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Welcome back to the Tigers Football Insider, where we bring you the latest news and analysis from The Daily Memphian’s Frank Bonner II, Geoff Calkins and John Martin each week.
Hawai’i has just lost two of its most important offensive weapons to the transfer portal heading into the Hawai’i Bowl against Memphis.
Starting quarterback Chevan Cordeiro and leading rusher Dae Dae Hunter announced their decisions to enter the portal last week. It sounds like Hawai’i may have bigger problems after a report revealed that players have an issue with how head coach Todd Graham is running the program.
Dysfunction in the Hawai’i locker room could mean good fortune for the Tigers. Instead of preparing for a veteran quarterback in Cordeiro who has 835 career passes, Memphis will face true freshman Brayden Schager who has started in three games this season.
Schager has completed 65-of-107 passes for 615 yards with five interceptions and two touchdowns this season. He threw four interceptions in the 34-17 loss to Nevada and the Tigers have done a much better job forcing interceptions in the latter part of the season.
After going six straight games without forcing an interception, Memphis has forced at least one interception in five consecutive games. The Tigers have forced two interceptions in the last three games, and they are going against a Hawai’i team that has the second-most turnovers in the country despite having the fourth-most takeaways.
Memphis will try to exploit the young quarterback but the drop-off in the run game shouldn’t be that drastic for the Rainbow Warriors. Although Hunter is gone, senior Dedrick Parson is only 33 yards behind him on the season.
Parson is averaging 5.3 yards per carry and has 16 more attempts than Hunter. They have been a solid 1-2 punch for Hawai’i all year and Parson will just shoulder the full workload in the Hawai’i Bowl on Christmas Eve.
Both teams are looking to prevent a losing record with a victory. Winning the Hawai’i Bowl would give Memphis a 7-6 record and Hawai’i a 7-7 record.
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More from your Insider:
Calvin Austin III’s injury status will be a factor in his decision to suit up one more time for the Tigers.
Philadelphia Eagles’ Jake Elliott is second former Tigers kicker to win special teams player of the month in the NFL.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer who grew up in Binghampton died Friday night in Memphis.
Eagles kicker Jake Elliott and Lions kicker Riley Patterson combined to score 26 points on Sunday, Dec. 5.
It would be the first meeting between the Tigers and the Rainbow Warriors of the Mountain West conference.
The Dec. 28 game will pit Bulldogs coach Mike Leach against one of his former schools.
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