Week 2 of the 2012 College Football season continues on Saturday and we will see the Memphis Tigers travel to take on the Arkansas State Red Wolves. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 PM (Eastern) start time and it will be televised live on ESPNU. Currently the odds for the game have Arkansas State favored by 23 points for the game, while the total sits at 60. Currently 88% of the Public is on Arkansas State, while 98% is on the Over. Find out what side the Public is taking on all the games by clicking HERE.
Free Analysis: Memphis had an undesirable start to the Justin Fuente era as the Tigers fell to the UT Martin Skyhawks of the FCS, 20-17, in their opening game of the 2012 season at home. Heavy storms caused the game to be delayed nearly three hours before the contest could be resumed. UT Martin's kicker Cody Sandlin sent Memphis to an 0-1 record by drilling a 43-yard field goal with only four seconds left. Fuente's has a long way to go to transform Memphis's offense into anything that resembles the high-scoring units he worked with as TCU's offensive coordinator previously. The Tigers finished last in the C-USA in rushing offense (84.0 ypg), passing offense (190.3 ypg) and scoring offense (16.3 ppg) in 2011 and had two quarterbacks transfer out of the program during the offseason. exas Tech transfer Jacob Karam made his debut in the loss to UT Martin, but he managed to complete only 12 of his 28 attempts for 157 yards and a touchdown. Senior wideout Marcus Rucker caught the only passing touchdown and finished with a team-best 45 yards on three receptions. Junior running back Jerrell Rhodes was the Tigers' most effective weapon with 106 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Rhodes's failure to secure the ball led to two costly fumbles which UT Martin recovered. Last season, Memphis was just as poor defensively as it was on offense. The Tigers finished last in the nation in pass defense (299.4 ypg) and near or at the bottom of the C-USA in every other major defensive category in 2011. Their struggles continued into the 2012 season opener as the Tigers allowed their FCS opponent to gain 25 first downs and 392 yards of total offense.
Arkansas State was overmatched in its opener as it lost, 57-34, on the road to the fifth-ranked Oregon Ducks. Although they lost convincingly, the reigning Sun Belt Conference champions exhibited a balanced and powerful offensive attack by racking up 530 total yards against their Pac-12 foe. ASU recorded over 300 yards of total offense for the 11th consecutive game in its season opener at Oregon. Senior quarterback Ryan Aplin became the program's all-time leader in total offense (9,075 yards) and passing yards (7,721) during the course of their loss to Oregon. Aplin completed 29-of-44 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns, while also contributing 37 yards and a score on the ground. Senior wide receiver Josh Jarboe also wrote his name in the Red Wolves' history books in week one. Jarboe tied the school record with 13 receptions, which he turned into 66 yards and a touchdown. The Red Wolves, like nearly every other team in the NCAA, were not equipped to slow down Oregon. The Ducks kept ASU back-peddling all day as they amassed 605 yards of total offense. Arkansas State's defense was actually solid in 2011, with an allowed average of just 325.7 yards per game and a Sun Belt Conference leading average of 19.3 points permitted per contest. Nathan Herrold finished the bout with Oregon with 11 tackles, marking the fourth time in his career he has registered double-digit stops in a game.
This will be the 57th meeting on the football field between ASU and Memphis. The Red Wolves have won three of the last four games, including last season's 47-3 rout of the Tigers at ASU Stadium. The Tigers hold a 28-23-5 advantage in the series which began in 1914.
Free Pick: I like Arkansas State in this one. The Memphis Tigers are not only the worst team in Conference USA, but they are probably one of the 10 worst in the country and their opening loss to an FCS opponent proves that. The Tigers have returned 41 lettermen from last years 2-10 team but weak recruiting classes means that those lettermen aren't al that good. Arkansas State, on the other hand, is the reigning Sun Belt champs and are primed for another run at the Title.Last week they were hammered at Oregon, but after being down 50-3 they showed they won't give up, by battling back and outscoring the Ducks 31-7 the rest of the way. Gus Malzahn was OC at Auburn when they won the National Title, so putting up plenty of points will not be hard for this team this year. The Red Wolves are a bit weak on defense, but I just don't see Memphis being able to take advantage enough to keep this one close. Look for a 30+ point win by the Red Wolves.
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