Prepared for battle

UM to face Alabama-Birmingham, former head coach Tommy West for Senior Day at Liberty Bowl

By Adam Douglas

Sports Editor

 

David Minkin

The University of Memphis Tigers football team looks to snap a three two-game skid against rival Alabama-Birmingham and former UM head football coach Tommy West, now the defensive coordinaor for UAB.

 

The Tigers (2-7, 1, 4 in Conference USA) are coming off a bye week and looking to finish strong to close out the 2011 football season. The Blazers (1-8, 1-5 in C-USA) are coming off a 56-13 loss to No. 11 Houston where they looked competitive for about two quarters.

Saturday's game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is the annual "Battle for the Bones" game, which is played between The U of M and UAB. Both teams are struggling this season in the win column.

This game will pit two of the worst football teams against each other, so something will have to give. The Tigers have one of the nation's worst defenses, giving up 34.8 points per game 107th. But the Blazers aren't exactly lighting up the scoreboards either. UAB comes into Saturday's contest ranked 116th in points for at 14.7 per game, while giving up over 37.4 points per game (115th) – lower than the Tigers.

Both offenses are abysmal at best, with the Tigers rushing game being the second worst in football, averaging 82.8 yards per game (119th). The run game for the Blazers averages 109.0 yards per game — that's 105th in college football. The only stats that both teams are not in the lower tier of the FBS, is the passing game. U of M brings the 92nd-ranked passing game to the field, while UAB's passing attack is a bit better at 219.9 passing yards per game (73rd).

The Tigers and Blazers have met on the gridiron 14 times prior to this Saturday. UAB holds a 9-4 edge, with the Blazers winning the last two encounters. Memphis' last home victory against UAB was a 25-9 win in the 2007 season.

Not only will Memphis welcome back former head coach Tommy West, who's now the defensive coordinator for UAB, Saturday's game is also Senior Day for 16 Tigers seniors. Senior Day is typically held on the last home game for the home team, but due to the Tigers having a weekday game against Marshall on Thursday, UAB was picked for the Senior Day matchup.

The game will be broadcast nationally by Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) and will be slated for a 3:15 p.m. kickoff.