Why Memphis football running back Blake Watson didn't play in 2nd half vs. Tulane
Memphis football running back Blake Watson did not play in the second half of Memphis' 31-21 loss to Tulane after being "chipped up" Friday night.
Watson had gone into the game as the Tigers' leading rusher, including 113 yards in the Sept. 30 win over Boise State. But he had just five carries for 13 yards Friday.
Coach Ryan Silverfield did not say if Watson was battling an injury.
"Obviously our run game was ineffective," he said. "Let's call it what it is. Our run game as a whole was ineffective. We had a plan to play Brandon Thomas some this game, and we know what Sutton (Smith) is able to do. Just kind of where we were in the game,
"Blake may have been a little bit chipped up. Sometimes you get a feel, you look at your guy and say, 'OK, do we need to make a sub here?' I don't think it mattered who our running back was. We were pretty ineffective."
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Smith finished with four carries for 22 yards, and Thomas had three carries for 10 yards. The Tigers averaged just 2.4 yards per carry overall.
Watson's status for the Oct. 21 game at UAB was not immediately clear.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Why Memphis football's Blake Watson didn't play in 2nd half vs. Tulane
