? What will happen this time? One guess is as good as another.
But whatever happens, as history suggests, it should be worth the price of admission and memories that last a lifetime. At least that?s been the case the last two times Arkansas State and Memphis have waged war on the football field.
Arkansas State hosts cross-river rival Memphis as the two schools separated by 70 miles and the ?Old Mississip? face each other tonight for the 54th time in a series that dates all the way to 1914. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Indian Stadium.
While the Tigers lead the overall series 27-21-5, the last two meetings have put a twist on what was already a heated rivalry. Both games were won in the final minutes or seconds in unpredictable fashion.
That?s exactly what one should expect when Arkansas State and Memphis meet, according to ASU quarterback Corey Leonard.
?It really is an unpredictable game,? Leonard said. ?Any time you play a rival, it?s always that way. One team could be undefeated and one team might not have a win for the season, but any time you play a rival that?s close to you, anything can happen. It?s usually which team comes out and wants it more. You can throw talent, you can throw skill, you can throw scheme, you can throw it all out the window when it comes to a rivalry.?
If anybody knows about unpredictable finishes or the extremes of the ASU-Memphis series, Leonard is more than qualified to share his wisdom on it.
Last year Leonard hurled a 53-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the game as the Indians used the Hail Mary to pull a 26-23 victory away from what appeared to be the sure-handed grips of defeat. Wide receiver Patrick Higgins pulled down the football amidst a crowd of Memphis defenders and, after an officials? review confirmed the catch, elation erupted along the ASU sideline.
A year has passed since it happened, and Leonard still finds himself in the middle of conversations or answering questions about the play that he calls the most memorable of his football career.
?I?d be a very rich man if I had a quarter for all the times I?ve been asked about that play,? Leonard said. ?I would be rich enough to where I wouldn?t even worry about trying to make it to the next level. I could just sit around and do whatever I want. I could probably buy most of this school.?
The ending was almost as unpredictable as the finish in 2004 when the Tigers last visited Jonesboro.
Before a record crowd of more than 30,000 fans, Arkansas State led 35-26 with under three minutes to play. But Memphis scored three touchdowns in the final 2:45, using a fumble return for a touchdown and an interception to set up another TD for another highly unlikely victory.
Arkansas State coach Steve Roberts has been on both sides and knows the feeling of elation as well as the misery of losing such close ballgames.
?Every game is unpredictable,? Roberts said. ?You never know what is going to happen in any ballgame, and that?s held true with this series and a lot of other games that we?ve played.?
Leonard wasn?t around in 2004 for Arkansas State?s meltdown that ended with a 47-35 loss as the home fans in a huge crowd filed quietly out of Indian Stadium. But just because Leonard wasn?t there to witness it doesn?t mean he hasn?t heard the stories.
When it comes to Arkansas State and Memphis State, no matter what the outcome, the stories circulate among the players, and they rarely forget.
?I wasn?t here then. I came in 2005, but I?ve heard all about it,? Leonard said. ?Things like that aren?t easily forgotten.?
From Memphis? standpoint, last year?s ending was almost impossible to explain.
The Tigers had coverage all around ASU?s Higgins, but he still made the catch. Memphis coach Tommy West would later say his defense allowed Leonard to roll and set up perfectly to make the play.
The rest was in the hands of fate, and it?s still hard for West to think about.
?You have to move on, as everybody says, because you?ve got another game the next week,? West said. ?But you don?t forget those kind of things. That?s a hard play to make, but you?ve got to make your plays. They made the plays.?
For both teams it appeared to be a turning point in the season.
The Indians finally settled on Leonard as their starting quarterback and went on to finish 6-6, narrowly missing a bowl bid. The Tigers, on the other hand, lost their next five games before winning their season finale to finish an ugly 2-10 season.
Leonard thinks the Hail Mary play had effects that played out the rest of the season for both ASU and Memphis.
?For them I think that was a pivotal point in their season,? Leonard said. ?For us, to come out and take advantage of that last play, I think it was a pivotal point in our season, too. It was definitely one of the most important moments last year for both teams? season. To see how they did the rest of the year and how we did the rest of the year ? you can kind of tell what happened.?
Roberts still hasn?t forgotten the moment the officials certified Leonard?s game-winning pass.
?I was elated, no doubt,? Roberts said. ?It was sort of a surprise. It?s not a play that is successful every day. It was sort of a shock and then elation after that.?
Arkansas State?s worry is that Memphis might come into this evening?s game with a score to settle and revenge on its mind.
The Tigers opened the season last week with a 23-21 loss at home to Ole Miss, despite dominating almost every aspect of the contest. Five turnovers proved costly, including an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and a blocked punt the Rebels recovered for another TD.
Memphis trailed 23-0 before trying to rally late, but its 2-point conversion attempt to tie failed.
ASU senior free safety Khayyam Burns said he knows the Tigers will have payback on their minds.
?This is our most intense and the most emotional game we play,? Burns said. ?It?s almost as if we are state-line rivals. Last year, with the Hail Mary pass, I?m sure they are really ready to take revenge on us. It?s going to be a huge game just because of the atmosphere from last year.?
But no matter what happens this evening, win big, lose big or whatever, it will be hard to top the finish of the 2006 meeting.
?It?s something you dream about,? Leonard said. ?You always see old highlights of a Hail Mary and what they did and the huge celebration, and you really never think that you?re going to be a part of something like that.?
