A pivotal matchup in the AAC West Division is already upon us in Week 2 of the 2018 college football season as Memphis goes on the road to take on Navy and its vaunted triple-option attack.
Memphis enters Saturday's contest on a much higher note, coming off a 66-14 win last week over FCS Mercer and receiving votes in this week's AP Top 25 poll. Navy, meanwhile, was on the wrong end of a 59-41 shootout against Hawaii on the road in its opening contest of the season. The result of this game should go a long way to determining whether Memphis is a true AAC contender and whether Navy can bounce back following that surprise defeat.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Sept. 8 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium -- Annapolis, Maryland
TV: CBS Sports Network | Live stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App
Storylines
Memphis: Just how lethal is this Tigers passing attack? In the season-opening victory over Mercer last week, the Tigers racked up a school-record 752 total yards of offense, with 428 of those yards coming through the air. Junior quarterback Brady White -- a transfer from Arizona State -- proved that coach Mike Norvell made the right move in naming him the successor to Riley Ferguson, throwing for 358 yards on 22-of-28 passing with five touchdowns with all coming in just one half. While the Midshipmen won't provide the best defensive unit the Tigers will see all season, they will give us with a much better gauge of the kind of danger this Memphis attack brings through the air.
Navy: That triple-option offense needs to get out to a quick start in its second game of the season -- much quicker than it did in the loss to Hawaii last week where only 14 points were scored in the first half, none of which came in the first quarter. Should the Memphis passing game slash the Navy secondary with ease in the same vein that Hawaii did, Navy will once again find itself in a hole they don't have enough time to dig itself out of. This game will likely turn into a shootout, so quarterback Malcolm Perry -- who rushed for 108 yards in 17 carries last week -- and the rest of the Midshipmen offensive unit need to provide the explosiveness we're accustomed to seeing early on.
Game prediction, picks
I do expect Navy's offense to look a little more competent earlier in this one, but despite its FCS opponent in Week 1, the more balanced Memphis offensive attack may prove too much for the Midshipmen to handle. Hawaii exposed many flaws of the Navy secondary in Week 1, and I'd suspect Norvell and his offense will capitalize greatly on the game film they've watched this week to similarly torch their opponent through the air. Pick: Memphis -7
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