Senior Day is always special. It is nice to acknowledge young men who have given themselves to the school for as many as five years. There is a group of redshirt seniors who will have gone to four bowl games in their years as a Tiger. That’s right, Memphis players in four bowl games. They are Arron Bentley; Jamarcus Gaither (who was injured earlier in the season); Abraham Holloway; Taz Knockum (Isn’t that one of the greatest football names ever?); and Andy Smith. These four guys were a part of twice as many bowls as the University was prior to their arrival. I want to congratulate and say thank you to those guys.

The Tigers are losing very little off of this year’s team for 2008. I’ve got a feeling the roll will continue into next year.

Let’s say the Tigers win out. That’s a win tomorrow and the bowl game. That would make them 8-5. Tommy West’s previous seasons were 2001 5-6, 2002 3-9, 2003 9-4, 2004 8-4, 2005 7-5 and 2006 2-10 for a aggregate total of 42-42. Which would make him the only coach at Memphis in the last 33 years to have a .500 record. What’s my point? My point it that the “higher standard” that is often discussed is being set by Tommy West.

I always get sad prior to the final home game. I know that sounds a tad bit melodramatic but hear me out. College football’s attraction is never really about the game. It is about all the tailgating time you get with friends. Some who you don’t see at any other time during the year. To me, football is about friendships as much as anything else. So it is kind of sad to see it come to a close for 8 to 9 months.

If you’re a Memphis person (gotta be PC) then this could end up being a big time banner academic year. The football team will go to a bowl. The women’s soccer team had a record breaking season including a trip to the NCAA’s. The basketball team had its highest preseason ranking in the history of the school and a National Championship is within reach. The baseball team should reach the NCAA tournament for the second straight season for the first time since 90-91. Sure there have been some set backs but all in all, things are looking up. Now if we can just upgrade more facilities.

Here’s a trivia question. Memphis and Southern Methodist have played ___ many games prior to 2007. Who won the game? Who was the Tigers head coach at the time?

Finally, come to the game tomorrow. As I have said previously this team’s return to the post-season is worthy of respect. You can crap the season all you want but the fact of the matter is that the have rebounded quite well. Please show them some love by showing up.