Greetings on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, and welcome to Memphis-Ole Miss at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. My job, directly from my living room couch, will be to bring a live blog about the game as it’s presented on TV. Feel free to comment as we go along.

It’s about 15 minutes before the telecast begins — CSS is showing the show it taped last night from the Liberty Bowl parking lot — and I wanted to share a funny story. Thursday night at the U of Memphis campus Holiday Inn, I attended the Tiger auction to raise money for the athletic department. Ran into Tommy West and we exchanged pleasantries for a minute. I told him, “Tommy, my Saturday morning golf group has an opening this week. Wanna play at 7:22 a.m.?” Tommy laughed, then started counting the hours. “Let’s see, 7:22, 8:22, 9:22, 10 … no, maybe I’d better not.” We both got a good chuckle. He didn’t play this morning (kinda wish I hadn’t either, based on the number of swings I took), so he should be well rested for the big opener.

So with that, welcome to the game. It’s quiet here in the living room. Comcast-willing, we’ll spend the rest of the day writing about the game. Kickoff coming soon.

I just noticed that Scott Cacciola has blogged about pregame drama. Check it out right below this blog.

The crowd looks … BIG. Large majority in Tiger blue, but some sections at LBMS are definitely showing Rebel red. Announcers are talking about the Rebels’ issues at quarterback the past three years. This is Seth Adams’ first big rodeo. Tigers won the toss and elect to receive. Here we go …

Great kickoff return by Michael Grandberry, with a facemask tacked on. Tigers start inside Rebel territory.

Martin Hankins completes his first two passes, the second to playmaker Duke Calhoun for a first down. Reverse to Steven Black loses a couple. The Rebel defense stiffens and the Tigers pooch punt inside the 10, with backup QB Matt Malouf doing the deed.

Adams doesn’t get much of a break for his first possession, deep in Rebel territory. With the benefit of hindsight, we’ll get to see if the struggling Ole Miss offense from last year has gotten better than the struggling Memphis defense from last year. Adams’ first pass, on second down, is a little dumpoff, but goes for a first down. Play-action on second down produces another Adams pass that goes for another first down.

Tiger pressure forces Adams to throw a third-down pass away, but the Tigers were offsides on their blitz. The penalty gives Ole Miss a first down in Memphis territory. BenJarvus Green-Ellis looks like a load to handle. Another Tiger penalty — personal foul facemask — puts the Rebels in great shape at the U of M 19. Emotions must be a bit high. Offsetting personal fouls negate a short Ole Miss gain. Now we’re getting the Michael Oher story, in brief, from the announcers. Adams lofts a high pass into the end zone and the Rebels are on the board after the TD toss to Greg Hardy. PAT is good and Ole Miss goes up, 7-0 with 7:09 left in the first. Nice, balanced opening drive by Ole Miss.

Hardy, normally a defender but inserted to catch the TD pass, hits Hankins as he throws, causing an incompletion. Hankins then overthrows a cut-in route under pressure and is intercepted. Things are looking good for Ole Miss. Memphis needs a good defensive sequence here.

Green-Ellis isn’t busting anything against the Tigers, but is getting good first-down yardage. Looks like the Rebel gameplan is to dink and dunk with passes and let Green-Ellis do the rest. Big play for the Tigers. Adams completes one of the middle, the ball is fumbled into the end zone and Quinton McCrary recovers for Memphis.

The announcers just revealed that Dexter McCluster broke his shoulder blade in a non-contact drill during the week and will miss five weeks. So that mystery is cleared up. He ate up the Tigers last year.

Starting from their 20, the Tigers start on the ground with Joe Doss, but not much there. Hankins then throws out wide to Steven Black and he scoots for a first down. Hankins then flips one up high for Carlos Singleton, the Tigers’ 6-8 receiver. He goes over a Rebel smallish defender and a gain to the 34 of Ole Miss just magically occurs. If the Tigers can exploit the size difference in their receivers, they will find success. Carlton Robinzine catches a quick screen and gains more yardage. The spread offense is confusing the Rebels now. Tiger receivers are running short routes and Hankins is delivering on time. Uh-oh, Miguel Barnes, running a reverse to the left, loses the ball and Ole Miss recovers inside the 10.

