Tigers Football Preview: Tulsa

Friday, November 3

Tulsa, Okla.

7:00 p.m. CT

University of Memphis

Tulsa

Photo by: Erik Williams

Nov 02, 2017 | Football

2017 Memphis FB Notes 11 3 TULSA 17 Tulsa FB Game Notes vs Memphis 11-3 2017 American FB release 10b

Tigers, Golden Hurricane looking for another high-scoring affair in the series.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Homecomings are special. Going back home to see family and friends and reminiscing about the good times are nice.

That's what University of Memphis football head coach Mike Norvell hopes to do a little of Friday when he takes his Tigers to Tulsa for an American Athletic Conference West Division showdown. And, Norvell is looking for the Tigers to top off his homecoming visit with a win over the Golden Hurricane.

As a member of the Tulsa staff from 2007-10, Norvell helped lift the program to new offensive heights. With Norvell on staff, the 2008 Tulsa offense led the country in total offense and was second in scoring offense. In 2007, the Golden Hurricane became the first team in NCAA history with a 5,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and three 1,000-yard receivers in a season.

In addition, Norvell was a part of the Tulsa program that had three 10-plus victory campaigns (2007, 2008, 2010), three bowl wins, three Conference USA West Division titles and two C-USA championship game appearances.

Quick Game Facts

Opponent	Tulsa
Day/Date	Friday, Nov. 3
Time	7 p.m. (CT)
Site	Tulsa, Okla./H.A. Chapman Stadium
Television	ESPN2
Radio (Flagship)	600 WREC AM/Rock 103 (102.7 FM)

Memphis Head Coach Mike Norvell
(On Tulsa)
"This is a good football team. They've had a couple of close games that haven't gone their way. They're just coming off one (vs. SMU) where they made a couple of mistakes. In that game, they were up going into the fourth quarter, and they played against a really good SMU squad and lost by one possession. But, then you look at the weeks before, and they've been very competitive in just about every game. They've played really well at home, and in their last home game, they beat Houston 45-17. They can run the ball, and they've got an athletic quarterback. We know they're capable of throwing the ball with those receivers. They probably have the best offensive line in our league. It's a good group. They've got explosive backs. Defensively, they've kind of switched it up as the season's progressed, and they're really bringing a lot more pressure here of late. They've played really well. SMU's hard to defend, and they gave up a couple of big plays (to SMU). But, they held UConn to 20 points, and they held Houston to 17. Their defense is playing at a high level, so it's going to take a great effort from us, especially going on the road."

(On his first trip back to Tulsa since serving on staff there 2007-10)
"It is (my first trip back). I'm grateful for every single day I had there. I started as a GA (graduate assistant) there with Coach (Todd) Graham and Coach (Gus) Malzahn. That's really where I started to develop and grow as a young coach. The players, the people there were phenomenal. There's always a special place in our hearts for the time we spent there. We put everything we had into the program over there, and now Coach (Philip) Montgomery has done a great job continuing the progress of that program. We know that we've got a great challenge in front of us, and we're excited about the opportunity."

Tigers Tidbits/Five Notes To Know

Friday's match-up is the 28^th all-time meeting between the two programs, and Memphis holds a 16-11 lead in the series. The Golden Hurricane, though, have won five of the last six, including last season's 59-30 victory over the Tigers at the Liberty Bowl. Memphis' last win in the series was a 66-42 victory at Tulsa in 2015.
Friday's game is not only a homecoming for Tigers head coach Mike Norvell, but also for defensive line coach Paul Randolph. Randolph worked on the same Golden Hurricane staff with Norvell from 2007-10. In his time in Tulsa, Randolph served as executive senior associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach.
Since they renewed a conference rivalry in 2005, Memphis and Tulsa have played some high-scoring affairs. In the last six league encounters, the two programs have combined to average 72 points a game (432 total points combined). The fewest combined points scored in the last six games were 49 (35-14 Tulsa win) in 2006. The most combined points scored were 108 in the 66-42 victory in 2015. The 108 combined points are a single-game record in Memphis program history.
There is something in the air at H.A. Chapman Stadium that the Tigers must love. In their three visits to Tulsa since the two programs became conference foes again in 2005, Memphis has had no trouble scoring or moving the ball. In their last three games in Chapman Stadium, the Tigers averaged 42.3 points and 516 yards of total offense. Included in those total offense numbers was Memphis' 2015 offensive display of a then school-record 704 yards. That record was eclipsed in the Tigers' win at Connecticut (711 yards) earlier this month.
Playing non-Saturday games may be a little inconvenient for Tigers fans. But, playing non-Saturday games sure has been successful for Memphis in recent seasons. Since 2014, the Tigers are a perfect 13-0 in non-Saturday games. Memphis is 4-0 in Thursday night contests and 9-0 in Friday night match-ups. Friday's Tulsa game is the Tigers' final one of 2017.

Know Your Foe/Tulsa Facts-Stats Leaders

Quick Facts	2017 Statistical Leaders
2017 Record: 2-7/1-4 The American	Rushing: D'Angelo Brewer (199 carries/980 yds/8 TD)
Head Coach/Yrs: Philip Montgomery/3^rd in 2017	Passing: Luke Skipper (865 yds/3 TD)
Starters Returning: 14 (7 Off/6 Def/1 Special Teams)	Receiving: Justin Hobbs (41 rec/686 yds/2 TD); Keenen Johnson (37 rec/503 yds/TD)
Letterwinners Returning: 48	Tackles: McKinley Whitfield (87 total/53 solo/6.0 TFL/6 PBU)