Tigers Football Preview: Bowling Green

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Everyone enjoys home cooking, and the University of Memphis football team sure has in the first month of the 2016 campaign.

The Tigers are 2-0 after playing the season's first two contests at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, and they hope that good fortune continues Saturday. Memphis plays its third-straight home game to open 2016 and welcomes Bowling Green to the Bluff City. ESPNews is televising the 7 p.m. (CT) contest.

For Memphis to start a season with three-consecutive home games is rare – so rare that it's only happened two other times since World War II. The 1950 Tigers played three-straight home contests to open that season, and the 1971 Memphis squad played its first four games at the Liberty Bowl.

- Memphis Football Notes
- American Athletic Conference Notes
- Bowling Green Football Notes

*Saturday's Memphis Tigers vs. Bowling Green GameDay Program*

"We are excited about another opportunity Saturday," said Tigers head coach Mike Norvell. "We have another opponent coming to the Liberty Bowl. This game is going to be our Salute to the 901, so we are looking forward to having a great crowd, a lot of energy and a tremendous atmosphere."

It's the electric atmosphere Tiger Nation provides that's made the Liberty Bowl one of the toughest places to play in college football the past few seasons. Since 2014, the Tigers are an impressive 12-2 in home games (.857 winning percentage).

Memphis' key to its first two victories has been its defense. The Tigers are holding opponents to under 300 yards of total offense per game and have forced seven turnovers (four fumble recoveries/three interceptions). Furthermore, the Memphis defense has held the opposition scoreless in the first quarter and has allowed only 10 first-half points in its first two games. The Tigers are outscoring their opponents 35-0 in the first quarter and 62-10 in the first half.

"The defense had a dominant performance last Saturday," Norvell said. "We had one play that we gave up, but we were able to get that corrected. Other than that one play, we did a terrific job.

"What I was most pleased with was that we were 100 percent ball security on offense, and we were able to force six takeaways. When you are able to do that throughout a game, you are putting yourself in a great position to be successful."

Television: ESPNews
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
• Saturday's game is only the third all-time meeting between the two programs. Memphis and Bowling Green have played two previous times, with the most-recent encounter last season. The Tigers won a thrilling 44-41 game at Bowling Green Sept. 19, 2015. The first meeting between the two programs came in the 2004 bowl season. The Falcons posted a 52-35 victory over Memphis in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. (Dec. 22, 2004).
• With a win Saturday, Memphis would open a campaign with a 3-0 record for a second-consecutive season. If successful, it would be the first time in Tigers history that the program produced back-to-back 3-0 starts. Last Saturday, Memphis' win over Kansas gave the Tigers a 2-0 start to 2016. It is only the third time in the modern era (since World War II) of Memphis football that the Tigers have had 2-0 starts in consecutive seasons (1959-61; 2003-04; 2015-16).
• While Memphis and Bowling Green have met on two previous occasions, both were played away from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. So, the Falcons are making their first trip in their program history to the Liberty Bowl Saturday. The first Memphis-Bowling Green match took place in Mobile, Ala., at the GMAC Bowl, and the second meeting was held in Bowling Green, Ohio, in 2015.
• Saturday's Memphis-Bowling Green contest features teams with first-year head coaches. Mike Norvell is in his first season at Memphis, and Mike Jinks is in his first season at Bowling Green. Norvell and Jinks are two of 15 first-year head coaches at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level in 2016.
• The Memphis coaching staff has a "Takeaway Belt" on the sideline as motivation for the Tigers to win the turnover battle each game, and it is working. Memphis is fifth in the nation in turnover margin at +2.0, and also leads The American in that statistical category. The Tigers have seven takeaways (4 fumble recoveries, 3 interceptions) after two games.

Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons bring a 1-2 record into Saturday's game, with their lone victory a 27-26 win over North Dakota. Bowling Green fell in its last outing, dropping a 41-21 decision to Middle Tennessee at home Sept. 17. Saturday's game is one of only two contests Bowling Green plays outside the Buckeye State in the regular season. The Falcons' only other regular-season game outside the state of Ohio is Nov. 1 at Northern Illinois in DeKalb, Ill.

The Falcons offense is averaging 364 yards per game, with 210 yards coming through the air. Bowling Green QB James Knapke is 53-of-105 passing for 554 yards and three scores. He also has thrown six interceptions. Scott Miller (15 receptions-227 yards) and Ronnie Moore (12-101) are Knapke's favorite targets. Josh Cleveland leads the Falcons ground attack with 228 yards on 35 carries. Fred Coppet has rushed for 198 yards and surpassed the 2,000-yard mark for his career last Saturday.

Trenton Greene leads the Bowling Green defense with 36 total tackles. The Falcons secondary has two picks, including a Brandon Harris 63-yard interception return for a score. The Bowling Green defense is allowing opponents over 500 yards per game.

University of Memphis Athletics

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