The Memphis Tigers will close out the regular season with their final two games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. This Saturday, the Tigers host the UCF Knights at 1 p.m.

Fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable and non-breakable food items to the game to deposit in the bins which will be located at Gates 1, 3 and 4, as well as out at the M Club tent. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is collecting the items for the Memphis Food Bank as part of a Conference USA team competition.

The game this weekend also marks the first public appearance for TOM III (Tigers of Memphis), the live Bengal tiger mascot of the U of M. TOM III, born on August 31 in Rock Springs, Wis., arrived in Memphis on October 23, and is being cared for by the Highland Hundred Tiger Guard. He was donated to the booster organization, which funds all of his care, by the Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue & Educational Center. The rescue center's founders Jeff Kozlowski and Jenny Meyer will be at the game, and will be introduced at the end of the first quarter. TOM III will arrive just before kickoff and will be part of the pre-game March Around.

The Tigers enter this weekend's game with a 5-5 overall record; 3-3 in Conference USA, after defeating SMU, 31-26, two weeks ago in Dallas. Memphis is still in the hunt for the C-USA East Division title, and is currently tied with Marshall. East Carolina holds a narrow one-game lead in the East, and still faces UAB and UTEP to close out the regular season. Memphis wraps up the season next weekend with Tulane, and Marshall will face Rice and Tulsa in its final two contests.

Saturday's game will be the fifth meeting between Memphis and UCF on the gridiron. Last year, UCF defeated Memphis 56-20 in the first Conference USA game played in the Knights' new home, Bright House Networks Stadium.

Tiger Success Versus Coaches' Alma Maters

For the third time this year, a member of the Memphis coaching staff faces off against his alma mater. This Saturday, Tiger assistant coach Darin Hinshaw matches wits against UCF, the school he played for during his collegiate career. Hinshaw earned his bachelor's degree in 1993 and his master's degree in 1996 from UCF. He played quarterback for the Knights from 1991-94 and is still third on the UCF all-time list for passing yardage with 9,000 yards. During his time under center in Orlando, UCF had a combined 28-16 record, including a 9-3 mark and an NCAA Division I-AA playoff appearance in 1993.

This is the third of four times this year that Memphis coaches face their alma maters. In late September, Kenny Ingram coached against his alma mater, Arkansas State, and the Tigers posted a 29-17 victory over the Red Wolves on Sept. 27. In late October, Lytrel Pollard coached against his alma mater, Southern Miss, and Memphis defeated the Golden Eagles 36-30 on Oct. 25. The Tigers have one other assistant that will face his alma mater later this season -- Garret Chachere versus Tulane Nov. 29.

Florida Tigers

The Memphis roster has 10 players that call the Sunshine State home. Lavaris Edwards (Miami), Maurice Holloway (Sanford), Kindly Jacques (Fort Lauderdale), Steven Joachim (Miami), Curtis Johnson (Miami), Charlie Jones (Miami), Clay Lee (Orlando), Joel McLeod (Miramar), Bryan Wright (Miami) and Vinny Zaccario (Tampa) are from the state of Florida. On the other side, UCF has no players from Tennessee on its roster.

On This Date

Memphis has a record of 6-5 when it plays Nov. 22 games. The last time the Tigers played a Nov. 22 contest was the 2003 campaign, and Memphis posted a 21-16 victory over Cincinnati at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Memphis played a couple of memorable games in its history on Nov. 22. The first came in the 1956 season when the Tigers played East Tennessee State in the Burley Bowl on Nov. 22 in Johnson City, Tenn. In their first-ever bowl game, the Tigers broke open a tie game with a 20-0 third quarter en route to the 32-12 victory.

The other Nov. 22 game that Tiger Nation will remember is Memphis' 69-19 blowout victory over rival Louisville at the Liberty Bowl in the 1969 season. Near the end of that game, then Louisville head coach and current ESPN Gameday host Lee Corso was spotted waving a white towel to signal surrender.

Tiger Success in November

Memphis has a 13-8 record in the month of November since 2003. In the 2003, 2004 and 2007 campaigns, the Tigers posted 3-1 records in those stretch runs. Memphis opened play in the month of November this year with a 31-26 win over SMU in Dallas on Nov. 8. The Tigers host UCF this weekend, and Tulane Nov. 29 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium to close out their November slate.

Tulane Game Picked Up For TV

CSS announced it will televise the Memphis versus Tulane football game on Saturday, Nov. 29. The kickoff time has now been changed to 2:30 p.m. CT at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The Tulane meeting is the regular-season finale for the Memphis Tigers as the squad plays its last two games on its home field. The Nov. 29th contest with the Green Wave will also mark the final game at the Liberty Bowl for 25 Tiger seniors. The group will be honored prior to kickoff.

Memphis has had six games televised this season including the Marshall and East Carolina contests that were also carried by CSS. In addition, ESPN aired the game against Louisville and CBS College Sports Network produced the Rice, UAB and Southern Miss games.

Steele Rushes For 1,000-Plus In 2008

Junior Curtis Steele became only the fourth Tiger in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season in the Tigers' last game versus SMU. In that contest, Steele rushed for 123 yards to bring his season total to 1,002 yards. Steele is the first Tiger to achieve 1,000-plus yards since DeAngelo Williams in 2005. Williams logged three straight 1000-yard seasons (2003-05); Gerard Arnold logged 1,059 yards in 1998; and Dave Casinelli tallied 1,016 yards in 1963.

Streaking Tiger

Junior receiver Duke Calhoun extended his receiving streak to 34 games with his reception of 13 yards versus SMU. He has caught a pass in each of his 34 career games played. He missed the UCF game last season with a knee injury. The 34-game streak is a school record, as Calhoun surpassed Russell Copeland, who lettered for the Tigers from 1989-92 and tallied 27 straight games with a catch. Heading into the UCF game, Calhoun ranks tied for 11th nationally in active receiving streaks. The current leader is Rice's Jarrett Dillard with 456consecutive games with a reception.

Singleton Ties TD Record

With his 18-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter against SMU, Carlos Singleton tied the school record for career touchdowns with 19. The previous record holder was Tavares Gideon, who totaled 19 TD receptions in two seasons (2002 & 2004). Singleton enters the UCF game leading the receiving corps with 48 receptions for 740 yards and five TDs.

20-Yard Runs In 2008

In all of last season, the Tigers only logged two total runs of 20 or more yards. Through 10 games of 2008, Memphis has tallied 10 runs of 20 or more yards, and seven of those were by RB Curtis Steele. Steele has three runs over 30 yards, including a team-high 46-yard rush in the ASU game. In four of the last six games, Steele boasts at least one run of 20-plus yards. In addition, the Tigers have scored from the run in eight of 10 games this season, and have recorded at least one run over 15 yards in all 10 games.