Say this for Ole Miss. The Rebs are letting Seth Adams play. Third down from the 10, Adams throws to Michael Wallace on a deep out for 23 yards. Ed Orgeron must have a great deal of confidence in the kid. The Tigers are challenging whether Wallace got a foot down inbounds, but we don’t get the benefit of repeated replays. Ruling on the field is upheld. Tiger defense is playing loose on Ole Miss receivers, giving Adams room to thread the needle (as they say). Another big third down for the Rebels coming up. Adams, with about an hour to throw, fires another first-down pass. Quarter ends, Ole Miss 7, Memphis 0.

Memphis is going to need to adjust defensively, or play better. The Tigers have yet to really stop the Rebs, and this could be the second 90+ yard drive if Ole Miss takes it to da house.

An ineligible receiver penalty slows the Rebs, and the Tigers step up and stop Green-Ellis twice. Eschewing barely more than a chip-shot field goal, Ole Miss goes on fourth down and Adams throws incomplete. Big stop for the Tigers. Three minutes into the second, still 7-0 Ole Miss.

Hankins throws a bullet to Earnest Williams for a first down in Ole Miss territory, then goes to the old reliable high pitch to Singleton for another first down at the Ole Miss 20. Hankins and Adams are both over 100 yards throwing. Ole Miss pressure forces Hankins out of the pocket and a sack, but too much aggressiveness leads to a personal foul. Tigers are in bidness at the Ole Miss 10. The running game isn’t getting much, even the reverses that get the speedy Tiger wideouts into the open field. But Hankins’ passing has been productive. Third and 9 at the 9, and Hankins goes over the middle to Robinzine, but it’s a short gain, so it’s field goal attempt time. Matt Reagan, one of the best kickers in the conference, pushes the 25-yarder to the right. Still 7-0 Ole Miss and Memphis must feel a bit frustrated.

And it shows. Green-Ellis takes it for 21 on first down, but the Tiger defense gets to Adams for the first sack of the day. Both teams favor the quick passing game, but it’s unclear whether Adams has the arm to go deep. Hankins can zip it downfield. Alton Starr separates a Rebel receiver from the ball on third down and the Rebs are forced to punt the first time. Touchback.

The Tigers can’t convert on third down, so Ole Miss will get at least one more chance to extend its lead before intermission (3:41 left in the half). And it happened fast. The Rebels turn people loose and block the punt, with Kendrick Lewis recovering for a touchdown. The PAT makes it Ole Miss 14, Memphis 0.

There’s still plenty of time in the half, but the Tigers could use something good to happen. A catch and some jitterbugging by Maurice Jones keeps a Tiger drive alive, then Duke Calhoun catches a quick out and gets it to midfield. Man, the Tigers have some receivers! A dump pass to Doss is one step from a big gain, but Tigers get a first down to the 30 with about 2 minutes left.

After completing 8 in a row on the drive, Hankins looks for Duke Calhoun, but is picked off by Dustin Mouzon at the goal line. A hundred yards later and it’s 20-0 Ole Miss (the PAT was missed). There’s a whole second half left, but that was a tough blow and a big-time play.

We’ll be back for the third quarter. Go grab a cold one.

Second half about to begin. Tigers will kick off. For this to be a game, they need to stop Ole Miss quickly and get on the board. Really, the Memphis defense has been good, allowing only one touchdown. But mistakes have been costly on the offensive side.

Right away, the momentum shifts with a fumbled kickoff, so Memphis gets it at the Ole Miss 43. Joe Doss is on crutches, so expect a lot of T.J. Pitts and Barnes. Hankins’ first pass is picked off, but pass interference was apparently the reason. Another break for Memphis and the Tigers MUST capitalize. But they don’t. Ole Miss pressure — the Tigers didn’t come out after halftime ready to block, apparently — keeps the Tigers at bay and they punt.

We interrupt this blog for a quick rant. I know Joe Paterno does it this way, but something annoys me about uniforms without names on the back. Now back to the game, just in time for Michael Wallace to catch one over the middle but fumbles trying for extra yardage and the Tigers’ Jake Kasser recovers. Tigers’ ball at the Ole Miss 38. Here’s another mystery. Joe Doss came out on crutches after halftime, but now he’s on the field. Now he’s OFF the field because Hankins is hit as he throws and Ashlee Palmer grabs the fluttering pass for Ole Miss. Two trips into Ole Miss territory in the second half yield a punt and a pick.

