TripleA
Legend
Posts: 58,464
Joined: Jun 2008
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I Root For: Memphis Tigers
Location: The woods of Bammer
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RE: Revival of Memphis Football
(07-03-2019 12:43 PM)3601 Wrote: (07-03-2019 10:29 AM)slktigers Wrote: (07-02-2019 10:13 AM)TripleA Wrote: (07-02-2019 09:28 AM)cmt Wrote: (07-01-2019 08:36 PM)EarthBoundMisfit Wrote: don't forget Baylor and Kansas State, and Northwestern.
Until Art Briles, and Bill Snyder....those two schools were perennial losers....as was Northwestern.
We were rarely the worst team, but we had never been great, ever, the Burley Bowl (1956) and Pasadena Bowl (1971) were our only claims to fame. We won the MVC in 1968, 69 and 71. The problem was almost every other team had won something at some point.
Baylor has been to 24 bowl games, way back tho the Orange bowl in 1951, Gator in 1956 and 1960, Sugar in 1956, Cotton in 1974 and 80, etc, etc, etc.
Kansas State didn't do anything until the 1990's
Northwestern won the Rose bowl in 1948 and lost there in 1995 and had a few other brief moments of glory.
Even Tulane had been to the Sugar and Rose Bowls in the 1930's and the Liberty Bowl in 1970 and 79 and had the 12-0 season with a Liberty Bowl win in 1998.
We hadn't accomplished very much and are still looking for an AAC championship game victory.
We had never been great, ever? We were for 4 years, at least, from 1960-63. We went 8-2, 8-2, 8-1 and 9-0-1.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/memphis/
In 1960, we had the 12th best record (8-2) out of 113 football schools. We were 2nd nationally in points per game (30.3), and 22nd in points allowed (8.5). Our only losses were to Ole Miss, who was great that year, and Miss State.
In 1961, our record (8-2) was 10th best out of 111. We were 3rd in the country in points scored per game (33.2), and 8th in defensive points allowed (7.5)
In 1962, our record (8-1) was 5th best out of 120 teams. We were 3rd in the country in scoring offense, and 10th in scoring defense.
In 1963, we had our best team ever (9-0-1). Second best record out of 120 teams. 27th in scoring offense, 2nd in scoring defense. Harry Schuh was a first team All American, and went on to play in the NFL for several years before injuries got him. IIRC, we had another All-American, and a couple others went on to the NFL.
And the capper, we finished 14th in the national poll that year. Our only blemish was a scoreless tie with Ole Miss, a game we should have won (I was there). Ole Miss was ranked #2 in the country at the time, and finished 3rd in the poll that year, IIRC.
We also beat Miss State, who was 7-2-2 that year, a team that beat Tennessee, Auburn and LSU, and tied Ole Miss and Florida.
Our only drawbacks were not being in a conference, thus not getting a bowl game each year (you had to be in a conference to make one, and there weren't many bowl games), and not having a great strength of schedule. But back then, there weren't that many great teams we could schedule.
At any rate, it's just not true that we were never great in football. It just happened so long ago that only really old Tiger fans remember it.
What is the actual story about why Memphis was an Independent during those year?
There were tons of independents until SC joined the SEC and FSU joined the ACC. It is not accurate that you had to be in a conference to get a bowl bid. That just isn't true at all.
You're right. I should have clarified. There weren't many bowl games back then, and it was definitely a handicap if you weren't in a football conference. Not impossible, but more difficult being an independent, as opposed to winning a conference.
I do recall that some bowls had rules that you had to be a conference champ, or at least have a conference affiliation, to get a bid. Certainly the Rose Bowl did, for example. Their ties with the B10 and Pac go back as long as I can remember.
I just looked up 1960 as a baseline, since that's the era I was referencing. There were 9 bowls that year. 18 teams. Three of them were independents. Navy in the Orange Bowl, and Penn State and Oregon in the Liberty Bowl. So, not impossible, as I incorrectly stated, but certainly a big obstacle.
What sticks with me from then is that schools who didn't have seasons as good as ours were picked over us, and conference affiliation was a big reason.
And according to this site, there weren't "tons of independents." I counted 27, while there were 11 conferences with a total of 86 teams, or 76% of the 113 football schools listed. Assuming this site is accurate.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/yea...bowls.html
(This post was last modified: 07-19-2019 07:54 PM by TripleA.)
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