Memphis 33, UT Chattanooga 14

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this fall to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA football coverage. Today, our Memphis Correspondent Kyle Eaton recaps the Memphis Tigers 33-14 win over UT Chatanooga.

It is weird to say, but the Tigers looked worse in Saturday's win over the Mocs than the previous week's loss to the Ole Miss Rebels. The whole day, the Tigers were just a bit off, missing some easy passes, and failing to take control of a game that they could have easily won by forty. But, then again, the nature of the game is winning, and that is exactly what the Tigers did Saturday night.

Both teams came out of the gate very sluggishly, and it was not until the Mocs posted a 7-0 lead that the Tigers began to start clicking on the field. The Tigers were able to answer the score quickly with a trick play. Hankins handed to Joe Doss who then handed the ball to wide out Mario Pratcher on a reverse. Pratcher then looked down field and hit Hankins on a throw down the right side of the field for a touchdown. Sadly, after the inventive play calling, the Tigers still trailed the Mocs as new place kicker Trey Adams nailed the upright in his extra point try.

The kicking game started roughly for the Tigers on Saturday, with Patrick Byrnes opening the game with a kickoff out of bounds, and Adams missing an extra point and a couple of missed field goal attempts. But both players rebounded nicely with Byrnes getting more distance on his kickoffs and Adams drilling two second quarter field goals.

Hankins looked unstoppable against the Rebels in the opener, with pinpoint accuracy and extreme confidence on the field. This week, Hankins looked like a different player. He routinely missed high on his throws and seemed rattled on many plays. In his own admission, Hankins should have had a better day, but he still threw for nearly 300 yards and one score. Hopefully Hankins' performance against the Mocs was him having some jitters in his home opener and it is out of his system for the rest of the season.

The biggest positives of the game were the play of the Tiger defense and the emergence of true freshman Duke Calhoun. After be dominated last weekend in Oxford, many fans were worried that Mocs were going to run all over the Tigers. The Mocs have Eldra Buckley at running back, a very talented player that Tigers had recruited out of high school. In last year's match-up, Buckley ran all over the Tiger defenders, gaining nearly 200 yards. This year, Buckley did run for 100 yards, but he did not control the game.

Duke Calhoun showed all of the Memphis faithful why the Tigers wanted him at receiver so badly this year. In his first home game as a Tiger, Duke hauled in four receptions for 109 yards. As the game went along, spectators could see Hankins gaining a comfort level with Duke, developing another weapon at the Tigers' disposal.

The Tigers suffered two injuries in the game that raised some concern. Starting half back Joseph Doss rolled his ankle and was taken out of the game. Doss wanted to return to the game to start the second half, but Coach Tommy West opted to rest him for next week. Back-up quarterback Will Hudgens also left the game with an apparent leg injury, but was able to return for the last offensive series for the Tigers. However, news came out Monday morning stating the Hudgens has suffered a fractured fibula and will be out for the remainder of the season. In 2005, the Tigers' top two quarterbacks, Byrne and Hudgens, suffered broken legs within the first month of the season. In 2004, Hudgens was sidelined after hurting his knee in a dunk contest.