Memphis, Tennessee:
After months of wondering if we'll even have a college football season, kickoff is finally upon us, and quite honestly, it feels right. Saturday night at the Liberty Bowl will be magical, the type of moments that will transcend generations to come.
First and foremost, last season is in the past, bottom line. Saturday night will be an all-out battle, as the Tigers and Red Wolves go to war. These two programs are separated by only 76 miles, these two programs have also been long-standing regional rivals, dating back to 1914. Memphis holds the overall series advantage 27-10-4, with the last game between the two coming back in 2013, in a game that saw Memphis take home the win by a score of 31-7.
However, the Tigers will have their hands full on Saturday night with the Red Wolves despite being a nineteen point favorite. Arkansas State returns nine starters on offense, including all Sun Belt nominee and Memphis native, starting center, Jacob Still.
The Red Wolves are used to scoring points with an average last season of 33.7 points per game.
For the Tigers, it's all about not getting lost in the preseason hype, and coming out and playing through the adversity that seems to plague Memphis each year.
Just this week alone, Memphis lost All-American running back Kenneth Gainwell due to the decision to opt-out of the 2020 season with concerns of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. However, it's the next man up for the Tigers as Rodrigues Clark looks to fill the shoes.
Coach Silverfield had this to say about overcoming adversity this season and playing football in the middle of a global pandemic.
"Every step along the way – from the Cotton Bowl to offseason recruiting to hiring a staff to not having spring practice to dealing with COVID (and) all sorts of other issues – (there have been) challenges. But I knew there would be challenges in taking this head coaching job. Coaches throughout the country are dealing with different challenges (during the pandemic)."
Adversity is a staple of running a college athletics program. Running a program in a pandemic has been a different and rare challenge.
"There has been adversity," Silverfield said. "That's the name of the game in college football. It's part of this profession. Our student-athletes are steadfast. I'm proud of the way our guys have stayed focused."
On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers return three all-conference standout players, TJ Carter in the secondary, O'Bryan Goodson on the defensive line, and Joseph Dorceus at the defensive end position. These three keys are the anchors to this Memphis defensive unit.
As far as special team units go, the Tigers are led by Riley Patterson at placekicker, and Adam Williams at punter. These two guys are special players who make the difference for this team.
Head Coach Ryan Silverfield had this to say about the matchup with Arkansas State.
"I'm at my happiest and my best in between those white lines," Silverfield said. "We know we have a tough task at hand in a wonderful opponent in Arkansas State. But it's game week. It's here. Let's roll. Our young men can not wait."
Things might seem a bit different on Saturday night at the Liberty Bowl, but don't let that take away from the moment that we all have been waiting on for months.
Like Coach, Silverfield said, " Let's Roll."
Memphis and Arkansas State will kick off Saturday at 7:00 P.M. and can be watched on ESPN.
