University of Memphis Athletics
Tigers Host Marshall in Final Home Contest
Nov 25, 2005 | Football
Nov. 25, 2005
MEMPHIS, TENN. -
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The Tiger Football Team will close out its home schedule on Saturday with a 1 p.m. game with Marshall. The game will be broadcast by CSTV with Bill Burke and Tom Hart providing the commentary.
Fans will want to arrive early as 16 Tiger seniors will be honored in a pre-game ceremony that will begin around 12:40 p.m. Included in that group of seniors are 11 four-year letterwinners and five junior college transfers. Among the four-year Tigers are Maurice Avery, Greg Billingslea, O.C. Collins, John Doucette, Tim Goodwell, Stephen Gostkowski, Andrew Handy, Cato Mott, LaVale Washington, Marcus West and Heisman Trophy candidate DeAngelo Williams. Carlton Baker, Jeremy Barber, Bobby Garafolo, Derron Johnson and Tyus Jackson all came to Memphis from junior college programs.
Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the Tigers and Thundering Herd on the gridiron.
TIGERS VS. FIRST-TIME FOES UNDER WEST: Memphis has played four first-time foes in the Tommy West era. The Tigers are 2-2 versus first-time opponents under West. The last time Memphis played a first-time opponent was earlier this season when the Tigers defeated UTEP 27-20 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The following shows Memphis' four first-time foes since 2001:
Year First-Time Foe Result 2005 UTEP 27-20, W 2004 Bowling Green 35-52, L 2002 TCU 20-27, L 2001 USF 17-9, W
A FIRST FOR THE TIGERS, NOT FOR WEST: While Memphis will face Marshall for the first time in its history, the Tigers' mentor has coached against the Thundering Herd in his career. Tommy West's Chattanooga team met Marshall in the 1993 campaign. The Thundering Herd came into Chattanooga ranked No. 1 in the country in NCAA Division I-AA, but the Mocs were not intimidated. Chattanooga pulled off quite possibly the biggest win in the program's history, defeating Marshall 33-31. That Marshall went on to post an 11-4 record and advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA title game. In that game, current NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens caught four touchdowns to lead the Mocs to the win.
ON THIS DATE: The Tigers have a 2-0 record when they have played on Nov. 26 since World War II. The last time Memphis played on Nov. 26 was the 1966 campaign when it upset No. 11-ranked Houston 14-13 at home.
The other Nov. 26 game was a 15-9 win over Chattanooga in the 1959 season finale.
SENIOR DAY SUCCESS UNDER WEST: Senior Day is always a special time, and everyone would love to see the Tiger seniors go out with a win. Well, in the Tommy West era, that has usually been the case.
Under West, Memphis is 2-2 in Senior Day games. The setbacks were narrow losses to USF 21-16 in 2003 and Cincinnati 36-34 in 2001.
The Tigers were only 3-7 in their 10 Senior Day games prior to the West era. The following shows the Senior Day results under West:
Year Opponent Result 2004 Southern Miss 30-26, W 2003 USF 16-21, L 2002 Army 38-10, W 2001 Cincinnati 34-36, LABOUT THE HOMEFIELD: With a victory over Marshall, the Tigers would post a winning record at home for the fourth time in the Tommy West era. Memphis enters the season finale with a 3-2 home record.
The Tigers were 4-2 at home in 2001, 5-2 in 2003 and 4-1 in 2004. The lone season that Memphis did not have a winning mark at home was 2002 when the Tigers were 3-3.
The last time the Tigers had three-consecutive seasons with winning home marks was from 1992-94 (1992, 4-2; 1993, 3-2, 1994, 4-2). Chuck Stobart was the Tigers' head coach at that time.
