University of Memphis Athletics
Tigers Travel To Rice For C-USA Match-Up
Oct 06, 2011 | Football
Oct. 6, 2011
MEMPHIS, TENN. -
The Memphis Tigers football team will be on the road for the second consecutive week when they travel to Houston, Texas, to face the Rice Owls in a Conference USA matchup Saturday.
Game time is set for 11:30 a.m., as the game will be carried by CSS. Mike Morgan and Eddie Robinson will handle the duties in the booth, while Craig Ackerman will provide the sideline reports. Fans with a Memphis Tiger Vision subscription located in the following states (AR, KY, WV, NC, VA, TN, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA and TX) will not be able to view the online streaming of the game on GoTigersGo.com due to contract stipulations for a televised broadcast by CSS. WREC AM 600 will carry the game on the radio with Forrest Goodman and Wayne Weedon providing the commentary.
Saturday's game is only the third meeting between the Tigers and Owls on the gridiron. Rice won the last encounter in the 2008 campaign, a 42-35 victory at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. In their last trip to Rice Stadium in 2007, the Tigers posted a thrilling 38-35 victory over the Owls.
The Tigers have four of their five games in October on the road. Their next home meeting will be versus East Carolina on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. That game has been designated as Youth Football Night, and all kids ages 14 and under will receive free admission if wearing a football jersey. Tickets for parents and coaches are $10 each and can be purchased at the stadium on game day at Gate 1 or in advance by contacting the U of M ticket office at 901-678-2331.
Tigers Versus Texas Teams
Memphis has had some pretty good success against teams from the Lone Star State. In their history, the Tigers have a 46-24-1 record against Texas collegiate foes. The last win over a Texas team was in the 2009 season, a 35-20 Homecoming victory over UTEP (Oct. 10). The most memorable recent Memphis victory over a team from Texas came in the 2003 New Orleans Bowl. The Tigers ended the program's 32-year bowl drought and defeated North Texas 27-17 in the Louisiana Superdome.
Owls Versus Tennessee Teams
On the other side, Rice has a 5-7 record versus teams from the state of Tennessee. In their football history, the Owls have played Memphis (1-1), Sewanee/University of the South (2-0), Tennessee (1-2) and Vanderbilt (1-4).
Did You Know?
Both the Tigers and Owls made recent postseason visits to the Crescent City, as both programs played in the New Orleans Bowl. In 2007, Memphis played in the New Orleans Bowl and fell 44-27 to Florida Atlantic. The year before (2006), Rice dropped a 41-17 decision to Troy in the New Orleans Bowl.
On This Date
The Tigers have an all-time record of 8-5 when playing on Oct. 8. Memphis last played on Oct. 8 in the 2005 season and dropped a 38-17 decision at UCF. The last time Memphis won an Oct. 8 game came in the 1994 campaign, a 13-0 victory over Tulane at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The most memorable Oct. 8 Tigers' win was in 1988 when Memphis upset No. 14 Florida 17-11 in Gainesville. In that victory, the Tigers held Emmitt Smith to 89 yards rushing on 25 attempts.
Tigers Tied For Second Nationally
The Tigers have only tossed one interception through five games this season, and that is good enough for tied for second nationally with 14 other teams. The solo pick in 163 attempts was in the season opener against Mississippi State. The Tigers are also ranked in the top 25 in five other categories, including fumbles recovered (T16th), fumbles lost (T11th), turnovers gained (T21st), turnover margin (T24th) and kick return yardage defense (22nd).
Making The Big Plays
The Tigers had one of their better games in terms of long plays against Middle Tennessee. In that game, Artaves Gibson and Billy Foster logged the team's first 20-plus yard runs this season as Gibson posted a 28 yarder and Foster set a personal best with a 27-yard run. Taylor Reed also threw a 24-yard pass to Foster and a 23-yard pass to Keiwone Malone that was for a TD. The defense got in on the action too as Akeem Davis made a season-long 33-yard return on an interception.
Young Cubs
Six true freshmen played in the season opener versus Mississippi State, including RB Joe Price, QB Taylor Reed, RB Artaves Gibson, DB/PR Bakari Hollier, LB Charles Harris and DB Derek Howard. Hollier was the only true freshman to start in the game, stepping onto the field at cornerback. Reed, Price and Gibson were all pressed into action after injuries to QB Andy Summerlin, and RBs Jerrell Rhodes and Billy Foster.
Five games into the season, four true freshmen have started for the Tigers, including Reed, Hollier, center Monte Golden and corner Bobby McCain. Golden and McCain both started against SMU. To show how young the Tigers are this season - Eight true freshmen have seen significant action for the Tigers. And, 15 total freshmen have made it into the Tiger lineup.
Young Cubs - Part 2
To further explain how young and inexperienced the Tigers are this season ... of the 55 Tigers to play at least one game this season, just 28 are either juniors or seniors. But, of those 28, five are transfers in their first year with the Tigers. And, of the 28, only 14 are in their third or fourth season with the Tigers.
Please see below for video interviews with safety Mitch Huelsing and running back Jerrell Rhodes.
