Sept. 21, 2007

MEMPHIS, TENN. - The University of Memphis football team will open Conference USA action on the road for the 10th straight season when they travel to Orlando, Fla., to take on the Knights of UCF. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be aired live by CSS.

Saturday's game will be only the fourth meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. Last year, UCF won a hard-fought 26-24 contest at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Prior to playing as Conference USA East Division rivals the last two years, the previous time the two teams met was the 1990 campaign. The Tigers won that encounter 37-28 in Memphis.

A Tough Stretch - With the postponement of the Memphis-Arkansas State game on Sept. 8 to Sept. 27, Tommy West and his Tigers will be working at a frantic pace for the next two weeks. The U of M travels to UCF for a Saturday, Sept. 22, meeting and then has a quick turnaround to play at ASU on Thursday, Sept. 27. Memphis finishes out the three-game stretch at home, hosting Marshall in an ESPN2-televised meeting with Marshall on Tuesday, Oct. 2.

This will be the first time since 1924 that the Tigers will have played three games in 11 days or less. That season, Memphis played Hall-Moody (58-0 home loss), Tennessee Doctors (58-0 home loss) and Murray State (tie on the road) in six days (Nov. 22-27).

Playing three games in less than 10 days was more common early on and happened six times in the program's history -- in 1914 and then for five consecutive years, from 1920-1924. In 1921, `23 and '24, Memphis played three games in six days, and in 1921 the Tigers played four games in nine days (Nov. 18-26).

As a side note, Southern Miss had a similar situation in 2005 when they had three games in 12 days because of Hurricane Rita. That storm forced USM to reschedule their road meeting with Houston (11/13) right in the middle of contests with Marshall (road, 11/8) and Memphis (home, 11/19). USM lost the contests with the Cougars and the Tigers and defeated the Thundering Herd in overtime.

On This Date - Memphis has a record of 5-2-1 when it plays on Sept. 22 in the program's history. The Tigers have won their last five Sept. 22 games, including their last one versus USF (17-9 win) in 2001. The last time Memphis dropped a Sept. 22 game was the 1962 campaign, a 21-7 setback to Ole Miss.

A Little Series History Lesson - Although this is the fourth all-time meeting between the two squads, it will be only the third match-up as Division I-A opponents. UCF was an NCAA Divison I-AA team in 1990 when the Tigers won that meeting 37-28.

Even More History - Memphis will be a part of history in the making when it travels to UCF this Saturday. While the Knights officially opened their new Bright House Networks Stadium last week versus Texas, the Tigers will go down in UCF history as the Knights' first-ever Conference USA foe to play in its new home.

Hey, I Know You... - When Memphis and UCF meet Saturday, the teams may be a little more familiar with each other, as they play their third season in Conference USA. However, the head coaches know each other quite well, as Tommy West (then at Clemson) and George O'Leary (then at Georgia Tech) faced off five times in the 1990s. Last year's encounter was the seventh meeting between the two coaches. With last year's UCF win, O'Leary edged ahead in the coaching battle 4-3. The average margin of victory in the coaching duel is 9.6 points, with four games decided by three or fewer points. The following shows the results of those meetings:

Year	West vs. O'Leary	   Result
2006	O'Leary (UCF)	   26-24
2005	O'Leary (UCF)	   38-17
1998	O'Leary (GT)	   24-21
1997	O'Leary (GT)	   23-20
1996	West (CU)	   28-25
1995	West (CU)	   24-3
1994	West (CU)	   20-10

Hey, I Know You - Part II - One of the newest members of the Tiger coaching staff also has a connection with UCF. Darin Hinshaw, who is in his first season as Memphis' receivers coach, earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF. He was a record-setting QB for the Knights from 1991-94. He served as a graduate assistant under Mike Kruczek in 1999 and took over quarterback coaching duties in 2000. He will also face another one of his previous squads later this season when the Tigers meet MTSU on Oct. 13 in Memphis.

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