Tigers face rocky road to win at Rocky Top

After losing six of their first eight games, The University of Memphis now heads to Knoxville to face the Tennessee Volunteers, a game which will likely prove to be the Tigers' most arduous confrontation this season. The Tigers (2-6, 1-4 Conference USA) are coming off a 38-19 loss at home to East Carolina on national television. The U of M played poorly in most facets of the game as they turned the ball over four times and gave up 497 yards of total offense to the Pirates. However, critics say the main reason for the Tigers poor play was their inability to stop the run. The Tigers gave up 275 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to the Pirates, who entered the game averaging a relatively meager 131 yards on the ground. Following their performance, coach Tommy West says he is upset with how the Tigers have been playing on the defensive side of the ball thus far. "I'm disappointed in our rush defense. It was bad in the East Carolina game," he said. "We have to get that corrected. We are getting better running the ball, but we have to get better at stopping the run." The failure to stop the run has reared itself throughout the season. The Tigers have permitted four teams - Marshall, UTEP, UCF and most recently East Carolina - to attain 200 or more rushing yards against them. Currently, the Tigers rank No. 105 out of 120 teams nationally against the run. This weekend, the Tigers face a Tennessee offense that averages 172.1 yards rushing, with most of those yards coming against SEC defenses. Senior Volunteer running back Montario Hardesty is coming off a 121 yard and two touchdown performance against a South Carolina defense that ranks No. 16 nationally in total defense. In addition, Hardesty ranks No. 19 in the nation, averaging 105.1 yards rushing per contest, an average that places him third in the SEC behind Alabama's Mark Ingram and Mississippi State's Anthony Dixon. While the Tigers may face a steep challenge in containing Tennessee's offense, the task of producing yards and points on their own offense may be just as laborious. Tennessee ranks No. 13 in the country in total defense, allowing only 281.6 yards per meeting to opponents in their first year under new coach Lane Kiffin. Tennessee's defense is led by All-American strong safety Eric Berry, who anchors the Vols' 4-3 and Tampa 2 base defenses. The Volunteers defense is directed by Kiffin's father, Monte Kiffin, who came up with the Tampa 2, a slight modification of Cover 2, while leading the Tampa Bay Bucaneers defense under Tony Dungy. Tennessee enters Saturday's game fresh off a 31-13 trouncing of South Carolina. The Vols limited the Gamecocks to a paltry 65 yards on the ground and forced four turnovers. West said he was impressed by the confidence Tennessee exuded throughout the game against one of their conference adversaries. "I watched their game on television," he said. "Tennessee is playing with confidence on both sides of the ball. They're outstanding on defense and have been from the start of the season. Now their offense has caught up. Their offense is doing a great job of protecting the ball." In the game prior, the Volunteers lost 12-10 to then-No. 1 ranked Alabama, a contest in which the Volunteers had a potential game-winning 44-yard field goal attempt blocked by Crimson Tide nose tackle Terrence Cody, thwarting the Vols chances of an upset. Perhaps making things tougher, the Tigers are facing the Vols in Knoxville, where The U of M has never won in 11 trips up I-40. West said he believes it would be a monumental win. "I think anytime a non-BCS beats a BCS it's a big deal," he said. "In particular, when a Memphis team goes to Knoxville and wins, it is huge because it has never been done. We have been close several times up there but haven't been able to get over the hump. This is a game that we can just go lay it on the line since nobody expects us to win. It would be huge to go up there and win." Tennessee leads the series 20-1 all-time, with the Tigers lone win coming Nov. 9, 1996, when the Tigers upset Peyton Manning's No. 6 rank, 21-17 in front of 65,388 fans at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.