If character is
doing the right thing when nobody’s watching, pride must be playing college
football with very little to gain. Having seen their high hopes of a first
Conference USA championship go up in smoke in a 17-16 defeat at Marshall last
weekend, the Memphis Tigers are now staring at nine games and a steep climb to
respectability. With two conference losses already and the program’s first 0-3
start in a decade, silver linings are hard to come by. But we’ll give it a shot.
For the first time
this season, Memphis held its opponent under 40 points. But considering the
Thundering Herd still amassed more than 400 yards of total offense, this was
more a reflection of Marshall’s offensive ineptitude than it was any solidifying
of the Tiger D. On the offensive side of the ball, the U of M passing attack is
proving to be as dangerous as advertised. Quarterback Arkelon Hall threw for 364
yards a week after compiling 373 against Rice. Junior Carlos Singleton was on
the receiving end of 11 passes, good for 158 yards. But despite all the aerial
movement, Memphis reached the end zone but once (on a four-yard pass from backup
quarterback Will Hudgens to Earnest Williams).
More silver
linings? The Tigers held the ball slightly longer than did Marshall. They
committed fewer penalties and had ten more first downs (26 to 16) than did their
opponent. All of which makes coach Tommy West’s job that much more difficult in
identifying how quickly the 2008 season turned sour, and how he and his staff
might find some sweetener for the two-plus months of season that remains.
Next up Saturday
night at the Liberty Bowl is the Tigers’ annual schedule-filler against Football
Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) competition. Instead of
Chattanooga or Tennessee Tech, Nicholls State comes to town in what will be the
Colonels’ season opener, their first two games having been postponed by
Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The closest thing to a cream puff Memphis will see
this fall, Nicholls State may be salve to a wounded collective psyche on the
Tiger side of the field. If ever West has needed a week to experiment with his
depth chart and make some in-game alterations, this will be the one. But the
home crowd — will there be as many as 30,000 to see if the Tigers can scratch
the win column? — had better not count any chickens with these Colonels in town.
A year ago, this FCS team beat the Rice Owls.
Wins are
accumulated one at a time, of course. Schedule-gazing and dreaming of brighter
lights are afterthoughts for the 2008 Tigers. Now, it’s simply a matter of
pride.
• Considering how
high Memphis Tiger basketball has risen in the nation’s Q ratings, the upcoming
home schedule has to be considered a disappointment. After a 2007-08 season that
welcomed the likes of Arizona, Georgetown, Tennessee, and Gonzaga to FedExForum,
the upcoming season’s nonconference home highlights will be Massachusetts
(November 17th), Syracuse (December 20th), and Cincinnati (December 29th). While
the Tigers will face the Vols and Zags again on the road, Lamar is the only
nonconference opponent visiting FEF after New Year’s Day. And while UMass will
carry sentimental value — as Calipari’s former stomping grounds, now under the
guidance of longtime Memphis assistant Derek Kellogg — the Tigers will be
considerable favorites, just as they will against the Orange and Bearcats.
You’ll likely witness the most dramatic moments of the upcoming season in your
living room.
• Last week, Ryan
Ludwick became the second St. Louis Cardinal to drive in 100 runs a year after
playing for the Memphis Redbirds. (The first was none other than Albert Pujols.)
The 30-year-old outfielder remains among the best baseball stories of 2008.
Entering the 2007 season, Ludwick had played in 104 big-league games (with a
total of 44 RBIs) and 520 minor-league contests over his eight-year professional
career. He lit up Pacific Coast League pitching last year, hitting .340 with 36
RBIs in only 29 games for Memphis. Promoted to St. Louis in May ’07, Ludwick hit
14 homers and drove in 52 runs as a reserve for the Cardinals. After making his
first All-Star appearance this past July, Ludwick will receive a few MVP votes
at season’s end. No player on the planet will have earned them more.
