Oct. 16, 2008

MEMPHIS, TENN. - The Tiger football team will travel to Greenville, N.C., this weekend for a Conference USA East Division tilt with the East Carolina Pirates. Tip off is set for Saturday at 12 p.m. ET, and the game will be carried by CSS with Bob Neal and Chuck Oliver providing the commentary. Allison Williams will serve as the broadcast's sideline reporter.

CSS is only available through a cable provider and not carried on satellite. CSS is located on Comcast Cable channel 6 in Memphis.

Saturday's game is the 17th meeting between Memphis and East Carolina on the gridiron. The Pirates lead the all-time series 10-6. The series began in 1990. East Carolina won its second straight in the series with a 56-40 victory over the Tigers at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium last year. The Pirates also won the 2006 encounter, a 35-20 win in Greenville, N.C. Despite the last two setbacks, Memphis has won four of the last seven in the series.

The Tigers enter the contest with a 3-4 overall record and a 1-2 record in C-USA. Memphis snapped a three-game winning streak last Friday evening with a 35-28 loss to Louisville at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. In conference action, Memphis has defeated UAB, and has dropped decisions to Rice and Marshall. The Pirates, which won three straight to open the year, have lost their last three meetings and are 3-3 overall; 1-1 in C-USA. ECU defeated Tulane on the road to open the league schedule and dropped a decision to Houston two weeks ago.

Following the ECU meeting, the Tigers return home to prepare for their Homecoming matchup with Southern Miss on Oct. 25. That game will be broadcast by CBS College Sports Network with a kickoff slated for 7 p.m. Homecoming activities include a parade and pep rally on the U of M campus Friday, Oct. 24. In addition, a special memorial will occur at the game to honor TOM II, the Tigers' mascot, which passed away Wednesday morning. A complete listing of Homecoming events sponsored by the Alumni Association can be found online at

http://www.memphis.edu/alumni/homecoming.php .

Normal Game Date For Tigers-Pirates
For the 15th time in their series, the Tigers and Pirates play a late October/November contest this Saturday. Of the previous 14 late October/November meetings, 11 of those came after Oct. 20. Memphis and East Carolina have met each other in a season finale five times (1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998). The only two years the Conference USA foes played on an early date was the 2006 and 1991 campaigns, with East Carolina winning both encounters. The Pirates posted a 35-20 win on Sept. 16, 2006, and defeated the Tigers 20-13 on Sept. 14, 1991.

High-Scoring Affairs
In recent years when the Tigers and Pirates played, the scoreboards lit up. Since 2003 (five games), the winner of the Memphis-East Carolina encounter scored over 30 points four times. But, the losing team's offense was not shut down either, scoring 24 or more points four times. The combined total points scored in the last five games is 340, and the combined average per game is 34.0 points. The two squads combined for 96 points (56-40 East Carolina win) last year. It was the most points combined in the 16-game series. It was also the most points combined in a Tiger game since Memphis' 2004 encounter against Louisville. The Tigers and Cardinals combined for 105 points (56-49 Louisville win) in that game.

On This Date
The Tigers have a 4-3 record when they play on Oct. 18 in their history. The last time Memphis played an Oct. 18 game was the 2003 season, and the Tigers defeated Houston 45-14. That victory over Houston started a five-game win streak for the Tigers and propelled Memphis to its first bowl appearance in 32 years. The Tigers finished 2003 with a 9-4 record.

Williams Hits 1,000-Yard Milestone
The Tigers now have four receivers on the 2008 squad who total over 1,000 receiving yards for their careers with Earnest Williams hitting the milestone versus Louisville. Williams logged his 1,000th yard on his first catch of the third quarter (a 7-yard gain), which was also his 94th career reception. He is the 24th Tiger to tally 1,000 yards receiving in school history.

Streaking Tigers
Two Tigers kept their receiving streaks alive with receptions in the lost to Louisville last Friday night in Memphis. Junior receiver Duke Calhoun extended his streak to 31 games after totaling five receptions for 50 yards against the Cardinals. He has caught a pass in each of his 31 career games played. He missed the UCF game last season with a knee injury. The 31-game streak is a school record, as Calhoun surpassed Russell Copeland, who lettered for the Tigers from 1989-92 and tallied 27 straight games with a catch. Calhoun ranks 11th nationally in active receiving streaks. The current leader is Rice's Jarrett Dillard with 42 consecutive games with a reception.

Carlos Singleton enters the East Carolina game with a 28-game active receiving streak after logging five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown versus Louisville. Singleton now ranks second all-time behind Duke Calhoun.

Calhoun On Pace for Tiger Receiving Records
Junior receiver Duke Calhoun ranks third all-time at Memphis with 130 career catches and 1,906 yards. He needs just 18 more receptions and 218 yards over the next five games to capture the school record in both categories. The school record for receptions is 147 by Damien Dodson (1996-99), and the No. 2 spot is currently held by Darron White, who totaled 137 catches from 2001-04. The school record for receiving yards is 2,123 by Earnest Gray (1975-78). He is followed by Damien Dodson, who is only the second Tiger to amass 2,000 career yards receiving with 2,096 from 1996-99.

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