Memphis Football: Preview, prediction, live stream vs. Georgia State
Friday night’s matchup between Georgia State and Memphis football could draw some intrigue and kick off the weekend the right way.
The Memphis Tigers just couldn’t keep the ball last week against Navy. Memphis had a total of 13 drives against the Midshipmen and in those 13 drives, they turned over the ball five times and had four three-and-outs. Outside of the turnovers, running back Darrell Henderson had a career weekend with 230 total yards of offense along with three rushing touchdowns and the feature back for the Tigers.
Can Brady White get back on track after averaging 5.8 yards per attempt a week ago against a bottom-20 Panthers pass defense?
Georgia State has played progressively better over the past couple seasons going from three wins in 2016 to seven a season ago. They opened up this season with a four-point win over Kennesaw State but followed it up with a blowout loss to the NC State Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C.
In fairness to the Panthers, Carter-Finley Stadium isn’t a cakewalk for most teams that travel there and NC State has a ton of experience back from their 2017 passing attack that finished 30th nationally a year ago. Coach Shawn Elliott has the program going in the right direction, can he pull out a big win over a prominent AAC passing-attack?
Now that we’ve touched base with both teams, let’s see who has the advantage going into the lone Friday night game.
Date: Friday, Sept. 14
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Memphis, Tenn.
Venue: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN or FuboTV
Players to Watch
Georgia State
- QB — Dan Ellington
- WR — Penny Hart
- LBs — Ed Curney and Chase Middleton
- S — DeAndre Applin
Memphis
- RBs — Darrell Anderson and Patrick Taylor Jr.
- QB — Brady White
- WRs — John Williams and Damonte Coxie
- LB — Curtis Atkins
Keys to Victory
The key for Georgia State is to make Memphis make mistakes. Memphis turned the ball over five times last week against a lackluster Navy defense (given it was raining). If the Panthers can get Ed Curney and Chase Middleton to hit these Memphis backs hard enough to force some turnovers, they might have a chance.
Dan Ellington also needs to make do with what he has around him. Wide receiver Penny Hart is the model of consistency with 70-plus receptions and 1,000-plus yards in every season he has played all 12 games and Hart has to help out his quarterback to truly have a chance in this game.
Memphis needs to hold on to the ball. Turnovers can kill a team in a heartbeat and the Tigers learned that the hard way last week against Navy. If they are looking to avoid the rain this week, they are going to have a hard time considering Hurricane Florence is hitting the East Coast on Friday and Memphis will at least see some light rain and wind.
Brady White must also do something. White averaged less than six yards per attempt last week and completed 60 percent of his passes. Limit mistakes, utilize the pass.
Betting Odds
Courtesy of OddsShark
Points Spread: Memphis -23
Over/Under: 59
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Prediction
Memphis will take this game easily. Georgia State’s defense can’t stop anyone and their defensive line has a whopping total of one sack on the season. Memphis will try to reconfigure their passing game and if all else fails, they can let Darrell Henderson run wild again.
Final Score: Memphis 42, Georgia State 17