The University of Memphis Tigers will make the nearly 1,100-mile trip to El Paso, Texas to continue Conference USA action with a meeting with the UTEP Miners on Saturday. Kick-off is set for 8:05 p.m. CT. The game is being carried locally in El Paso by Time Warner Texas.
Fans who can’t make the trip can watch live internet streaming of the game through Memphis Tiger Vision, which is a subscription service available on GoTigersGo.com. Monthly and yearly subscriptions are available. Memphis Tiger Vision provides fans exclusive video content including select games (not carried by national television), live press conferences and highlights. Click HERE to sign up for Memphis Tiger Vision.
Saturday’s game is the fourth meeting between the Tigers and Miners on the gridiron. Memphis holds a 3-0 lead in the short series. The Tigers won the last encounter between the two programs, a 35-20 victory last season at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Memphis also won the last encounter between the two teams played in El Paso in 2006. Memphis traveled to El Paso for the first time in school history, and posted a 38-19 regular-season finale win over the Miners. Memphis won the first-ever meeting between the Tigers and Miners in 2005. The Tigers pulled out an exciting 27-20 win over UTEP at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium that season.
Coach Larry Porter will support the battle against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy by wearing a Coach to Cure MD patch on the sidelines this weekend. UTEP Coach Mike Price is also participating in the promotion that is supported by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed during childhood and primarily affects boys across all races and cultures.
Football fans can donate to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research by either going online to www.CoachtoCureMD.org or by texting the word CURE to 90999 (a $5 donation will automatically be added to your next phone bill).
A Family Divided When the Tigers and Miners take the field Saturday, it will be a case of a family divided — at least for 60 minutes. On the Memphis sideline is offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Eric Price, while his father, Mike, is the Miners’ head coach and his brother, Aaron, is UTEP’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and kickers coach. Eric worked for his father from 2004-07 as UTEP’s offensive coordinator, and coached against Memphis when the two teams played in 2005 and 2006. During that same time (2004-07), Aaron served as quarterbacks, wide receivers and kickers coach. Eric also served on his father’s staff at Washington State from 1998-2000.
Reunion Saturday Other than the Price family reunion during Saturday’s Memphis-UTEP contest, another face will appear on the Tiger sideline that Miners’ head coach Mike Price will recognize. Memphis offensive line coach John McDonell worked on Price’s staffs at Weber State from 1984-88 and Washington State from 1989-2000. McDonell was the Cougars’ offensive coordinator from 1994-2000, and he helped guide Washington State to a magical year in 1997. That season, the Cougars ranked second nationally in total offense, tied for the Pac-10 title and earned a trip to the Rose Bowl.
On This Date Memphis has an all-time record of 5-5-2 when playing on Sept. 25 in its history. The last time the Tigers played on Sept. 25 was the 2004 campaign, and Memphis posted a 41-14 win over Houston at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. A memorable Sept. 25 victory came in the 1993 season. On that date, Memphis defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks 6-0 in Little Rock. The Tigers also suffered a heart-breaking loss on Sept. 25, 1999. Memphis dropped a narrow 17-16 decision to Tennessee in Knoxville.
Hughes In National Top 10 In Tackles Senior linebacker Jamon Hughes led the Tigers for the third-straight week in tackles with nine stops versus Middle Tennessee. The previous week, he posted 17 tackles against East Carolina. The total included 12 assisted tackles, which ties Hughes’ career best and ties for fifth all-time in school history. Dating back to last season, Hughes has made six or more tackles in nine-straight games and has made 14 or more tackles in four of those games. Hughes leads the team with 35 tackles and is tied for ninth in the nation and third in Conference USA in total tackles.
Ray Leads Tigers In Scoring Senior running back Gregory Ray leads the Tigers in scoring this season with 18 points off three touchdowns. He has tallied two rushing TDs (both vs MTSU) and one receiving TD (vs ECU). Second in scoring is kicker Paulo Henriques, who boasts 16 points off three FGs and seven PATS.
Hornsey Picks Up C-USA Honor True freshman punter Tom Hornsey was named the C-USA Co-Special Teams Player of the Week following the MTSU game. Hornsey kicked a career-high 10 punts in the game, which is tied for the 10th highest punt total in school history. He averaged 41.7 yards per punt and is averaging 44.7 yards in three games. The Australian native kicked a career-long 63-yard punt from the Memphis six-yard line late in the fourth quarter that helped keep MTSU in its own territory and go three-and-out in a critical defensive opportunity for the Tigers who were holding on to a seven-point lead. Hornsey totaled 417 yards punting, which ranks eighth in school history and marks the second time he has cracked the top eight this season in three games.
Up Next The Tigers will look to begin a winning streak at the Liberty Bowl when they host Tulsa on Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. If the Tigers can come away with a win over the Golden Hurricane, it would mark the first time since 2004 that Memphis has posted wins in its first two home games of the season. The game has been designated as the Pouncer’s Pals game and all registered Pouncer’s Pals will have the opportunity to join the Spirit Squads and Mighty Sound of the South band in the pre-game March Around that circles the sidelines. Pouncer’s Pals and their families will be provided complimentary tickets and food and beverages at the Tiger Scholarship Fund tent prior to the March Around. Please RSVP by calling Erin Shaw at 901-678-4324 or by email to elshaw@memphis.edu.
