TIGERS WARY OF FAST JAYHAWKS
Tigers coach Justin Fuente says the Jayhawks’ fast-paced offense means they’re never out of the game.
The video made waves on the Internet on Saturday afternoon, of Kansas quarterback Montell Cozart fumbling a snap in the closing seconds, trying desperately to spike the ball and failing to even give his kicker an opportunity to tie the score.
The sequence sealed a 41-38 loss to South Dakota State. And it fit the narrative of a bumbling program that has won only 12 games in the past five years.
When Memphis football coach Justin Fuente watches that game, however, his attention is elsewhere. He sees a Jayhawks offense that racked up 576 yards at a breakneck speed. He sees running back Ke’aun Kinner’s 157 rushing yards and a dual-threat quarterback, Cozart, who could frustrate a young defense.
“I mean this as a compliment: They have no conscience,” Fuente said. “They’re pedal to the metal every single play. They’ll throw it, run it, going as fast as humanly possible. … They’re never out of the game.”
Memphis coasted past Missouri State in its season opener, 63-7, but Saturday’s game against the Jayhawks will present a new challenge. The Tigers will be on the road for the first time in 2015. They will face a team that, despite its struggles, plays in a Power Five conference in the Big 12, with the resources that accompany that. And they will have to slow a fast-paced offense that has the ability to prolong every game.
“We’re playing against a team that’s never out of it. To me, that’s the message,” Fuente said. “The way they play offense creates more possessions. It creates more possessions for them, and it creates more possessions for us, because they do go so fast. You can make up a little bit of ground if you fall behind, but also they can make up a little bit of ground.”
The Jayhawks will also be playing with extra motivation following the embarrassing end to their opener. Vegas oddsmakers have pegged them as a double-digit underdog. First-year coach David Beaty admits it’s a fair assessment.
“Honestly, until we earn it, we’re going to be underdogs in every game that we have,” Beaty said. “That’s just the way it is. And we need to be playing like we’re the underdogs.”
Should the odds hold true, Memphis would pick up its first win over a Power Five team since 2004, when it edged Ole Miss, 20-13. In the past two decades, the Tigers are 4-41 against Power Five teams, most of them from the Southeastern Conference.
When asked about a possible gap between the American Athletic Conference and Power Five schools, Fuente said his team’s focus does not change, regardless of an opponent’s conference affiliation.
“We try not to look at it like that,” he said. “It’s our job to go try and win the ballgame. What league they play in and all that stuff is of no concern to us, nor is it to them, I don’t think. I don’t think they care one bit what league we play in.” TIGER INSIDER
Sophomore Roderick Proctor was named the AAC special teams player of the week Monday.
Proctor returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown against Missouri State, the first Tiger to do so since 2004. He finished with 114 total return yards in the 63-7 win.