Navy Midshipmen (1-4) vs. Memphis Tigers (3-3)
October 14, 2021 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: Memphis Tigers -8; Over/Under: 51.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Memphis Tigers and Navy Midshipmen do battle Thursday night in a week 7 AAC college football showdown from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. Navy is coming off a game versus SMU. In that one the Midshipmen lost by a touchdown. As for Memphis, they played Tulsa in their last outing. The Tigers ended up losing by six. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Navy came out of the gate this season with a trio of tough matchups. The Midshipmen fell to Marshall 49-7, then Air Force 23-3 and Houston 28-20. Navy finally got a win in their fourth game versus UCF 34-30 to move to 1-3 on the season.
Last weekend versus SMU, Navy had the game tied going into the fourth quarter but came up empty in that frame during a 31-24 defeat. QB Tai Lavatai passed for 64 yards and a TD while also leading the rush with 53 yards on 24 carries.
Over on the Memphis side, they managed a 55-50 victory over Arkansas State in their first game this year, then took out Mississippi State 31-29. The Tigers took a pair of rough losses in their next two games however, dropping 31-28 to UTSA and 34-31 to Temple.
In their last outing versus Tulsa, Memphis scored 16 points during a very busy fourth quarter but came out on the losing end 35-29. QB Seth Henigan put up 463 yards with two TDs and two picks. Brandon Thomas led the rushers on 77 yards and two scores.
The Midshipmen are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 conference games and 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 after a straight-up loss. The over is 6-2 in Navy’s last eight Thursday games.
Meanwhile, the Tigers are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games and 2-5 ATS versus a team with a losing record. Memphis is 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.
PICK: I’m going to stick with Memphis. The Tigers posted a big offensive effort last weekend, with 614 yards (463 passing), 33 first downs, 99 total plays and a 12-of-22 mark on third- and fourth-down tries. They couldn’t keep up with a steady Tulsa team however, and coughed up three turnovers on the way.
As for Navy, they kept pace with SMU pretty well but ultimately were uninspiring on offense with just 12 first downs. I like the Midshipmen to hang around this one for a while but I think Memphis has the cover advantage.
