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2017 - 2018 Tiger Football


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5 hours ago, cardsfan said:

Wow I've missed a lot here, thought I got notifications on post in here. What's your thoughts on the tiger bowl game KWC?

Win the next 2 and Memphis will be in a New Year's Six bowl game (Peach Bowl more than likely). Otherwise, I'd expect to see them in the Birmingham Bowl.

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1 hour ago, cardsfan said:

AAC Bowl game tie-ins suck. Least Birmingham gives you an SEC team hopefully

 

I'm pulling for the Peach!

The problem is that the SEC may not have enough bowl eligible teams this year. The SEC has 9 bowl tie-ins, not including the playoff/new year's six games; Alabama, Georgia, and possibly Auburn will be playing in those games, so a couple of lower tier bowls with SEC tie-ins are going to be hunting for replacements (Birmingham Bowl, Independence Bowl, and possibly the Texas Bowl).

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On 11/22/2017 at 3:30 PM, osunut2 said:

The problem is that the SEC may not have enough bowl eligible teams this year. The SEC has 9 bowl tie-ins, not including the playoff/new year's six games; Alabama, Georgia, and possibly Auburn will be playing in those games, so a couple of lower tier bowls with SEC tie-ins are going to be hunting for replacements (Birmingham Bowl, Independence Bowl, and possibly the Texas Bowl).

Very True

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Memphis Tigers football bests in win over ECU include Anthony Miller, Tony Pollard

 
John Varlas, USA TODAY NETWORK – TennesseePublished 4:34 p.m. CT Nov. 25, 2017
     
 
 
 
 
Memphis teammates Doroland Dorceus (middle) and Anthony
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Memphis teammates Doroland Dorceus (middle) and Anthony Miller (right) celebrates with Tony Pollard (left) after his kickoff return touchdown against ECU during third quarter at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., Saturday, November 25, 2017.  Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal
Tigers vs. ECU Football - November 25, 2017
 
Tigers ECU Football

(Photo: Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

 

Only a nit-picker would be able to find very many "lows" in Memphis' 70-13 victory over East Carolina on senior day Saturday at the Liberty Bowl. So instead we bring you the best of the best from a banner day in Tigers football history.

Best response to an award snub

Many around the Tigers program were — to put it mildly — surprised when senior Anthony Miller was left off the list of five finalists for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, which is presented to the nation's top wide receiver.

He only needed one play to remind them of their mistake.

Miller, formerly of CBHS, took a quick pass from Riley Ferguson on Memphis' first play from scrimmage before outrunning the pursuit 89 yards for the game's first touchdown. Miller, who finished with 144 yards on just three catches, admitted he was hurt by being left off the list.

"That was sort of fuel to my fire right there," he said. "I was like 'wow.' I thought I had the numbers, the excitement when I play. I thought I did everything to qualify."

It was the fifth-longest pass play in school history.

Tony Pollard returned his fourth kickoff for a touchdown this season as Memphis rolled over East Carolina 70-13.

Tony Pollard returned his fourth kickoff for a touchdown this season as Memphis rolled over East Carolina 70-13. (Photo: Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

 

Best kickoff returner in football history

OK, OK ... but it's easy to get carried away when Tony Pollard is involved.

The sophomore from Melrose electrified the crowd in the third quarter as he answered ECU's first touchdown with a 100-yard return that put Memphis ahead 63-6.

Pollard caught the ball 5 yards deep in the end zone and burst through a herd of tacklers around the 35 before turning on the jets. It's his fourth kickoff return of the year for a TD and sixth of his career.

"This week, he (coach Mike Norvell) gave me the green light," Pollard said. "We all knew how good of a kicker they had (Caleb Pratt, who had produced touchbacks on 70 percent of his kicks).

"He said if I was able to catch it coming forward then I could come out with it. And I was able to take advantage of it."

Pollard is the only player in school history with a 100-yard return and he's done it three times.

With two games left, he's one away from tying the NCAA season mark set by Ashlan Davis of Tulsa in 2004. He's also one away tying the career mark of seven held by Clemson's C.J. Spiller (2006-2009), Houston's Tyron Carrier (2008-2011) and San Diego State's Rashaad Penny (2014-2017).

Memphis teammates celebrate with a wrestling belt after

Memphis teammates celebrate with a wrestling belt after getting a turnover against ECU during second quarter at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., Saturday, November 25, 2017. (Photo: Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

 

Best stat

According to ESPN Stats and Info, the Tigers' 49-point halftime lead was the largest by any FBS team over another this season.

It was a halftime talk that Norvell likely had never had to give before.

More: Memphis Tigers football, Mike Norvell are negotiating a new contract

"Regardless of the circumstance or the situation ... stay relevant on doing your job," he said. "It doesn't matter whether you're a starter or a backup — it may be the first action you've ever had as a Tiger — you go out there and you uphold the responsibility that each and every one of us has to execute and do the job that's in front of us."

