1. Memphis returns four starters.
Mississippi State returns sixteen starters. This SHOULD be a completely different game than last year. Memphis shouldn’t be near as experienced as the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The Memphis Tigers will look different than last year without the help of a home crowd and the eighteen starters they lost.
2. They do return their starting quarterback.
Seth Henigan is one of the four starters that return to the 2022 Memphis Tigers. In last year’s game vs. the Tigers, he threw for 159 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Those are not great statistics, but he finished the 2021 year with a decent season. Henigan finished the 2021 season with 3,322 yards passing and 25 touchdowns. Henigan is only a sophomore on the depth chart and could provide the Tigers with some exciting plays this 2022 season.
3. Memphis finished the 2021 season, 6-6.
Wins: Nicholls State, Arkansas State, Mississippi State, Navy, SMU, and Tulane
Losses: UTSA, Temple, Tulsa, UCF, East Carolina, and Houston
Memphis was not a great team last year and losing eighteen starters can’t help the 2022 season.
4. Last year, Mississippi State outgained Memphis 468 to 246 total yards of offense.
If you told me three years ago that Mississippi State had a quarterback pass for 419 yards, I would have told you that there is no way we could have lost that game. Well, we did. What surprises me even more than that is the fact that we held their offense to 248 yards of total offense, and they managed to win the game. If those same numbers are put on the board this Saturday, the outcome will be different.
5. Memphis does not seem to play well on the road.
The 2021 Memphis Tigers had five road games last year and won one of the five games vs. Arkansas State. Playing at Davis Wade Stadium has proven to be a difficult task in previous years. I don’t see that changing this year.