Mixed in among the sea of red and navy blue covering the grand stands at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, several sections of Tiger blue stood out under Oxford’s bright lights.
A large contingent of Tiger fans made the trip to watch the Memphis football team take on the then, No. 10 Ole Miss Rebels. Unfortunately for Tiger faithful, the Blue and Gray returned home empty handed, losing 24-3.
Lost in the pain of defeat was the fact that they kept us interested. For the first time since 2004, a Memphis Tiger football team went toe-to-toe with the Rebels.
Early in the game’s final quarter, the scoreboard read 7-3, and the Tigers could not have been more in the game.
It was a pretty boring for a football game. Through three quarters, the two teams combined for only 10 points, but every Memphis fan was glued to the game regardless.
As a fan of the U of M, that’s all you can really ask for. Memphis is not Alabama, Florida State, USC or Ohio State. It lacks the history and support of college football’s most storied programs.
If the U of M can make a bowl game, which they almost undoubtedly will this season, and avoid getting blown out by good teams, Tiger fans should be happy. And who knows, maybe one year the breaks go the Tigers’ way and they get the national ranking and recognition Memphis football has never truly demanded.
For now, Memphis will just have to settle for giving the Rebels their toughest game of the season.
Ole Miss falls in the tier just below those storied programs. They receive a massive amount of fan support, and they have a solid team each season.
The Rebels are not a top-10 team every season, or even a top-25 team for that matter, but they break into the top 25 every few years to keep fans interested.
This year is one of those break-through seasons for the Rebels, and Memphis held them in check through three quarters.
I could complain about the play calling or the game plan, but that would miss the mark. The game was fun, and that’s exactly what Memphis football should be.
Fans still talk glowingly about the DeAngelo Williams years. Memphis football was a blast, and the city got behind those teams. They never won a championship or even beat a top-25 team, but they entertained the city.
Many fans label anything other than a win a failure, but to say that is shortsighted. Only one team wins the title each season, and with history as our guide, Memphis will not be that team anytime soon.
History suggests something more like the 2009 matchup with Ole Miss at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The Rebels left Memphis with a dominating 45-14 win over the Tigers.
Or take the 2008 Ole Miss game, Memphis lost that one 41-24 in Oxford.
No one wants that.
Give me the bowl games and the thrillers against top-15 teams like Ole Miss and UCLA, and I can go without the blowout losses to SEC teams and embarrassing letdowns to the bottom feeders of non-power conferences.
Give me this year’s Memphis squad over any from the past decade; at least they keep it interesting.