 
Memphis receiver Damonte Coxie (left) grabs a touchdown

Memphis receiver Damonte Coxie (left) grabs a touchdown catch in front of ECU defender Keyshawn Canady (right) during third quarter at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., Saturday, November 25, 2017. (Photo: Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

 

Best long-distance carriers

Out of Memphis' 10 touchdowns, seven came on plays of 30 yards or longer.

In addition to Miller's catch and Pollard's return, Ferguson had scoring passes of 46 yards to Phil Mayhue and 61 to DeMonte Coxie while Patrick Taylor scored on runs of 41 and 60 yards. Jonathan Cook scored his first career touchdown with a 32-yard pick-six in the first quarter.

Best regular season

Memphis finished a regular season with 10 victories for the first time since 1938.

That year, coach Allyn McKeen's Tigers went 10-0 and won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association title while posting victories over the likes of Millsaps, Louisiana College, Arkansas State, Cumberland, Middle Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, Arkansas A&M, Troy State, Union and Delta State.

It also marked the first time the Tigers had gone undefeated at the Liberty Bowl in a season.

 

Best compliment

Pirates coach Scottie Montgomery didn't mince any words when asked about the Tigers' performance.

"That was probably the best team we've played," he said. "I thought they were playing on all levels. The difference in skill that we saw today in a lot of places, especially at DB, at corner and at wide receiver ... they are really, really talented. That's a championship team we just watched."

Best cameo performance by a walk-on

Hayden Ferrari, another former CBHS player, got into the game late and made a tackle.

The sophomore linebacker is the son of former Tigers quarterback Tommy Ferrari. 

Reach John Varlas at [email protected] or on Twitter @johnvarlas.

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Memphis Tigers football, Mike Norvell are negotiating a new contract

 
Mark Giannotto, USA TODAY NETWORK – TennesseePublished 2:15 p.m. CT Nov. 25, 2017 | Updated 4:12 p.m. CT Nov. 25, 2017
Tigers vs. ECU Football - November 25, 2017
 
Lead Geoff

(Photo: Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

 

The University of Memphis and football coach Mike Norvell are in negotiations about a new contract extension, athletic director Tom Bowen confirmed before Saturday's win over East Carolina to close the regular season.

Bowen said he and Norvell have been discussing a new deal since the team's game against UCLA on Sept. 16 and that he expects Norvell to have a new contract heading into next season. 

Bowen declined to discuss any specifics of the negotiations. 

Norvell declined to comment on the situation after Memphis defeated ECU 70-13 on Saturday.

Norvell, 36, has been mentioned in connection with several job openings around college football, most notably Arkansas and Ole Miss.

The Arkansas job became available Friday when Bret Bielema was fired following the Razorbacks' season-ending loss to Missouri. Ole Miss is led by interim coach Matt Luke after the July dismissal of Hugh Freeze and is expected to search for a permanent replacement this offseason.

Norvell played at Central Arkansas and his wife is from Fort Smith, Ark., which is about 60 miles from Fayetteville.

In 2015, when former Memphis coach Justin Fuente left following the regular season to become the coach at Virginia Tech, Memphis made an "extraordinary offer" in hopes of signing Fuente to a new contract. 

Memphis head coach Mike Norvell (middle) gets a dumped

Memphis head coach Mike Norvell (middle) gets a dumped with a cooler of water after winning the American Athletic Conference West Division Championship by defeating SMU 66-45 in Memphis, Tenn., Saturday, November 18, 2017. (Photo: Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

 

Norvell signed a one-year contract extension through the 2021 season last May, although it did not change Norvell's compensation package. Instead, the salary pool for assistant coaches and football staff was increased by $250,000 to $2.76 million.

Norvell is set to make $1.86 million this year, which makes him the fifth-highest paid coach in the American Athletic Conference. He has already earned $150,000 in bonuses because Memphis won nine or more games and captured the AAC West division title this year.

He's also due an additional $25,000 because Memphis will go to a bowl game, and that figure would increase to $50,000 if the Tigers are selected for a New Year's Six bowl game. 

Memphis won 10 games in the regular season for the second time in school history and will play in its first AAC championship game against UCF in Orlando on Dec. 2. 

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On 11/28/2017 at 0:06 PM, kwc said:

Memphis Tigers football, Mike Norvell are negotiating a new contract

 

 

I don't put much stock in those reports. AD going to put that out regardless so if he leaves he can say he did all he could to keep him here.

 

Ark making me nervous but I still think he stays. Looking for a big show in Orlando tomorrow.

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30 minutes ago, cardsfan said:

I don't put much stock in those reports. AD going to put that out regardless so if he leaves he can say he did all he could to keep him here.

 

Ark making me nervous but I still think he stays. Looking for a big show in Orlando tomorrow.

Arkansas? Isn't that where the Auburn coach is suppose to be going?

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