Six.
It's not usually such a daunting number.
But don't tell that to the Tiger football team.
For the sixth year in a row The University of Memphis lost to UAB. And for the sixth year in a row there were just about as many shaking heads on the Memphis sideline as there were in the stands at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
This year's version wasn't even as close as the losses in years past, the Blazers thumped Memphis 37-20, and it wasn't any less cruel, with UAB outscoring the Tigers 34-3 from the midway point of the second quarter.
But as Tiger coach Tommy West has said in the past, a loss is a loss is a loss.
"They've kind of beaten us at our own game," West said. "And it's frustrating. I'm not going to say it isn't.
"I'd like to get that monkey off my back, but we'll have to wait another year."
The monkey seems to have grown into a gorilla in the last couple of years, and to shake it loose this time around West said his team would have to do two things it has never been able to do against the Blazers since West took over the team, beat them on the ground and make less mistakes.
The Blazers piled on 188 second half rushing yards to Memphis' 71 and the Tigers lost the turnover battle 3-2.
Add onto that a fourth quarter holding call that erased a long pass by Tigers quarterback Maurice Avery and a questionable no-call on an interception later the same drive that sealed the game for the Blazers, and you've got this year's ingredients for yet another loss.
"It's really tough," said dejected Tiger tight-end John Doucette. "Especially with this being my last go around.
"...This is the sixth year in a row, but it's not them - it's us. We make mistakes and they just take advantage of them."
The leader of the six-year reign bent on breaking the hearts of Memphis fans has been quarterback Darrell Hackney.
"I know it seems like he's been here 10 years," said UAB coach Watson Brown.
Hackney roasted the Tigers for 398 yards and three touchdowns last year and followed it with a 334-yard four-touchdown performance Tuesday night.
"He's really a great player," said Tiger free safety Brandon Patterson. "He can beat you through the air and he can make plays on the ground to keep the play alive and wait for receivers to get open."
The Tigers must now worry about a different streak, one they would like to keep alive.
That is a third straight bowl appearance, and to do that Memphis would have to win two of its final three games.
And with two of those games on the road, at Southern Miss and Tennessee, West knows the hill his team must climb to the postseason is particularly steep.
"We know what we've got to do now," West said. "We've got three left and we've got to find a way to win two of them."
