Louk's Closer Look: Bulls Set for Senior Day Matchup Against No. 18 Memphis

Louk's Closer Look: Bulls Set for Senior Day Matchup Against No. 18 Memphis

NEXT GAME: USF (4-6, 2-4) vs. No. 18 Memphis (9-1, 5-1)
DAY/TIME: Saturday/4 p.m.
LOCATION: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
TV/RADIO: ESPNU/USF Radio Network: Over the Air: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM & Digital: Bulls Unlimited
SERIES: Memphis leads, 5-4. USF won last meeting, 49-42, at Memphis in 2016
PURCHASE TICKETS: USFBullsTix.com
GAME NOTES: USF (PDF)
 
 
 
By JIM LOUK
Voice of the Bulls
 
TAMPA, NOV. 21, 2019 – Another American Athletic Conference powerhouse is coming to Tampa, as 9-1 Memphis visits for a Saturday afternoon game.
 
This will be the final home game of the season, and the final time as a Bull in Raymond James Stadium for 17 USF seniors.  Here's a look at the history of the USF-Memphis matchup, some background on the No. 18 Memphis football program, and a few statistical notes on the Bulls:
 
  • This will be the 10th USF-Memphis game, with the Tigers leading the series, 5-4.  The first meeting was on Sept. 22, 2001 at the Liberty Bowl.  It was the first game back after the 9-11 tragedy for both programs.
  • Matt GrotheOn Dec. 20, 2008, the teams met in Tropicana Field in the inaugural St. Petersburg Bowl, with USF winning, 41-14.  It marks one of only two times the Bulls have played a current AAC team in a bowl game, with the other being East Carolina in Birmingham in 2006.
  • Memphis is 5-7 all-time in bowl games. The Tigers have played in a bowl game every year since 2015, but they have lost every one of those games.
  • The teams haven't met since Nov. 12, 2016, when the Bulls won a wild 49-42 game in Memphis.
  • Record watch!  Jordan Cronkrite has jumped to the No. 8 position all-time in rushing yards at USF. With 1,808 yards, he needs just 10 more on Saturday to pass Darius Tice for seventh.
  • Mitchell WilcoxMitchell Wilcox needs 60 receiving yards to pass inaugural Bull Charlie Jackson (1,373 yards) for ninth all-time at USF.  He needs seven catches to tie Jackson for 10th place.  He's currently three catches short of 100 for his career.
  • The Tigers play home games in the Liberty Bowl, which was constructed in 1965 and bears a strong resemblance to the Bulls' first home, Tampa Stadium.
  • Until 1941, Memphis was known as West Tennessee State Teacher's College.  They changed to Memphis State that year, and later to University of Memphis.
  • The teams were together in Conference USA and now The American.  The 2008 St. Petersburg Bowl was while the Bulls were in the Big East, and was the only meeting of the teams between 2004 and 2013.
  • Past conferences for Memphis include the Mississippi Valley (1928-1934), the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1935-1941), the Missouri Valley (1968-1973) and Conference USA (1995-2013).
  • Saturday's game will mark the second consecutive ranked opponent for the Bulls.  It's the fifth time in program history that has happened, and the first time since 2014.
  • The Bulls have 22 takeaways on the season, and have had at least one in every game this year.
 
Saturday's game will be on ESPNU at 4 p.m.  We'll get started on radio at 2 p.m., exclusively on USF Bulls Unlimited through the free iHeart radio app.  We'll add on WDAE 95.3 FM and 620 AM at 3 p.m.
 
Another season of home games has somehow gotten by us.  It seems like we opened against Wisconsin just a few days ago.  For the 17 Bulls seniors, the time probably went even faster.  I hope you can get to the stadium on Saturday to honor them in their last home game.  
 
Horns Up!
 
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
Having completed just its 22nd season of football, and 19th at the FBS level, the USF football program has earned 10 bowl appearances, including a current run of four straight, and owns a record of 6-4 in bowl games. The Bulls have appeared in the national top 25 rankings in each of the past three seasons, including a program record run of 20 straight weeks in the top 25, and in 2018 reached the program's 150th win faster than any FBS program in state of Florida history. USF has posted a pair of 10-plus win seasons in the last three years, including a program-record 11 wins (11-2) in 2016, and logged 15 winning seasons overall. Since first taking the field in 1997, the USF program has reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings (2007), seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and 29 earn first-team all-conference selection.
 
Follow @USFFootball on twitter for all the latest information concerning the USF Football program.
– #GoBulls –
 
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