My family purchased season tickets to Tiger Football in 1983 and from that day on I was hooked. Below are what I consider to be the Best Games in Memphis History.
Sept. 3, 1983 Memphis vs Ole Miss Memphis beat Ole Miss 37-17 for the first time since 1976. Joyous Memphis fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts. Head coach Rex Dockery would be carried off the field by his team as fireworks exploded in the night’s sky.
Nov 24, 1983 Memphis at Louisville 45-7 Rex Dockery led Memphis to a blowout and the team’s first winning season in six years. It would also be his last. Less than a month later, he died in a plane crash in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee along with Chris Faros, Charles Greenhill and Glen Jones.
Oct. 6, 1984 Memphis vs #6 Florida State. Bobby Bowden’s team benefited from two pass interference calls against the Tigers that set up a game tying field goal with no time left on the clock 17-17. Florida State would never play the Tigers in Memphis again.
Oct. 20, 1984 Memphis vs Mississippi State. The Tigers beat the Bulldogs 23-12 in what may have been the wettest football game at the Liberty Bowl. The thunderstorm caused flooding on the sidelines and the blue paint puddles in the end zones. The storm also caused wind damage in Shelby County. The wet conditions did not benefit Mississippi State who fumbled three times in the first quarter.
Sept. 7, 1985 Memphis vs Ole Miss Eric Fairs intercepted an Ole Miss pass with 5:21 left to go to set up at 20 yard field goal with 31 seconds left in the game by Don Glosson, tying the game 17-17 before a standing room only crowd at the Liberty Bowl.
Sept. 5, 1987 Memphis vs Ole Miss The Tigers used a strong goal line defense and a turnover free offense to down Ole Miss in the newly renovated Liberty Bowl 16-10 before a then record crowd of 64,187. It was the third time that Memphis had not lost a home game to Ole Miss in a row.
Oct. 10, 1987 Memphis vs Alabama Memphis beat the #15 Crimson Tide 13-10 at the Liberty Bowl on a sun drenched October afternoon. The Tigers held the Crimson Tide to only 95 yards of total offense in the second half. Memphis would finish the season 5-5-1.
Oct. 8, 1988 Memphis at Florida Memphis, coached by former Florida assistant coach Charlie Bailey, came into the swamp and stunned the #14 Florida Gators 17-11. Eddie Moore intercepted two passes and Glen Rogers Jr. and Steve Smith added one interception each. As the seconds would down on the clock, the voice of the Tigers, Paul Hartledge described the final interception this way, “The coaches next door are beating on the window. Oh Bob get excited!” (Color Commentator Bob Rush) “Excited? I’m in shock.”
Sept. 2, 1991 Memphis at Southern California Former USC assistant coach Chuck Stobart led his team to Los Angeles for their first game of the season and shocked #12 USC 24-10. Keith Benton and Xavier Crawford led the second half offensive surge that powered the win.
Sept. 26, 1992 Memphis vs Arkansas The Tigers upset the Hogs 22-6 on a Mid-South Fair night at the Liberty Bowl.
Sept 4, 1993 Memphis at Mississippi State Memphis went to Starkville and knocked off the #23 ranked Bulldogs 45-35.
Sept. 25, 1993 Memphis at Arkansas Played in a driving rain at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium, Memphis beat the Hogs 6-0.
Nov. 6, 1993 Memphis again beat Ole Miss at the Liberty Bowl 19-3. In the second half, record setting quarterback Steve Matthews was knocked out of the game when an Ole Miss player broke his leg. The Tigers would finish their season 6-5 for the second year in a row but would not receive a bowl bid.
Sept. 24, 1994 Memphis vs Arkansas Memphis beat Arkansas for the third time in three years 16-15.
Nov. 5, 1994 Memphis at Ole Miss A morning severe thunderstorm blew out the windows of the press box three hours before the game foreshadowing what would be a bad day for Ole Miss and a historic day for the Tigers. Memphis beat Ole Miss for the first time in the history of the series in Oxford 17-16. Coach Chuck Stobart’s team finished the season 6-5 for the third straight season. The following weekend Memphis would lose to Southern Miss at home. Southern Miss would go to the Independence Bowl and Memphis would be shut out from postseason again. Coach Stobart would not return.
Sept 14, 1996 Memphis at Missouri An ailing Paul Hartledge in the broadcast booth would call Memphis’s 19-16 win over Missouri in Mizzu’s first home game under the new lights at their stadium.
Nov. 9, 1996 Memphis vs Tennessee In what is probably one of the greatest games in Tiger football history, Memphis defeated Heisman Trophy candidate Peyton Manning keying on the same flaws in Tennessee’s offense that Florida had earlier in the season. Memphis defense was strong and minor miracles like the return where a Memphis player’s knee never touched the ground and an incredible catch at the one yard line propelled the Tigers to an upset over the #6 Vols 21-17. Two years later with a lot of the same players, Tennessee would be National Champions.
Sept. 6, 2003 Memphis vs Ole Miss In Tommy West’s third years as head coach, he led the Tigers in a come from behind victory over Ole Miss on ESPN2 at the Liberty Bowl. The Tigers scored 23 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win 44-34 before a packed house. In 2009, Ole Miss would tell Memphis that it was not interested in playing the Tigers because there was no fan interest. Ole Miss replaced Memphis with Jacksonville State for their 2010 opener.
Nov. 22, 2003 Memphis vs Cincinnati Memphis notched win #8 on the season beating the Bearcats 21-16. It was the first time since 1973 that the Tigers had an 8 win season.
Dec. 16, 2003 Memphis vs North Texas For the first time since 1971, Memphis played in a bowl. The Tigers defeated the Mean Green 27-17 in the New Orleans Bowl.
Sept. 4, 2004 Memphis at Ole Miss The Tigers beat the Rebels for the second time in school history in Oxford 20-13 before a crowd of 61,112. The win along with a victory over Chattanooga the following week propelled the Tigers to the #25 spot in the polls.
Sept 18, 2004 Memphis at Arkansas State The #25 ranked Tigers defeated Arkansas State 47-35 in Jonesboro. Memphis rallied for being down at halftime for the win but the voters must have read the halftime score and then voted as Memphis was knocked out of the polls the following week despite starting the season 3-0.
Nov. 4, 2004 Memphis vs Louisville Memphis was showcased on Thursday night football on ESPN against #14 Louisville. The game was a gunfight with Memphis finally being outscored 49-56. The Tigers would go on to face Bowling Green in the GMAC Bowl but would lose after DeAngelo Williams’ leg was broken in the first half.
Dec. 26, 2005 Memphis vs Akron Memphis would beat the Zips in the Motor City Bowl 38-31 in DeAngelo Williams’ final game in a Memphis uniform.
Dec. 21, 2007 Memphis vs Florida Atlantic. Memphis returned to the New Orleans Bowl but the outcome wasn’t as nice was the last time losing 27-44.
Dec. 20, 2008 Memphis vs USF Memphis played their fifth bowl in six years but lost the St. Petersburg Bowl 14-41.
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