Grades for Tigers in win over Arkansas St.
JONESBORO, Ark. — Memphis improved to 2-0 after surviving a 5550 road win at Arkansas State on Saturday.
The offense was balanced and prolific with 680 total yards. But the defense and special teams were a different story.
Here's how we graded the Tigers in all three phases:
Offense
The Tigers looked like the bigplay days under Mike Norvell. Seth Henigan was once again sharp and got plenty of help from Calvin Austin
III and Sean Dykes in the passing game. Brandon Thomas showed off his speed with two long touchdown runs.
The one blemish was Asa Martin having a fumble. But Arkansas State had little answer as the Tigers leaned more on the passing game and it paid off. It was a growing moment for Henigan in his second start but a good sign the offense had fire on the road.
Grade: A-minus
Defense
Memphis did its job for 21⁄2 quarters, bringing pressure despite starting defensive end Morris Joseph be
ing sidelined by injury. But the Tigers let up and gave up 398 yards of offense in the second half.
That Jekyll and Hyde performance reminded fans of struggling against the pass last year. Freshman Greg Rubin was tested in first start at cornerback but responded well after giving up a touchdown pass in the first quarter.
But there wasn't much praise to give out. While the Tigers held on, the defense must play more like the first half, not the second. Grade: C-minus
Special teams
It wasn't a banner day thanks to Joe Doyle missing an extra point and a 32yard field goal that was a low. Things got worse when an Arkansas State punt bounced off Rubin's leg and the Red Wolves recovered, leading to a field goal.
Those four points could've put the game away as the Red Wolves came charging back. Doyle made up for it with five punts, his first of the season. But those misses and a quiet return game made special teams more disappointing than spectacular Grade: C-minus
Coaching
Ryan Silverfield trusted Henigan as he threw the ball more while staying balanced with the passing game. Unlike against Nicholls State, there were few questionable decisions inside the red zone as Memphis avoided field goals for touchdowns.
But one has to question the Tigers' defense playing soft coverage in the second half leading by 18 points. That looked like a defense trusting its offense to bail it out and that can't happen with a young quarterback. Overall, coaching was more good than negative.
Grade: B
Overall grade
Memphis was uneven but did enough to get the win. However, the Tigers can't expect this offense to score 55 points with a freshman backfield and can't live with a defense giving up nearly 700 yards.
Good enough but not great
Grade: B-minus