Memphis football vs. Boise State: scouting report, score prediction for Week 5 game

Memphis football returns home after its first loss of the season to face Boise State in a key non-conference game.

The Tigers (3-1, 1-0 AAC) fell to Missouri, 34-27, in St. Louis last weekend. This Saturday's matchup will be Memphis' non-conference finale.

It's an opportunity for the Tigers to get back on track against one of the Group of Five's best teams.

Here's your primer for Saturday's game.

Boise State has the nation's leader in all-purpose yards

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty has had an outstanding start to the season and is the key playmaker for the Broncos' offense. He rushed for a career-high 205 yards on 23 carries in Boise State's win over San Diego State last weekend. He also caught four passes for 49 yards.

Stopping Jeanty is obviously key to Memphis' approach this weekend. The Tigers knew heading into last week's meeting with Missouri that they needed to focus on stopping star receiver Luther Burden III. But Burden went off for 177 yards.

This week, Memphis is keyed into Jeanty.

"There's no magic defense. Believe me, if there was, I'd call it," defensive coordinator Matt Barnes said. "There's no magic scheme. It's never what you do, it's always how you do it. We've got to play with great pad level. He runs out of tackles, he's got great balance. So it'll be a group effort. We know we're not going to be able to shut him down completely, but we need to do a better job of limiting explosive plays."

Both Barnes and head coach Ryan Silverfield also talked about Broncos quarterback Taylen Green's arm strength. Green threw for 162 yards with a touchdown in the win over the Aztecs.

What are the stakes?

The Tigers could lose this game and still be fine. Memphis is 1-0 in conference play, and it'll still be 1-0 after this week. Boise State (2-2, 1-0 Mountain West) has long been known as a Group of Five power and was picked to win the Mountain West Conference this season.

The Broncos are 2-2, but those setbacks came at No. 7 Washington at home and in a very close loss against Central Florida. They're in a similar position, with everything in front of them after this weekend. Boise State is coming off a 10-win season in 2022 and will expect to get close to that this season.

Memphis' schedule makes this feel important, though. The Tigers are heading into a bye week, with a key conference game against Tulane right after that. Saturday's matchup with the Broncos is a chance to pick up momentum heading into the rest of the season. A loss would mean the Tigers are carrying a two-game losing streak into that Green Wave game.

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Who will kick for Memphis?

The Tigers announced about an hour before kickoff last Saturday that both its starting kickers — Seth Morgan and Tristian Vandenberg — would miss the game because of injuries. In stepped Tanner Gillis, who had been listed as Memphis' backup punter.

Gillis stepped up, connecting on a 43-yard field goal and later hitting a 22-yard field goal and all of his extra points. He also handled kickoffs and made a tackle.

This week, Morgan and Vandenberg are both "day to day," so Gillis is preparing like he's going to play again this week. He was listed as the backup punter, field goal kicker, kickoff specialist and holder on this week's depth chart.

Gillis, who kicked in high school, had been focusing on punting this season but started practicing kicking after Morgan and Vandenberg got injured last week.

Blake Watson, Roc Taylor have emerged as top playmakers

Blake Watson has used the past two games to stake his claim as Memphis' top running back. He had 27 touches against Missouri, rushing for only 47 yards but catching nine passes, including a touchdown.

Roc Taylor had a breakout game, catching seven passes for 143 yards. He's had an expanded role this season in his third year in the program, and he's emerged as quarterback Seth Henigan's top target. Henigan has spread the ball around, but Taylor figures to be Memphis' No. 1 receiver going forward.

Memphis came into 2023 having lost most of its offensive production from a year ago. There were questions about who would step up, and four games have given us an early answer: Watson and Taylor.

Memphis-Boise State score prediction

Memphis 30, Boise State 27. Jeanty gets going, but Memphis' defense responds after a tough game last week and does enough to limit the damage. The Tigers get a win to get back on track heading into conference play.

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis score prediction vs. Boise State: College football Week 5