Memphis head coach Tommy West has seen it time and again.
Year after year, no matter how good a football team is, there is one team that always seems to have their number.
When he was coaching at Clemson the nemesis was North Carolina State.
"We had that when I was at Clemson, where NC State was a thorn in our side," West said. "We had really good teams some years, but NC State was a team that seemed like we just couldn't (beat)."
Whether it's Miami's mastery of Florida State or Arkansas' dominance over Texas, most teams have that one rival on their schedule that may as well be The University of Kryptonite.
For Memphis, the Achillesà heel is undoubtedly UAB.
The Blazers have scorched the Tigers in each of the last four meetings, including a 24-10 victory last year in Memphis.
Tigers senior quarterback Danny Wimprine likely won't miss seeing the Blazers for the final time. Wimprine is winless in his career against UAB.
He admits picking up a win against the Blazers carries extra weight not just for him, but the whole team.
"It's very important for all of us to get that win," Wimprine said. "This week is going to tell us a lot about our team because it's our first conference game and it's against UAB who has given us a lot of trouble in the past."
Wimprine's aerial attack should help. His 885 passing yards rank eighth nationally.
"Offensively I think we're really close to being pretty good," West said. "I have a concern offensively; it's that when we get down in the red-zone we're not getting enough touchdowns."
Wimprine also said he sees plenty of room for improvement for Memphis' potentially lethal offense.
"I agree with coach West that we're not clicking as a team like we should. But we're winning right now and I'm not going to complain about being 3-0," he said. "But even though we're winning I know that we're leaving a lot of stuff on the field."
For Wimprine, one of the keys will be avoiding the slow start that plagued them against Arkansas State last week when they fell into a quick 14-0 hole.
"I think if we can make some plays early and get things rolling offensively ... Defensively if we can make a big play and get momentum going, I think we can carry that throughout the game and keep it rolling," Wimprine said.
How soon Memphis tailback DeAngelo Williams can get things rolling will be another key factor for The U of M offense.
Williams has carried the ball an eye-popping 90 times, which ranks second nationally behind Kansas State's Darren Sproles with 91. Williams is eighth in rushing yardage with 398 through three games and sixth in all-purpose yards with 590.
One area Memphis will have to improve on is pass defense.
The Tigers were picked apart for 418 yards last week by Indians quarterback Nick Noce.
The Blazers boast a quarterback in Darrell Hackney, who West and company know all too well.
Hackney was under pressure for most of the game last year, but always seemed to make the play when he had to.
"They've got a quarterback that can make plays," West said. "(Hackney) can keep the ball alive and make some plays like he did to us a year ago. We had chances at him last year but he'd bounce off somebody or make them miss and kept the ball alive long enough to make a play."
That's potentially bad news for a Memphis pass defense that ranks an abysmal 107th in the country, allowing 288 yards per game.
That stat will have to change if the Tigers hope to reverse their UAB curse, but West is banking on another statistic.
"I'm betting on the law of averages myself," West said.