OK, here’s the bottom line. The Ole Miss defensive line is dominating the Memphis O-line. Hankins is hit on a blitz and another flutter ball is picked off by Marcus Tillman. The Tigers can’t open holes to run through and are starting to have problems protecting Hankins, who has thrown three picks, but was hit on two of them. Ole Miss now deep in Tiger territory. This quarter has been ugly for both sides. Another facemask penalty and a Green-Ellis line plunge gets it inside the Tiger 5. A Greg Terrell sack of Seth Adams limits the Rebels to a field goal. Late in the third, it’s Ole Miss 23, Memphis 0.

Wow, what an effort by Maurice Jones. He catches a Hankins pass at the 10, spins to his left and dives into the end zone. Before the PAT, Ole Miss challenges whether Jones got to paydirt before his knee hit the ground. Sure looks like a reversal is coming. If it’s not a TD, it’s about a yard away. The challenge is upheld, but Doss worms his way in for Memphis’ first score of the day with 1:28 left in the third. PAT is good (hooked badly by Reagan, but it sneaked through). It’s Ole Miss 23, Memphis 7. As they say in basketball, it’s just a two-possession game.

Tigers hold on defense as the third quarter concludes.

Memphis on the move as the fourth begins, but after Doss breaks for a first down, he stays down after the tackle. The ankle is going to be a problem, it appears.

Uh-oh (again), Hankins’ swing to Pitts hits the ground, Greg Hardy picks it up and takes it in for a Rebel touchdown. From where I sit, it isn’t a lateral (which is the ruling on the field), but it’s hard to tell. Now we wait. No reversal means the Tigers will have a monster hill to climb.

Call is reversed. It’s fourth down, but it’s NOT 30-7. On fourth, Hankins fires to Calhoun for a first. Big-time momentum change alert! Hankins’ third-down pass to Calhoun falls incomplete in the end zone. Tigers need to go for it on fourth. They do and Hankins squeezes one through coverage for a first to Singleton, Hankins’ 34th completion of the day (Tiger record).

Hankins to Singleton again gets it inside the 10. Interesting move. Matt Malouf, more of a running QB, comes in. It pays off as Malouf scores on a designed QB keeper. Greg Hardy, from Briarcrest Christian, has made huge plays for the Rebels. Now Malouf, from Oxford, helps the Tigers. As the Tigers take a timeout to study this two-point conversion, the fans are going crazy.

Hankins back in for the two-pointer. He fires to Calhoun inside and Duke dives across to make it Ole Miss 23, Memphis 15. Still plenty of time left. Hankins will set some passing records today and the energy of this game has definitely changed.

The Tigers keep squibbing kickoffs, which leads me to believe that Tommy West doesn’t think he has a kicker who can get it to the end zone with the ball moved back to the 30. Oh my (as Dick Enberg would say). Flags fly as Dontae Reed picks off Adams, but the Tigers jumped before the snap. Big break for the Rebels. Adams throws a completion inside Memphis territory. On a third-and-2, Adams finds Shay Hodge for a big first down at the 24. The Tigers, eager to make penetration on the line, jump the gun again. Clock ticking away, under 6 minutes as the Rebels methodically get closer to a back-breaking score.

Joshua Shene’s kick is partially blocked by Terrell and it plunks the goal post before falling harmlessly to the ground. Five minutes left and the Tigers get it back. Hankins completes a couple to the 39 of Memphis. After an ugly third quarter, this has turned out to be fun to watch.

Pitts ekes out a first down and then Hankins goes back to throwing. He’s going to need Tommy John surgery after this. Two great jukes by Miguel Barnes nets another first down. Wide receiver screen to Maurice Jones takes it to the 21. The Ole Miss defense looks as worn out as Hankins’ arm will be.

The running game is working as the clock ticks away. If the Tigers score and tie it, there’ll be no time for Ole Miss to come back.

Second down at the 8, 39 seconds left. Nearly picked off, but incomplete. Third down and the Tigers need to talk about it. Gotta love college football Saturdays!

Hankins to Calhoun over the middle for six. Flag — Ole Miss offsides — declined. Think they’ll go for two? I think so too. Hankins rolls right, lofts one up, but it falls incomplete. Ole Miss 23, Memphis 21. Just seconds remaining.

Ole Miss recovers the and that will just about be that. This was a night-and-day game. Rebels took the first half, Tigers dominated the second. A bunch of turnovers were costly and if you remember, the missed first-half field goal hurt as well.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.