Month: September 2000

The University of Memphis defense pitched its first shutout since 1994 and the Tigers rushed for 180 yards as they beat Louisiana-Monroe 28-0 Saturday night at the Liberty Bowl in front of 20,801. Despite a number of offensive miscues, the Tigers managed to get into the end zone four times, all on rushing plays — two by quarterback Travis Anglin and two by running back Darche Epting.

The Memphis defense, ranked fourth in the nation coming into the game, thoroughly manhandled the over-matched Indians. ULM only gained176 total yards and 10 first downs in the game. Much of the yardage came late in the fourth quarter when Memphis was playing its second and third defensive units.

Head coach Rip Scherer said he was happy to get the first win of 2000, evening the Memphis record at 1-1, but the offensive problems obviously have him worried. “We shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers. The game should have been out of reach by halftime,” Scherer said. “We just have to do a better job of coaching.”

The Tigers did manage to rush for 180 yards, but the passing game was still weak. Anglin was 11-22 for 80 yards. “We’ve got to get some things fixed offensively,” Scherer continued. “Nobody’s making excuses. No one is lashing out. The fact is we’ve got to get better on offense.”

The win over ULM came at a price. First-string tailback Sugar Sanders reinjured the ankle that had kept him out of the opener. His backup Dernice Wherry, who rushed for a career best 75 yards, left the game after a lineman fell on him injuring his shoulder. Starting corner back Marcus Smith injured an ankle on the opening kickoff and went directly to the locker room. Redshirt freshman Jason Brown played well in Smith’s place. Starting guard Josh Eargle injured a knee and is out indefinitely.

Next on the Memphis schedule is Arkansas State (0-2). The game is set in Jonesboro for the first time since 1956. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.

GAME NOTES

Memphis special teams player Quincy Stevenson blocked a kick inside the ULM 10 yard line. “He has a heart as big as this stadium,” said Memphis coach Rip Scherer of the 5-6 walk-on from East High School. “You just love guys like him. He’s not even on scholarship.”

Senior Billy Kendall, the Tigers’ all-time leading tight end, extended his streak of catching at least one pass to18 games. Kendall started the streak when he was a sophomore.

Ryan White had two field goal attempts blocked. Scherer attributed the blocks to taking too long to get the ball snapped and kicked. “We’ve got to improved our snap-to-kick time,” Scherer said. White is working with a new snapper and holder this year.

Memphis ran a successful onsides kick with free safety Idrees Bashir running under the kick and catching the ball in the air. Bashir was busy. Besides playing defense and special teams, he lined up at receiver for the first time in his college career. He had a pass thrown his way, but it was under thrown.

Defensive coordinator Tommy West got one of the game balls. “I think he has done a great job of taking our defense to another level,” Scherer said. “He’s got them playing hard.”

(You can e-mail Dennis Freeland at freeland@memphisflyer.com)

The University of Memphis Tigers attempt to gain their first win of the 2000 season tonight against Louisiana-Monroe. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. A crowd of 20,000 or less is expected to attend the game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Memphis is a 17-point favorite.

Besides getting their first win, the Tigers will attempt to put the brakes on a week of criticism for their anemic offensive showing in the opener, a 17-3 loss to Mississippi State. In that game, Memphis managed only 168 yards while turning the ball over five times.

Tonight’s opponent, UL-Monroe, is also 0-1, losing its first game to Minnesota , 47-10. The two teams have met only once in the past, with Monroe (then known as Northeast Louisiana) winning at Memphis in 1979. The Indians’ head coach, Bobby Keasler, was highly successful in nine seasons at McNeese State. He was 78-34-2 and was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year five times. He returned to his alma mater last season and led the team to a 5-6 mark.

But the real opponent for Memphis tonight will be themselves. Can the offense move the ball while cutting down on the number of turnovers? Can the defense, ranked fourth nationally after holding Mississippi State to a mere 127 yards, continue their excellent play. To silence the critics, the Tigers need to win by more than what the Las Vegas handicappers think.

GAME NOTES

Defensive end Andre Arnold had three quarterback sacks against Mississippi State, a career best for the junior from Columbus, Georgia.

Six Tiger players made their first career starts against Mississippi State. Josh Eargle and Jimmond Pugh stared in the offensive line. Tripp Higgins and Dernice Wherry started at wide receiver and tailback respectively. And Greg Harper and Derrick Ballard started at linebacker. Ballard, and deep snapper Gared Pigue were the only true freshmen to start.

Junior place kicker Ryan White, a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award his first two years, was selected to the Playboy 2000 All-American team. White has made 29 of 35 field goal attempts in his career and has kicked 47 out of 47 points after touchdown. His longest field goal is 52 yards.

Senior tight end Billy Kendall has caught at least one pass in 17 consecutive games, going back to his sophomore season. He caught a career high 6 vs. Arkansas State last season. Kendall is the all-time reception leader for tight ends at Memphis.

When Memphis travels to Jonesboro next week, it will be the Tigers’ first road game at Arkansas State since 1956. Memphis won that game 34-0, but the Indians hold a 9-6 advantage over the Tigers in Jonesboro.

Freshman deep snapper Gared Pigue, from Nashville Goodpasture Academy, was the starting deep snapper in game one. He recovered a fumbled punt.

(You can e-mail Dennis Freeland at freeland@memphisflyer.com)

It was deja vu Saturday for the University of Memphis in front of 34,113 at the Liberty Bowl. For the sixth time under head coach Rip Scherer, the Tigers lost its season opener. For the sixth time a Scherer-coached Memphis team lost to Jackie Sherrill’s Mississippi State Bulldogs. And for the second straight year, Memphis failed to score a touchdown in the season opener. Mississippi State scored 10 first half points and added a late touchdown to win the season opener for both teams 17-3.

