The good news last
Saturday at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is that the Memphis Tigers scored 21
points against the top-ranked defense in Conference USA. The bad news, of
course, is that the U of M gave up 21 points to a UCF offense ranked dead last
in C-USA. Add in a 26-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Knight linebacker
Derrick Hallman and the result is a 28-21 UCF victory, leaving Memphis with a
record of 5-6, this Saturday’s game with Tulane being the Tigers’ final chance
at gaining bowl eligibility for the fifth time in six seasons.
“We helped them to
14 points in the first half,” mused Tiger coach Tommy West after the game, “and
that ended up being the reason we didn’t win the game. I’m disappointed that we
made the errors early in the game that put us behind.”
The errors West
spoke of were made by Tiger quarterback Arkelon Hall, who had been on the
sidelines since breaking his thumb at East Carolina more than a month earlier.
In fairness, though, Hall’s first “error” was committed not with the arm that
earned him a scholarship, but with his right foot. After Brent Sutherland
shanked his first punt of the game, West entrusted Hall with the fourth-down
duty, even with the Tigers deep in their own territory. The ensuing “pooch” kick
met the backside of a Tiger lineman and deflected toward the Tiger end zone.
Four plays later, Knight quarterback Rob Calabrese connected with Ricky Kay for
a 7-0 UCF lead, one the Tigers couldn’t close for the rest of the game. (Hall’s
second miscue of the quarter was that fumble that resulted in a 14-0 deficit,
still not 10 minutes into the game.)
Other than a
perfectly thrown 54-yard touchdown to Duke Calhoun (also in the first quarter),
the game was entirely forgettable for Hall. With three 350-yard games already on
his resume, Hall misfired on 20 of 35 attempts, compiling only 183 yards through
the air. “I knew defensively that they’re good,” said West, “and yards were hard
to come by. [Hall] made a couple of bad throws I was really disappointed in. And
he missed [Earnest Williams] across the middle for a touchdown. Now, he
certainly helped us running the ball. But I’m not going to sit here and act like
that was his best game.”
When asked if
Hall’s thumb had bothered him, West dismissed the notion as a possible excuse,
and he rejected the thought of replacing hall with Brett Toney, the primary
stand-in in Tiger wins over Southern Miss and SMU. “Brett’s just not that kind
of guy,” said West. “When you have to start coming back in a game, I don’t think
that’s Brett’s deal.”
UCF has become an
annual nemesis for the Tigers. Sharing a home in C-USA’s East Division with
Memphis, the Knights have now won four straight over the U of M. And this was a
team that entered the Liberty Bowl with a record of 3-7 and postseason
eligibility an afterthought. The Tigers outgained the visitors, 305 yards to
194, and ran 74 plays compared with 59 for UCF. But Memphis converted merely
four of 16 third-down plays, shortening drives on an afternoon when the ball
quite literally bounced the wrong way for a home crowd that numbered but 18,836.
“We had plenty of
chances,” noted West. “We helped them a lot today. We spotted them 14 points.
You can cut it any way you want to, but that’s why we lost the game.”
Back to the good
news. Saturday’s guest will be the 2-9 Tulane Green Wave, a team that has lost
seven straight and given up at least 35 points in their last five contests
(while scoring as many as 20 in only one of those). The Tigers have won four
straight in this series, and a fifth would end their regular season at 6-6.
Conference USA’s bowl partners include the Armed Forces Bowl (Forth Worth,
Texas), the Texas Bowl (Houston), and the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl, each a
destination that would be welcomed by a team that, after 11 games, is caught
between the bad news of disappointment and the good news of opportunity.
