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Will the Memphis Tigers Win the First Responder Bowl? | Memphis Tigers at Utah State

Now that we’ve passed the Christmas holiday, college bowls are going to come at us fast and furiously. On December 27th, the Servpro First Responder Bowl will take place at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas, as the Memphis Tigers will take on the Utah State Aggies. One team will leave this one with a winning record, while the other will finish under the .500 mark, as both teams enter the fray with a 6-6 record.

Let’s preview each of the teams, and then we’ll give you our College Football Bowl Betting prediction for the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.

Memphis Tigers

Memphis has a stellar offense, which averages just over 35 points per game. Led by dual-threat quarterback Seth Henigan, this offense can be very explosive. Henigan has thrown for nearly 3,300 yards, while rushing for over 300 yards on the season. He has 23 touchdown passes, with just eight interceptions.

Henigan has a plethora of weapons at his disposal, as he has six receivers who have over 300 yards receiving. His top target is tight-end Caden Prieskorn. Prieskorn has nearly 600 yards receiving on the season. We also can’t forget to mention the very strong rushing attack of the Memphis Tigers. They have run for just over 1,700 yards this season. 

We see Memphis using their rushing attack to attack a weak Utah State defense. The Aggies defensive unit has been hurt by the run this season. They’re giving up nearly 200 yards per game on the ground. As long as Memphis takes care of the ball, they should be able to control the clock and move the ball on the ground.

Utah State Aggies

Utah State got some great news last week, as Calvin Tyler, Jr. announced that he would be playing in the First Responder Bowl. Tyler is far and away the best weapon the Aggies have on offense. He is responsible for much of the 23 points per game that they scored. He rushed for over 1,000 yards this season, and he has also shown a penchant for making a good pass here and there. Tyler is a pro prospect, and even though he’ll enter the NFL Draft after this season, he wanted to show what he could do in a bowl game.

Unfortunately for Tyler, whose strength is running the ball, Memphis is also very good at stopping the run. Tyler will have his work cut out for him, as the Tigers have given up just 122 rushing yards per game. Utah State will have to get things going through the air, if they want to do some damage to the Memphis defense. 

Prediction

We know that the Memphis Tigers are favored by 7.5 points in this one. Memphis has the better offense, and is also better defensively. Do we think Memphis will win the game? Yes we do. However, we think that this game is going to be closer than the 7.5 points. We see Memphis winning this one by the score of 31-27. Memphis gets the win, but doesn’t cover the spread. 

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How to Bet Memphis vs. Utah State NCAA Football Odds & TV Info

• When: Tuesday, 3:15 PM ET
• Where: Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas
• TV: ESPN
• Stream: ESPN app
• Radio: Tunein.com
• Opening NCAAF Lines: Memphis -7.5 (total 61.5)

Both Memphis of the AAC and Utah State of the Mountain West had disappointing 6-6 seasons but one will finish with some momentum as they meet in the First Responder Bowl from Dallas on Tuesday with the Tigers as solid favorites on the NCAAF odds.

Series History

It will be the eighth meeting between the two schools and the first since 1977. Memphis leads the all-time series 4-3. Neither has played in this bowl previously.

Why Bet on Memphis?

The Tigers (6-6) closed the regular season with a 34-31 loss at SMU on the same field in which this bowl game will be played. Trailing 34-23 with 6:13 left in the game, the Tigers cut the lead to 34-31 on a Seth Henigan touchdown pass to Roc Taylor with 2:36 remaining. On the ensuing Mustangs’ possession, the Memphis defense forced a 3-and-out, giving the ball back to the Tigers’ offense with just 2:13 left in the contest. The Tigers marched to the SMU 9-yard line, but Henigan’s pass into the endzone with six seconds remaining was intercepted, ending the game at 34-31.

Henigan completed 27-of-44 passes for 287 yards, one touchdown and that one pick, while running back Asa Martin had 110 total yards and a rushing score. Henigan extended his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 23 games – every start of his career. He now ranks fifth all-time at Memphis in attempts (809), completions (500), yards (6,597) and touchdown passes (44). Additionally, Henigan’s numbers for attempts (416), completions (275) and passing yards (3,275) rank ninth, fourth and seventh, respectively, for a single season at Memphis.

Junior tight end Caden Prieskorn moved up to second on Memphis’ single-season receiving yards list for tight ends with his third catch of the day. He ended the game with four catches for 45 yards and now ranks behind only Sean Dykes’ 2021 season total (657) with 593 yards.

Defensive back Quindell Johnson and kicker Chris Howard were named to the All-AAC First Team. Johnson led the AAC and ranked 16th in the NCAA with four interceptions. He also had 73 tackles, five tackles for loss, four pass breakups, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles for the Tigers. Johnson’s four picks are the most for any Tiger since 2017, while his 225 career solo tackles rank sixth all-time in program history. Howard made 20-of-23 field goals and 45-of-47 extra point attempts. He led the AAC in scoring per game (8.8) and total points scored (105).

Memphis notched just one victory against an opponent with a winning record during a regular season distinguished by a series of close losses in conference play. Four of those five defeats came against American competition by a single possession.

This is the Tigers’ ninth consecutive year qualifying for a bowl game, which is tied for the ninth-best active streak in the nation and the best among all non-Power 5 programs.

Why Bet on Utah State?

After going 11-3 and winning the Mountain West in 2021, the Aggies (6-6) beat Connecticut in the season opener and then dropped four in a row, including losses to Weber State and UNLV. But they closed with five wins in seven games to finish third in the Mountain Division. Star QB Logan Bonner’s season was over in September when he suffered a foot injury against UNLV.

Cooper Legas stepped in for Bonner and went 5-2 as the Aggies starter but threw multiple interceptions in three of those starts. USU lost its regular-season finale 42-23 to Boise State. Utah State finished with 468 yards of total offense – 40 more than Boise State – and had nine more first downs (24-15). The Aggies also possessed the ball for more than 34 minutes on the day.

Running back Calvin Tyler rushed for 65 yards on 18 carries to give him 1,043 yards in his career, becoming just the 16th player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. He was named second-team All-Mountain West, just the second Aggie running back to earn first- or second-team all-MW honors, as Darwin Thompson was also named to the second team in 2018. However, Tyler opted out of this game to prepare for the draft.

Of Utah State’s six wins this year, five were comeback victories. Utah State is playing in its 10th bowl game in the last 12 years after playing in six bowl games in its first 119 years. This will be USU’s second-straight bowl game under current head coach Blake Anderson as USU posted a 24-13 win against Oregon State in the 2021 Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl after winning its first-ever Mountain West championship.

The Aggies are 6-9 in their previous 15 bowl games as they played in five straight bowl games from 2011-15 and won three-straight bowls from 2012-14, both of which are school records.

Game Trends

• Tigers are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games following a ATS win.
• Tigers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games.
• Aggies are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing more than 40 points in their previous game.
• Over is 9-4 in Tigers last 13 games overall.
• Under is 6-1 in Aggies last 7 non-conference games.

Expert Prediction: Memphis 33, Utah State 27