The first half went pretty much as expected, with neither team able to muster any offense. Two interceptions by Mississippi State led to both of the Bulldogs’ scores — a 43-yard Scott Westerfield field goal and 1-yard touchdown plunge by Dontae Walker. Sophomore quarterback Travis Anglin led Memphis on a late first-half drive that provided Memphis’ only score, a 36-yard Ryan White field goal.

The 10-3 halftime score held until State’s Dicenzo Miller scored from six yards out with less than two minutes left in the game. Miller’s touchdown followed yet another Memphis turnover, a fumble deep in Tiger territory. Memphis had five turnovers in all — three leading directly to Bulldog scores.

The lackluster Memphis offense spoiled a spectacular debut for new defensive coordinator, Tommy West. The Tigers’ defense held State to 19 total yards in the second half.

The closest Memphis came to getting the ball in the end zone came with 10 minutes to go in the game, and naturally it was the Tiger D that did it. State quarterback Wayne Madkin appeared to fumble the ball while being sacked and Memphis linebacker Kamal Shakir scooped it off the turf and ran into the end zone. But the officials ruled Madkin was down — no fumble, no touchdown.

“That’s a bad missed call,” Scherer said after the game. “It really changed momentum.”

Memphis won most of the statistical battles in the game. The Tigers had 13 first downs to MSU’s 7. They rushed for 87 yards, while holding the Bullies to 45. Memphis had more total yards (168 to 127) and more time of possession (31:57 to 28:03). But five turnovers did them in.

“There is no solace in losing, but I think we have a chance to be the best football team since we’ve been here,” Scherer said. “I think we can be a lot better offensively. People are going to hear that and say ‘168 yards offense.’ But I thought Jimmy [Kiser] called a good game. We did what we said we wanted to do. We didn’t get the ball thrown to our backs as much as we wanted.”

Memphis now prepares to take on Louisiana-Monroe Saturday at the Liberty Bowl.

GAME NOTES

** The game was played in intense heat. The temperature at kickoff was 99 and reached 100 during the game.

** Memphis had two costly turnovers in the first half — both interceptions in their end of the field which led to two Mississippi State scores.

** The Tigers had 16 total yards in the first quarter. A late drive in the second quarter accounted for most of Memphis’ first-half yardage — 84 yards.

** Ryan White’s second quarter field goal moved him into fourth place on the school’s all-time list.

** Scherer is now 0-14 against the three Mississippi schools that Memphis plays regularly (State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss).

** Next week’s opponent, Louisiana-Monroe, had a long day in the MetroDome, losing its opener to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 47-10.

The University of Memphis Tigers open the 2000 football season today at 2:30 p.m. at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The game, expected to be played in 100-degree heat, will be televised on Fox Sports South. The Tigers have not had a winning season since 1994 and have not won seven games in a season since 1976. Mississippi State is a 4 1/2 point favorite.

The game is expected to be a defensive battle with both teams relying on conservative offenses and good kicking games. This neighborhood rivalry has been dominated in recent years by Mississippi State. Scherer is 0-5 against MSU head coach Jackie Sherill. Both Bulldog coordinators are former Tiger coordinators Ñ Joe Lee Dunn and Sparky Woods. There are no secrets in this series.

Memphis wants to run the ball behind its improved offensive line. With a mobile quarterback Travis Anglin, and three talented if inexperienced running backs (Sugar Sanders, Darche Epting, and Dernice Wherry) the Tigers are betting their house on the rushing attack. Sanders is not expected to start because of a sore ankle.

Memphis coach Rip Scherer wants to play solid defense, run the ball, and let his all-American place kicker, Ryan White, win the game with his foot. Interceptions and fumbles will quickly kill the Tigers’ conservative offensive game plan. If Memphis gets behind and has to throw the ball more than 20 times, look out.

CRUCIAL MATCHUPS:

Both teams vs. the heat.

The game, originally scheduled for 7 p.m. was switched to a 2:30 kickoff for TV. The Mid-South has been under an intense heat wave, with record-shattering three-digit temperatures. Who has the deepest bench? Which team will be able to suck it up in the fourth quarter?

State’s offensive line vs. Memphis’s defensive line.

The Bullie line is huge as usual. The Tigers are two and three deep along the defensive front. Will the big hogs from Starkville be able to handle the quick, experienced Tiger front?

MSU defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn vs. Jimmy Kiser, the QB coach who is in charge of the Tiger offense.

Nobody likes to prepare for Dunn with his unorthodox schemes. Kiser who spent the past 14 years at NC State is a bit of an unknown in this series. How will his offense handle Dunn’s creativity?

GAME NOTES

In a dozen games vs. SEC schools, Rip Scherer has won only once (the 1996 upset of Tennessee). Scherer is 0-5 against Mississippi State.

Senior tight end Billy Kendall caught at least one pass in all 11 games last year, including a career high 6 vs. Arkansas State. Kendall’s 53 catches for 601 yards makes him the school career leader in both categories for tight ends.

Senior linebacker Kamal Shakir had 143 total tackles in 1999, second most in Conference USA and the seventh highest single season total in school history. He also led the Tigers in tackles as a sophomore in 1998.

Memphis won its last three road games of 1999 and finished 3-2 on the road.

Memphis finished 4-2 in Conference USA, tied for second. It was the first winning season for the Tigers in C-USA play.

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