For the second time in as many weeks, the Memphis Tigers (5-3, 3-1 AAC) will play on a Friday night as they get set for a conference match-up with Temple (5-3, 3-2). The Owls are coming off of their biggest win of the season, defeating East Carolina 20-10, and they will undoubtedly be looking defend their home turf on Friday night.
One of these two teams will wake up on Saturday morning knowing they they have likely secured a spot in a bowl game, a feat Memphis has not achieved since 2008.
Head coach Justin Fuente has done wonders with this Tiger program in just his third season. After winning a combined seven games during his first two seasons as the head man at Memphis, Fuente appears to have finally broken through. The former TCU offensive coordinator was given the task of cleaning up the mess left by his predecessors, Tommy West and Larry Porter, that was Memphis Football.
A section of Tiger fans began to question the so-called “quarterback guru” after his first two years. While the product on the field undeniably looked better than it did under Porter, which quite frankly is not saying much, the bottom line was, the Tigers were still not winning football games. Thankfully for Memphis fans, athletic director Tom Bowen — who did not hire Fuente — saw the bigger picture and stuck with him.
Now, just one win away from becoming bowl eligible, Fuente has become a hot name to possibly land a bigger job in the near future. It is remarkable how the perception of a coach can change if he is given the right amount of time and resources to complete the job he has been hired to do.
After Temple, the Tigers’ remaining three teams on their schedule have a combined record of 7-18. This means that, including a bowl game, the Tigers have an outside but relatively realistic shot at nine or even 10 wins. (This is a program that won only nine games between 2011-2013.)
On Friday, coach Fuente’s offense should get a very nice test as it faces the the third stiffest (25th in the nation) pass defense in the conference. However, sophomore quarterback Paxton Lynch, who has improved in virtually every single statistical category from his freshman season, has already seen two pass defense ranked higher nationally than Temple this season in Houston and Mississippi. Lynch struggled against against those teams, and the Tigers lost both contests.
How Lynch plays on Friday could ultimately be the determining factor in who ends up on the right side of the scoreboard.
On the flip side, Memphis’ defense is looking for a nice bounce-back game after surrendering 411 yards to Tulsa last Friday, the most yards given up this season to a non-ranked opponent. Luckily for the Tigers, Temple has one of the nation’s worst offenses, ranking 119th in the country in total offense. Tank Jakes will be available for the entire game, and that will give the Tigers a mental or confidence boost just as much as it will a boost in tangible defensive production.
With a bowl game on the line Friday, one can expect Memphis versus Temple to be an all-out war and a wildly entertaining football game.
In closing, let’s look at what was happening with the world in 2008, the last time Memphis partook in a bowl game:
- Joe Gibbs retired as Washington Redskins head coach
- The Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII
- Fidel Castro retired as President of Cuba
- Danica Patrick became the first female driver to win an Indy car race
- The original “Iron Man’ movie was released
- The Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angles Lakers in the NBA Finals
- Barack Obama became President
- Greg Maddox retired from baseball
- The Yankees played their final home game at the old Yankee Stadium
- The US economy is in the depths of the recession
- Bernie Madoff was arrested for heading up a $50 billion Ponzi scheme
- The Detroit Lions became the first and only NFL franchise to finish 0-16
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