Back
to Back!!!
For the first time in school history,
the University of Memphis Tigers are bowl eligible in back to back years and
it couldn't have happened on a better night.
28 seniors gave their families a
treat by defeating Southern Missippi 30-26 in the 2004 Black and Blue Bowl.
The Memphis defense showed up when
it counted and kept the bowl dream alive. Southern Missisippi almost gained
momentum going into haltime. With a touchdown right before the half, Southern Miss went up 12 - 7. Instead of kicking the extra point, Southern Miss chose
to go for two and failed. The decision not only killed any momentum going into
halftime, but proved to be more costly as the game came down to the final seconds.
After a great punt, Southern Miss
was left with the ball on their own two yard line with 1:32 to go. Instead of
being down 30-27, the botched two point conversion at the end of the first half
left USM down 30-26. With only one timeout, USM was left with a nearly impossible
task - going 98 yards for a touchdown.
The Memphis D stepped in and kept
USM from getting the ball out of bounds. With Memphis playing in a deep prevent,
USM was left with no other choice than to try short screen passes.
The drive stalled and the 2004 Memphis
Tigers became the first team in Memphis history to be bowl eligble in back to
back years.
Memphis has a great chance to finish
the regular season 8-3. Both of their remaining games are on the road. The Tigers
travel to East Carolina next weekend and finish on ESPN at South Florida on
November 27.