USF Bowl Central | Priority Ticket Registration Open NOW!! | Complete Bowl Schedule
TAMPA ? After officially accepting an invitation to the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl late Saturday evening, the Bulls had to wait approximately 18 hours to find out their opponent. That news came Sunday evening when Conference USA announced that the Memphis Tigers will square off with the Bulls in the inaugural bowl.
Priority registration is open on GoUSFBulls.com for the best seats in the house. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets during before the priority registration deadline of Monday at 5 p.m. to ensure seats in the USF section. GoUSFBulls.com is the only location to purchase tickets in USF sections.
? USF and Memphis have previously met four times and split the meetings. USF won by a combined eight points in 2002 and 2003. Sandwiched around those wins were a pair of losses in 2001 (17-9) and 2004 (31-15).
? It will mark the second time that USF has faced a Conference USA opponent in a bowl game. The other occurrence came in the 2006 PapaJohns.com Bowl against East Carolina. The Bulls prevailed in that game, 24-7, thanks to 2 touchdowns and a MVP effort from current-senior running back Ben Williams.
? USF is 1-2 all-time in bowl games. The Bulls lost 14-0 to NC State in the 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl, defeated ECU (as mentioned above) in 2006 and fell 56-21 to Oregon in the 2007 Brut Sun Bowl.
? Memphis owns a 6-6 overall record and went 4-4 in league play. The Tigers finished in second place in the East Division of C-USA.
? The Memphis offense has balanced the run and pass to the tune of 2,467 yards on the ground and 2,719 through the air. It ranks fifth in total offense and sixth in scoring offense in Conference USA.
Memphis is led by running back Curtis Steele, who has racked up 1,175 yards and scored seven TD. He is third in Conference USA in total yards and yards per game (93.9). Under center is Arkelon Hall, who has passed for 2,121 yards, 11 TD and has an efficiency rating of 123.8. Hall has only rushed for 194 yards in 10 games. He did not play in two games. Hall's favorite target is Carlos Singleton, who has 50 receptions, 759 yards and five TD.
? The Tigers defense ranks second in the C-USA in pass defense, third in total defense and fifth in run defense. The leading tacklers is junior DB Alton Starr with 86. As a team the Tigers rank sixth or lower in C-USA in interceptions (7), sacks (20) and turnover margin (-4).
? USF and Memphis have two common opponents ? UCF and Louisville. The Tigers fell to the Golden Knights, 28-21, at home on Nov. 22. The Bulls needed overtime to defeat their I-4 counterparts in the second weekend of the season.
Memphis and USF both lost to Louisville. The Tigers fell at home, 35-28, on Oct. 10. The Bulls traveled to Kentucky and failed in a late comeback bid, 24-20, on Oct. 25.
? The game will be played indoors at Tropicana Field and will mark just the third time that USF has played in a dome. The other two contests were at the Carrier Dome, home of the Syracuse Orange. USF won those games, 27-0 in 2005 and 41-10 in 2007. USF has practiced at the Trop before, but never played in the local venue.
? The Dec. 20 date will mark the earliest bowl game in USF history and will begin the 2008 college football bowl season. USF and Memphis will share the Dec. 20 spotlight with the Eagle Bank Bowl in Washington, D.C. (11 a.m.), New Mexico Bowl (2:30 p.m.) and the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl (8 p.m.).
? USF will be the designated home team. The Bulls have been the designated road team in all three previous bowl games.
