Memphis Eyeing Home Winning Streak Record in Matchup with USF

Saturday, November 7

Memphis, Tenn.

11 AM

University of Memphis

USF

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Memphis Eyeing Home Winning Streak Record in Matchup with USF

Nov 04, 2020 | Football

By: Trent Shadid

MEMPHIS — The Memphis Tigers will be back home at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium this Saturday to face American Athletic Conference opponent USF. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT with the game broadcast on ESPN+.

Memphis (3-2, 2-2 AAC) is 3-0 at home this season. The Tigers are coming off a 49-10 loss at No. 6 Cincinnati.

USF (1-5, 0-4) did not play last week and is 0-3 on the road this season. The Bulls won their season opener 27-6 over The Citadel and have lost five straight since.

The Tigers lead the all-time series with USF 6-4, including a 49-10 victory in Tampa last season. The Bulls won the previous matchup at the Liberty Bowl 49-42 in 2016.

Rewriting the Record Book

Memphis has won its last 12 home games, tying the program record for consecutive home victories. The other 12-game streak spanned Nov. 26, 2016, to Oct. 3, 2018, and was snapped by a loss to UCF. The current streak began with the Tigers' following home game, a win over Tulsa on Nov. 10, 2018.

A Memphis win would also mean a new record for quarterback Brady White, who is currently tied with Lloyd Patterson (1975-78) at 23 wins for the most all-time victories as a Tigers' starting quarterback.

Keeping It 100

Memphis wide receiver Calvin Austin III has at least 100 receiving yards in three straight games, a feat accomplished by just three other players in program history. Austin III had 151 yards against UCF (Oct. 17) and 184 yards against Temple (Oct. 24), setting a career high in both games. The former walk-on had 121 yards at Cincinnati last Saturday.

Anthony Miller holds the school record with four consecutive 100-yard receiving games in 2016. He also had a streak of three straight 100-yard receiving games in 2017. Duke Calhoun (2007 and 2009) and Damonte Coxie (2018 and 2019) are the other Tigers to have recorded three consecutive 100-yard receiving games, both doing so on two occasions.

First Between Two Firsts

The 11 a.m. kickoff between Memphis and USF will mark the first matchup between two first-year head coaches at the FBS level this season. Tigers coach Ryan Silverfield and Bulls coach Jeff Scott are two of 11 first-year FBS head coaches in 2020.

"He's trying to create his culture there, and I give coach Scott a lot of credit," Silverfield said. "He's a friend of mine. He and I have had a lot of conversations in the offseason. We became friends on the road recruiting about five years ago and have kept in touch. Now, we are saying we hope we get to battle head-to-head for a long time."

Counting on Clark

Memphis is 3-0 this season when running back Rodrigues Clark rushes for at least 100 yards. The sophomore from Starkville, Miss., broke the 100-yard mark in home wins over Arkansas State (105), UCF (112) and Temple (106). He had 98 yards in a loss at SMU and 16 yards in last Saturday's loss at Cincinnati.

Clark ranks third in the AAC with 87.4 rushing yards per game and second in the conference at 18.2 carries per game. He has emerged as the Tigers' primary running back after entering the season with 26 carries and 85 yards in his career.