BYU has had an impressive stretch of bowl game appearances, going 7-2 over the past nine years. The team returns once again to postseason play to face a Memphis team that has not seen a bowl victory since 2005 in the Motor City Bowl. Now the two teams face off in this year's Miami Beach Bowl after both teams took very different routes to reach this point in the year. The Cougars were supposed to be playing on New Year's Day while the Tigers were not supposed to be in a bowl game at all and now they both try to finish the year off with a win.
By all accounts, the Memphis Tigers over-achieved this season. The team has extremely low preseason expectations, but managed a 9-3 record in the AAC. The highlight of their season likely came when they traveled to the Rose Bowl and nearly upset the UCLA Bruins who were ranked No. 11 at the time. While there are no moral victories, it turned plenty of heads towards the Tigers.
Memphis will rely heavily on Paxton Lynch who is one of the biggest quarterbacks in the league. He has 18 touchdowns and six interceptions all season for 2,725 yards. He led the team to six straight wins to end the season going 9:0 in touchdown-interception ratio. He also put in the work on the ground, getting 10 rushing touchdowns thanks to his 6-7, 230-pound frame. Lynch will count on running back Brandon Hayes to keep up the success as he has 900 yards on the season with five touchdowns, averaging 82 yards per game.
The BYU Cougars were expecting different results this year. The team started out 4-0 on the year getting a big win over Texas on the road. That pushed them to a #18 ranking in the AP Poll. However, they lost quarterback Taysom Hill to injury and struggled for the rest of the season as a result. Senior Christian Stewart has barely been enough, but did get four straight wins to end the year. Memphis will be a tough defense for Stewart. They are holding quarterbacks to just 218 yards per game. The wide receivers will be key if BYU wants to get a win on Monday.
