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Freshman tailback DeAngelo Williams tied for fifth in the nation in average yards per carry with a 6.6 yard mark.
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Sophomore quarterback Danny Wimprine set the Memphis mark for yards passing in a season with 2,820 and for TD passes with 23 in '02.
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It started with so much promise but due to a number of key injuries, the '01 season collasped in the later stages and forced the U of M to take drastic measures. Posting a record of 4-7, Rip Scherer was relieved of duties after six seasons as the Memphis head football coach. The Tigers opened the season winning three of the first four games and four of the first six contests. Led by three quarterbacks, Memphis claimed wins over Louisiana-Monroe, Arkansas State, Army and East Carolina
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before the late season swoon. With injuries knocking out Travis Anglin and Neil Suber, the Tigers were forced to turn to inexperienced backups. The team lost its final five games of the season and on November 20th Scherer was dismissed. A search began immediately for his
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2000s
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a "Hail-Mary" pass that was caught deep in Memphis territory. Two plays later Tennessee scored and captured a hard-fought 17-16 win. The Tigers had proven to the football world that the 1999 edition was formidable. Memphis would go on to post a 4-2 Conference USA record and finished the season tied for second in the league. Led by freshman quarterback Travis Anglin, the Tigers won three of the final four games of the season, including league wins over Army, Tulane and Cincinnati. The 5-6 mark was the best record under head coach Rip Scherer since his arrival and caused the Memphis administration to extend his contract through the 2004 season. Six new assistant coaches were added to the staff in the spring of 2000, including Tommy West, Tim Walton, Jimmy Kiser, Clay Helton, Rick Mallory and Rick Whitt.
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yard acrobatic return, which again tied the score at 14-14. Both teams battled around midfield until the six minute mark of the fourth quarter when Jeff Hall connected on a 28-yard field goal. With 6:01 left in the contest, Memphis took the kickoff and mounted a 70-yard, 12-play drive which culminated in an Anderson to Chris Powers touchdown pass to seal the Memphis victory, 21-17. The Tiger defense held the final 34 seconds as Tiger fans poured over the walls and tore down the goalposts. The 1998 football campaign produced a record of 2-9 but there were several bright spots encapsuled within the season. Junior tailback Gerard Arnold broke the University of Memphis single season rushing record by gaining 1,059 yards. The 36-year old record of 1,016 yards had been set by the late Dave Casinelli in 1962. Arnold had six 100 yard rushing games en route to breaking the record. The Lexington, Tennessee, native completed the 1998 season as the nation's 33rd ranked running back. Arnold was named to the All-Conference USA second team as a running back. Freshman kicker Ryan White, a semi-finalist for the Lou Groza Award, became the only kicker in the nation to have a perfect year. The soccer-style kicker booted 16-of-16 field goals and 22-of-22 PATs on the season. He finished the season ranked 18th in the nation in kicking. White was named the All-Conference USA kicker and also was selected to the C-USA AllFreshman Team. The 1999 season saw the fortunes of Tiger football start to climb. With new defensive coordinator John Thompson added to the staff, the defense took a new and aggressive approach to the game. After two three-point losses to Ole Miss and Mississippi State, the Tigers gained their first win of the season over Arkansas State. With renewed enthusiasm the team left for Knoxville to take on the 7th ranked Tennessee Volunteers, a 25-point favorite. But it was the Memphis that took the fight to the Vols. After three Ryan White field goals and an 82-yard touchdown pass from Neil Suber to Ken Coutain, the U of M found itself leading Tennessee 16-10 with less than two minutes remaining in the contest. Tennessee mounted one final drive. On what appeared to be a fourth down quarterback sack by the UM defense, UT quarterback Tee Martin launched
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Tiger History
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replacement and it took just 10 days for the University to hire Tommy West, the Tigers defensive coordinator, as its 21st head coach. West coordinated the Memphis defense in 2000 and led his unit to a national ranking of fifth in total defense and first in rushing defense. The 2001 football season was one of promise and improvement as the Tigers turned their "spread" offense into an exciting brand of football that found the youthful squad battling for a bowl bid until the final four seconds of the last game of the season. Under Tommy West's direction, the Tigers defeated such schools as Houston, Army, South Florida and Conference USA power Southern Mississippi en route to a 5-6 finish. Freshman quarterback Danny Wimprine threw for a freshman record 1,329 yards and 14 touchdowns and junior tailback Dante Brown rushed for 902 yards and 11 touchdowns. Brown set a Memphis record by scoring four rushing touchdowns in the win over Houston and his 902 yards rank as the fourth highest total in Memphis history. The Tiger football team fell short of their intended goals in 2002 and finished the season with a record of 3-9. However, numerous individual records fell as sophomore quarterback Danny Wimprine rewrote the passing record book and freshman tailback DeAngelo Williams let everyone know that he is the Ti-