But whatever happens, as history suggests, it should be worth the price of admission and memories that last a lifetime. At least that?s been the case the last two times Arkansas State and Memphis have waged war on the football field.
Arkansas State hosts cross-river rival Memphis as the two schools separated by 70 miles and the ?Old Mississip? face each other tonight for the 54th time in a series that dates all the way to 1914. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Indian Stadium.
While the Tigers lead the overall series 27-21-5, the last two meetings have put a twist on what was already a heated rivalry. Both games were won in the final minutes or seconds in unpredictable fashion.
That?s exactly what one should expect when Arkansas State and Memphis meet, according to ASU quarterback Corey Leonard.
?It really is an unpredictable game,? Leonard said. ?Any time you play a rival, it?s always that way. One team could be undefeated and one team might not have a win for the season, but any time you play a rival that?s close to you, anything can happen. It?s usually which team comes out and wants it more. You can throw talent, you can throw skill, you can throw scheme, you can throw it all out the window when it comes to a rivalry.?
If anybody knows about unpredictable finishes or the extremes of the ASU-Memphis series, Leonard is more than qualified to share his wisdom on it.
Last year Leonard hurled a 53-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the game as the Indians used the Hail Mary to pull a 26-23 victory away from what appeared to be the sure-handed grips of defeat. Wide receiver Patrick Higgins pulled down the football amidst a crowd of Memphis defenders and, after an officials? review confirmed the catch, elation erupted along the ASU sideline.
A year has passed since it happened, and Leonard still finds himself in the middle of conversations or answering questions about the play that he calls the most memorable of his football career.
?I?d be a very rich man if I had a quarter for all the times I?ve been asked about that play,? Leonard said. ?I would be rich enough to where I wouldn?t even worry about trying to make it to the next level. I could just sit around and do whatever I want. I could probably buy most of this school.?
The ending was almost as unpredictable as the finish in 2004 when the Tigers last visited Jonesboro.
Before a record crowd of more than 30,000 fans, Arkansas State led 35-26 with under three minutes to play. But Memphis scored three touchdowns in the final 2:45, using a fumble return for a touchdown and an interception to set up another TD for another highly unlikely victory.
Arkansas State coach Steve Roberts has been on both sides and knows the feeling of elation as well as the misery of losing such close ballgames.
?Every game is unpredictable,? Roberts said. ?You never know what is going to happen in any ballgame, and that?s held true with this series and a lot of other games that we?ve played.?
Leonard wasn?t around in 2004 for Arkansas State?s meltdown that ended with a 47-35 loss as the home fans in a huge crowd filed quietly out of Indian Stadium. But just because Leonard wasn?t there to witness it doesn?t mean he hasn?t heard the stories.
When it comes to Arkansas State and Memphis State, no matter what the outcome, the stories circulate among the players, and they rarely forget.
?I wasn?t here then. I came in 2005, but I?ve heard all about it,? Leonard said. ?Things like that aren?t easily forgotten.?
From Memphis? standpoint, last year?s ending was almost impossible to explain.
The Tigers had coverage all around ASU?s Higgins, but he still made the catch. Memphis coach Tommy West would later say his defense allowed Leonard to roll and set up perfectly to make the play.
The rest was in the hands of fate, and it?s still hard for West to think about.
?You have to move on, as everybody says, because you?ve got another game the next week,? West said. ?But you don?t forget those kind of things. That?s a hard play to make, but you?ve got to make your plays. They made the plays.?
For both teams it appeared to be a turning point in the season.
The Indians finally settled on Leonard as their starting quarterback and went on to finish 6-6, narrowly missing a bowl bid. The Tigers, on the other hand, lost their next five games before winning their season finale to finish an ugly 2-10 season.
Leonard thinks the Hail Mary play had effects that played out the rest of the season for both ASU and Memphis.
?For them I think that was a pivotal point in their season,? Leonard said. ?For us, to come out and take advantage of that last play, I think it was a pivotal point in our season, too. It was definitely one of the most important moments last year for both teams? season. To see how they did the rest of the year and how we did the rest of the year ? you can kind of tell what happened.?
Roberts still hasn?t forgotten the moment the officials certified Leonard?s game-winning pass.
?I was elated, no doubt,? Roberts said. ?It was sort of a surprise. It?s not a play that is successful every day. It was sort of a shock and then elation after that.?
Arkansas State?s worry is that Memphis might come into this evening?s game with a score to settle and revenge on its mind.
The Tigers opened the season last week with a 23-21 loss at home to Ole Miss, despite dominating almost every aspect of the contest. Five turnovers proved costly, including an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and a blocked punt the Rebels recovered for another TD.
Memphis trailed 23-0 before trying to rally late, but its 2-point conversion attempt to tie failed.
ASU senior free safety Khayyam Burns said he knows the Tigers will have payback on their minds.
?This is our most intense and the most emotional game we play,? Burns said. ?It?s almost as if we are state-line rivals. Last year, with the Hail Mary pass, I?m sure they are really ready to take revenge on us. It?s going to be a huge game just because of the atmosphere from last year.?
But no matter what happens this evening, win big, lose big or whatever, it will be hard to top the finish of the 2006 meeting.
?It?s something you dream about,? Leonard said. ?You always see old highlights of a Hail Mary and what they did and the huge celebration, and you really never think that you?re going to be a part of something like that.?
