Memphis back in action Saturday at the Liberty Bowl.
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Well, it's not the way that coaches, players and Tigers fans would have laid out the University of Memphis 2016 football schedule, but it is what it is – and now it's in the rearview mirror.
The Tigers opened their 2016 campaign Sept. 3 with a 35-17 victory in Mike Norvell's collegiate head coaching debut.
Then, the bye week came.
Now, it's time for action again.
Memphis returns to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium for an 11 a.m. (CT) contest against Kansas, and ESPNU is televising the match-up. From the first day of preseason drills, the Tigers have gone through more than 30 practices and played only one game. Needless to say, Memphis players and coaches – and, yes, even fans – are anxious to see GameDay No. 2 of 2016 arrive.
Pick up the "throwback" Memphis State GameDay program Saturday.
"Even though they made us wait for it, Game No. 2 is on the horizon," Norvell said. "We had a great off-week. I'm really pleased with the mentality of our players and the preparation for this next step. They were very mature in their focus.
"Just like what we tell the players, we can only control what we can control. We have no say in when our bye week shows up, so we have to maximize it whether it was late in the year or early like it occurred."
While Memphis had an off-week to make improvements, Big 12 Conference foe Kansas hosted its second-straight home game and dropped a 37-21 decision to Ohio University Sept. 10. The Jayhawks defeated Rhode Island 55-6 in their Sept. 3 opener.
"This week, we have a Power 5 conference opponent coming to town," said Norvell. "Kansas is a much-improved football team. They are going into the second year with their coaching staff. In their first game, they had a great victory and scored a lot of points.
"Last week, they had a little setback. They turned the ball over and had a couple of self-inflicted mistakes and came up on the short end. We know they are coming to our place with a great intensity, and we know we have a tremendous challenge. We are excited about getting back on the field at the Liberty Bowl."
One change for Saturday's game is the "throwback" look, as the Tigers celebrate the University's era when it was known as Memphis State (1957-93). The team is sporting leaping Tiger MSU logo decals on its helmets, and the first 10,000 fans that enter the Liberty Bowl Saturday are receiving free Memphis State caps courtesy of First Tennessee.
 Television: ESPNU Radio: 600 WREC/102.9 FM (Flagship station); 91.7 FM (WUMR/student station) Internet Video: ESPN3.com Live Stats:  memphis.statbroadcast.com; gotigersgo.com/fblivestats LiveTweet: @Tigersmedia, @MemphisFB
 Tigers Tidbits/Five Notes To Know
• Saturday's game is only the second all-time meeting between the two programs. Memphis and Kansas played for the first time on the gridiron in 2015. The Tigers posted a 55-23 victory over the Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan. In last season's win, Memphis piled up 651 yards of total offense, the third-most for a game in Tigers history.
• With a win Saturday, Memphis would open a campaign with a 2-0 record for a second-straight season. The last time the Tigers had back-to-back seasons with 2-0 starts was in 2003 and 2004. In fact, there have been only two periods in the modern era (since World War II) of Memphis football that the Tigers had 2-0 starts in two or more consecutive campaigns. Memphis began seasons 2-0 from 1959-61 and 2003-04.
• While Saturday's game is the first Kansas visit to the Bluff City to play the Tigers, it's not the Jayhawks' first trip to Memphis. Kansas' previous trips to Memphis came all the way back in the Memphis State era, and the Jayhawks played in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium twice in the 1973 season. Kansas met Tennessee in a neutral-site contest on Oct. 6, 1973, and the Volunteers won 28-27. Later that same season, the Jayhawks made a return trip to Memphis to play in the 1973 Liberty Bowl, where it dropped a 31-18 decision to N.C. State on Dec. 17, 1973.
• Memphis hasn't played many Big 12 Conference foes in its history, and Kansas is only the second Big 12 program to play the Tigers in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The last time a current Big 12 member played Memphis in the Liberty Bowl was Kansas State in the 1971 regular-season finale. The Wildcats won that match-up 28-21 on Nov. 20, 1971.
• Memphis has no players on its roster that call the state of Kansas home, but four Tigers did play their junior college career in the Sunflower State. QB Riley Ferguson (Coffeyville C.C.), QB Jason Stewart (Fort Scott C.C.), DB Jonathan Cook (Garden City C.C.) and OL Harneet Gill (Butler C.C.) all played for schools that competed in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC).
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 Scouting Kansas
The Jayhawks enter Saturday's contest with a 1-1 record. Kansas opened 2016 with a 55-6 victory over Rhode Island Sept. 3, but fell to Ohio 37-21 last Saturday. The Jayhawks return 49 letterwinners and 17 starters from their 2015 squad.
QB Montell Cozart directs an offense that averages just over 400 yards per game and has scored 10 TD in two games. Cozart is responsible for half of the Jayhawks' TD with five scoring tosses. After two games, Cozart is 35-of-49 passing for 397 yards. WR Steven Sims Jr., Cozart's favorite target, is one of college football's hottest receivers early in 2016. Sims had 100-yard receiving performances versus Rhode Island (124 yards) and Ohio (114) and is one of eight receivers to record consecutive 100-yard games to open 2016. He also is tied as the national leader in TD receptions with four scores.
The Kansas defense is allowing opponents over 350 yards of total offense, with 250 of that coming on the ground. Four Jayhawks have double-digit tackles after two games, with senior Bazie Bates leading the way with 15 total stops. Bates also has one TFL, one interception and two PBU. Daniel Wise leads the squad with four TFL and two QB hurries.
Following Saturday's game, Kansas has a bye week Sept. 24 before opening Big 12 Conference play at Texas Tech Sept. 29.
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