Ole Miss Football: Memphis Preview with Frank Murtaugh

We preview the Ole Miss vs. Memphis game with Frank Murtaugh of Memphis Magazine and the Memphis Flyer.

Memphis has blown out their three opponents so far this season. Has this been a result of quality of competition or have the tigers been that good or both?

We’ll be more equipped to answer this question after Saturday’s game in Oxford. Because, for crying out loud, the Tigers’ first three foes are bad teams. (The drop in talent across the roster for Bowling Green was alarming to see.) Many teams have an early FCS opponent, a game to sharpen skills and clarify schemes. But then Memphis also hosted Kansas (worst team in the Big 12) and the Falcons. A very average team could go 3-0 against this trio. Now, do average teams score 77 points on 11 touchdowns by 11 different players? Do average teams finish this three-game stretch with a +8 turnover ratio? Does an average team have a quarterback who can toss six touchdown passes in a half without an interception? The Tigers have a good team, it appears. Just not as good as their first three opponents might suggest.

How has quarterback Riley Ferguson done in filling the shoes of Paxton Lynch?

Big shoes to fill, to say the least. Riley has had his own form of seasoning, bouncing from Tennessee to junior college (where he excelled) to Memphis. He’s excited about running an up-tempo offense, and the chances that offense gives his new team to make some noise this fall. Mike Norvell has trusted Ferguson with the QB job as much for his head as for his arm: reading a defense, communicating (at break-neck speed), and knowing when to take a sack or sling the ball out of bounds. His numbers are terrific after three games. But Ferguson will see a defense unlike anything he’s seen before — at any level — in Oxford.

What has the transition been like from Justin Fuente to first year coach Mike Norvell?

These two coaches, to some degree, are cut from the same cloth. Offensive backgrounds. Creative thinking when it comes to play-calling and formations. And a general intensity about them (though I think Norvell has a lighter side Fuente would be reluctant to reveal). Norvell is very young, and taking over a job that (for the first time) brings high expectations. How will he handle adversity? (He’d be the first to ask this question, because he asks it of his players regularly.) Norvell seems to genuinely relish the chance to coach the University of Memphis. It’s a marriage that could last for a while.

This is the last time Ole Miss and Memphis will play on the gridiron until 2019. Do Memphis fans wish they would play Ole Miss every year?

This is always the most talked-about game of a Memphis football season. And more so than when the Tigers play Mississippi State or Tennessee. The geographic proximity and number of Ole Miss alumni in Memphis make it a “family feud” of sorts. In general, Memphis fans prefer Ole Miss on the schedule. But I also think we’ve reached a point where larger goals than beating the Rebels (i.e. a conference championship, a national ranking, a prestigious bowl bid) have entered thought patterns and conversations around Memphis football. And this is healthy.