University of Memphis Athletics
Tigers To Face In-State Foe Middle Tennessee Saturday
Sep 29, 2011 | Football
Sept. 29, 2011
MEMPHIS, TENN. -
The Memphis Tigers will load the buses Friday and travel to Murfreesboro to face the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee in their final non-conference meeting of the season. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium.
Fans unable to make the trip can follow along locally on WREC AM600 with Dave Woloshin and Wayne Weedon. The game is also being carried on ESPN3 with Chip Walters and Kelly Holcomb handling the commentary. ESPN3 is ESPN's broadband network for live sports programming and delivers online sports programming to fans through a rich, interactive, and easy-to-use experience. ESPN3 broadcasts thousands of live games and events online each year. A majority of the events are exclusive to ESPN3, while others are broadband-enhanced versions of games from one of ESPN's TV networks. The direct link for the game is http://cot.ag/cVohtl .
To find out if your internet provider carries ESPN3, go to: http://espn.go.com/espn3/channelFinder. ESPN3 is available for free to fans accessing the site from a college campus network in the United States or from a military base in the United States. For more information on ESPN3 go to: http://espn.go.com/espn3/faq#1
Saturday's game is the 24th all-time meeting between the two schools on the gridiron, and the fourth encounter in the last five campaigns. Middle Tennessee leads the all-time series 14-8-1. Memphis won last year's game, posting a 24-17 victory over Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders, though, won the two meetings prior to last season (31-14 win in Murfreesboro in 2009; 21-7 win in Memphis is 2007).The 2007 encounter renewed an in-state rivalry that had been dormant for 53 seasons, as the schools' last meeting came in the 1954 campaign. The Tigers won that 1954 game, a 27-7 victory in Memphis.
After having three of its four games in September at home, Memphis will be traveling for most of its contests in October. Memphis' only home game in October is against East Carolina on Oct. 15. They will play at Rice (10/8), Tulane (10/22) and UCF (10/29) during the month. Memphis and Air Force are the only two FBS teams that are playing four of their five games in October on the road. The last time Memphis played five game weeks in Oct., was in 1998 and the Tigers hosted three of the games.
On This Date
The Tigers have a 7-6 record when playing on Oct. 1 in the program's history. Memphis won its last two Oct. 1 games with victories over UTEP 27-20 in 2005 and Mississippi State 31-10 in 1988. The Tigers made school history in an Oct. 1 game in the 1960 season, facing the nation's No. 1 team (Associated Press poll) for the first time ever. Memphis hosted No. 1 Ole Miss at Crump Stadium, but came up short in dropping a 31-20 decision to the Rebels.
Memphis Versus The Sun Belt
The Tigers have an all-time record of 68-50-7 against current members of the Sun Belt Conference. The last time Memphis played a Sun Belt foe was earlier this season. The Tigers dropped a 47-3 decision to Arkansas State in Jonesboro on Sept. 10. The last time Memphis posted a win over a Sun Belt Conference foe was last season when the Tigers defeated Middle Tennessee 24-17 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Sept. 18, 2010.
A Quick Turnaround
After a 53-year drought in between two encounters (1954 and 2007), Memphis and Middle Tennessee are meeting for the fourth time in the last five seasons Saturday (2007-11). The last time the two in-state schools played in a closer time frame was in the 1930s and 1940s, meeting 12-consecutive years from 1931-42. It's also a quick return trip to Murfreesboro for the Tigers, making a second visit to Middle Tennessee in three seasons (2009, 2011). Prior to the 2009 game at Floyd Stadium, the last time the Tigers played in Murfreesboro was the 1953 campaign -- a span of 56 years between the two meetings.
Young Cubs
Four games into the season, four true freshmen have started for the Tigers, including quarterback Taylor Reed, cornerback Bakari Hollier, center Monte Golden and cornerback Bobby McCain. To show even more 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.
Davis Leads The Defense
In the first three games of the season, Akeem Davis led or tied for the team lead in tackles. He finished with 10 solo stops against APSU, including a tackle for a loss of two yards and a pass breakup. Davis is second on the Tiger defense with 34 tackles, 26 of which are solo stops. He had one of his best games against SMU, recording six tackles, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and an interception.
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Please see below for video interviews with center A.J. Antonescu and corner Taurean Nixon.
