the regular season. Ole Miss rose as high as fourth in the polls while UCLA reached as high as number eight. Houston finished 7-5 and was in the hunt for an AAC conference championship for much of the season.
Memphis’ last lost on Oct. 11th to Houston while BYU’s hasn’t faltered in a game since Oct. 24th when they dropped a 55-30 decision to Boise State. Paxton Lynch, Brandon Hayes, Christian Stewart, Mitch Matthews, and Jordan Jeffrey are all names to keep and eye on in this one.
The Tigers will be going into this game looking to show they are more than a team who beat up on weaker competition. BYU is a respectable opponent and a win in this game would get their historically dismal football program it’s first ten win season since the undefeated team of 1938 (10-0). Meanwhile, BYU is looking to build on the momentum created over the last four games and despite tremendous adversity they want to end the season strong.
WHEN: MONDAY DEC. 22ND, 2:00 P.M. ESPN – Miami Beach Bowl – Marlins Park – Miami, FL; BYU Cougars (8-4) vs. Memphis Tigers (9-3)
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