University of Memphis Athletics
The Bright Side With Jeff Brightwell - Memphis vs Louisville Preview
Oct 06, 2010 | Football
Oct. 6, 2010
MEMPHIS, TENN. -
The Bright Side
By: Jeff Brightwell, Learfield Sports
The Tigers look to bounce back after a disappointing loss to Tulsa when they travel to Louisville Saturday afternoon to face the Cardinals. The Cardinals are sitting at 2-2 after knocking off Arkansas State in Jonesboro last week, 34-24. Meanwhile, Memphis lost at home to Tulsa last weekend, 48-7.
Following Saturday night's game, Coach Larry Porter didn't mince words.
"I just don't feel like we gave ourselves a chance" said Porter, "Offensively we just couldn't get anything going and we were laced with turnovers and that takes away from your morale and the team as a whole."
The Tigers managed only 207 yards on offense while the defense gave up 28 second half points. However, at Monday's press conference, Porter put last week behind him.
"We are in a position this week to play a team (Louisville) that's really and truly starting to catch its stride and improve. So, we have no time to dwell on that."
The Cardinals went up 31-7 at the half in Jonesboro and held on late for the 10-point win over the Red Wolves last week. At this week's press conference, Louisville Coach Charlie Strong said they will be looking for more consistency.
"We played an outstanding first half against Arkansas State, and we had 31 points. The thing we have to do is learn to finish a football game."
The Tiger offense will have to prepare for a solid Cardinal defense on Saturday, and Strong's first goal is to stop the Memphis running game.
"Arkansas State had over 200 yards rushing," explained Strong. "We go into every game to stop the run and we cannot allow that to happen."
Offensively, the Cardinals rely heavily on a running game that's averaging nearly 200 yards per contest and Strong is quick to credit an experienced line.
"We are able to run the ball because we are just so physical up front with our offensive line and they are doing a good job of just knocking people off of the ball."
This is a rivalry game, as it will be the 42nd time the two schools have met on the football field in a series that dates back to 1948. The "Bright Side" for Saturday is that rivalry games are always unpredictable. The atmosphere should be great, and this presents a great opportunity for Memphis to gain momentum for the second half of the season.
See below for interviews with running back Gregory Ray and defensive back D.A. Griffin.
Jeff Brightwell is considered the "voice of Tiger baseball and women's basketball," and serves as the broadcast team captain handling the majority of the production and engineering duties for Tiger football games. A 1996 graduate of the University of Memphis, Brightwell came to Memphis in 2003 after spending six years in Missouri. He has done play-by-play for Southeast Missouri State, Central Methodist College, Truman State, Moberly Community College and the Memphis RiverKings. For the last seven years, the native Memphian has broadcast both home and away contests for Memphis baseball and women's basketball on WUMR FM. He also hosts a weekly Tiger Update web show that is streamed through All-Access on the athletic department website.
