Tigers look to bounce back in Battle for the Bones

After hearing news of Tommy West's dismissal earlier in the week, The University of Memphis football team will try to put that behind them as they square off against Conference USA rival UAB for their last home contest at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

The Blazers (4-5, 3-2 C-USA) come to Memphis riding a two-game win streak with victories over UTEP and Florida Atlantic. This will be the 12th meeting of the two teams on the gridiron and the fourth annual "Battle for the Bones," in which the winning team is given a 100-pound trophy in the form of a bronzed rack of ribs. UAB leads the all-time series 7-4 but has dropped the last two games to the Tigers.

Saturday's game will also close the book on the college careers of 25 U of M seniors including Will Hudgens, Duke Calhoun, Carlos Singleton and Curtis Steele, among others.

The Tigers (2-7, 1-4 C-USA) are coming off a tumultuous week, headlined by athletic director R.C. Johnson's decision to fire West Monday. Although he was relieved of his duties, West will finish out the season as coach.

But it won't be an easy task.

The U of M has lost its last three games by a combined 67 points, with the last loss coming at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, 56-28. Despite the poor performance as of late, Steele has been a bright spot for the U of M. Against a Volunteer defense ranked 13th in the country, Steele ran the ball 21 times for 144 yards and two scores, bringing his yardage total to 740 on the season. Steele is also the team's current leading scorer with eight total touchdowns.

For his effort, Steele has placed himself among some of the best in The U of M record books. After his performance against Tennessee, Steele now has 1,963 career rushing yards, placing him at No. 8 on The University's all-time rushing list. If he can tally eight rushing yards against the Blazers on Saturday, he'll climb another spot to No. 7, where Terdell Middleton (1973-1976) currently stands.

For the Tigers to get a win in West's final home game, they'll have to contain the arm and legs of Blazer quarterback Joe Webb.

Webb leads the team in rushing with 1,103 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground to go along with his 1,352 yards and 13 scores through the air. Against Florida Atlantic, Webb combined for six touchdowns and 412 yards, as the Blazers notched 330 yards and four touchdowns on the ground against the Owls.

Meanwhile, Hudgens will look to wide receivers Calhoun and Singleton, the top two receivers in U of M history, to make plays down the field. Calhoun currently leads the team with 54 receptions for 803 yards and five touchdowns. Singleton has caught 31 passes for 410 yards and three scores of his own.

A year ago, these two teams put on a show in Birmingham, Ala., putting the most combined points on the scoreboard in the history of this rivalry. Back then the Tigers edged the Blazers 33-30 on a Vinny Zaccario game-winning 25-yard field goal with two seconds left to play.

Then-starting quarterback Arkelon Hall had a career day, throwing for four touchdowns. Singleton hauled in five passes for 123 yards and a score as the Tigers came out victorious.

Although the distraction of their coaching situation hangs over their heads, U of M players have said throughout the week that they are ready to go out and do what needs to be done.

Kick-off is scheduled for noon tomorrow at the Liberty Bowl.