Tigers Football Preview: Southeast Missouri

Saturday, September 3

Memphis, Tenn.

6:00 PM

University of Memphis

Southeast Missouri State

Tickets

Photo by: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Sep 02, 2016 | Football

2016-0903-Memphis FB Game Notes_SEMO Memphis FB Game Notes

Mike Norvell era begins Saturday.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It's here! It's finally here!

After just over an eight-month wait, the University of Memphis football program is back on the field!

The Tigers return to action against Southeast Missouri at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Saturday, Sept. 3. Game time is 6 p.m. (CT).

Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the Tigers' highly-anticipated 2016 season opener. The weather forecast looks promising for Saturday's contest with clear skies and temperatures in the low 80s at kickoff. Humidity is forecasted between 55-70 percent.

- Memphis Football Notes - American Athletic Conference Notes - Southeast Missouri Football Notes
Pick up your GameDay program at Saturday's 2016 season opener!

And, if the weather cooperates, what a night to begin the Mike Norvell era in Memphis football history. Norvell was hired as the program's 24^th head coach Dec. 4, 2015, and there has been a buzz of positivity surrounding the Tigers since his arrival in the Bluff City.

"Game week is finally here," said Norvell. "There is an unbelievable amount of excitement around our program. Since the day that I was hired, I have been looking forward to this week and this opportunity.

"Our players have put in a tremendous amount of work. To take the field at the Liberty Bowl Saturday night is going to be special for me and our staff, but more importantly, for the 2016 Memphis Tigers."

In addition to the change at the top, the Tigers have had some other changes. Norvell hired a new staff of coaches and signed a recruiting class. Some other changes include the Liberty Bowl upgrades, most notably the nearly 5,600 chairback seats that were installed on both sidelines.

While the focus has been on the positive vibe around the Memphis program the last eight months, the Tigers need not look past Saturday's opponent. Southeast Missouri posted a 4-7 record in 2015, but returns several starters on both sides of the ball. The Redhawks also placed five players on the 2016 preseason All-OVC squad.

"They are one of the more experienced teams in college football," said Norvell. "They have eight starters returning on offense and I think seven on defense. It won't be their first experience on a big stage. We know that we have a quality opponent coming in."

Radio: 600 WREC/102.9 FM (Flagship station); 91.7 FM (WUMR/student station)
Internet Video: ESPN3.com
Live Stats: memphis.statbroadcast.com; gotigersgo.com/fblivestats
LiveTweet: @Tigersmedia, @MemphisFB

Tigers Tidbits/Five Notes To Know
• Memphis opens a season at home for the sixth-consecutive year Saturday when the Tigers host Southeast Missouri. Memphis has a 46-49-5 home-opener record and a 37-60-3 season-opening mark in its history. The Tigers have posted wins in their last two season/home openers with victories over Austin Peay in 2014 and Missouri State in 2015.

• Mike Norvell enters the 2016 season as one of 15 first-year head coaches at Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools. There are two other FBS first-year head coaches in the American Athletic Conference, and they are Scottie Montgomery at East Carolina and Scott Frost at UCF.

• The past two seasons, Memphis has made Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium one of the toughest venues for opposing teams to play. The Tigers have an incredible 10-2 record (.833 winning percentage) at the Liberty Bowl in 2014 and 2015, posting 5-1 marks both campaigns. Memphis will look to have a better record in 2016 with seven home games slated for the Liberty Bowl.

• As a result of the success the past two campaigns, Memphis enters the 2016 season as one of the Football Bowl Subdivision's (FBS) top-20 programs in both number of victories and winning percentage. The Tigers' 19 wins (19-7 record) are tied for the 16^th most and their 73.1 winning percentage is tied for 17^th best among FBS programs the last two seasons.

• When watching him run practice or seeing him in interviews, Tigers new head coach Mike Norvell projects that "wiser-beyond-his-years" vibe. But, don't let that fool you, as Norvell is the youngest head coach at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level in 2016. The Memphis coach enters this campaign at 34 years of age. The rest of FBS's top-five youngest coaches are: Western Michigan's P.J. Fleck (35), Toledo's Jason Candle (36), Iowa State's Matt Campbell (36) and Troy's Neal Brown (36).

Scouting Southeast Missouri
The Redhawks return 17 starters (8 offense/7 defense/2 special teams) and 46 lettermen from last season's 4-7 squad. Southeast Missouri was 3-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and placed fifth in the standings. The Redhawks appear in the Also Receiving Votes category in two of the three 2016 Football Championship Series (FCS) preseason polls. Junior college transfer QB Jesse Hosket is making his first NCAA Division I start after transferring from East Central (Miss.) Community College. The Redhawks had five players – RB Tremane McCullough, LB Roper Garrett, OG Garret Baker, CB Mike Ford and SS Eriq Moore – named to the 2016 All-OVC preseason team.