FACTS & STATS: Site: Liberty Bowl (62,380) -- Memphis, Tennessee. Television: CBSCSN. Home Record: Rice 1-0, Memphis 0-0. Away Record: Rice 0-0, Memphis 0-1. Neutral Record: Rice 0-0, Memphis 0-0. Conference Record: Rice 1-0, Memphis 0-0. Series Record: Memphis leads, 1-0.

GAME NOTES: The Rice Owls and Memphis Tigers are set to square off for a Conference USA tilt at the Liberty Bowl.

Rice opened its season with a convincing 56-27 win over SMU. Despite stumbling to a 3-9 finish last season under first-year coach David Bailiff, expectations are heightened for the 2008 campaign. However, the Owls hit the road for each of their next three games.

Memphis is looking to rebound after a season-opening 41-24 loss at Ole Miss. The Tigers have lost their last seven C-USA openers, all of which came on the road. This will be the first time since 1997 that Memphis opens conference play at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

This is only the second meeting between these two schools on the gridiron. Memphis knocked off Rice last year in Houston, 38-35.

As far as season openers go, it doesn't get much better than the performance Rice quarterback Chase Clement put forth against SMU. All Clement did was throw for 258 yards and six touchdowns, with no interceptions. He also led the Owls with 87 yards rushing on 13 carries. Clement threw touchdown passes to four different receivers, including three to primary target Jarett Dillard (seven catches, 89 yards). In the last two seasons, Dillard has logged 170 catches for 2,304 yards and 35 touchdowns. And with another year connecting with Clement, he'll continue to rewrite the record books.

While the Rice offense grabs all the headlines, it's the defense that deserves most of the credit for last weekend's win. After all, the defense did create five turnovers. Safety Andrew Sendejo had a big day, returning an interception 55 yards for a touchdown, then scooping up a fumble and returning it 34 yards to set up another score. For his efforts, he was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week. With the way the game panned out, SMU didn't really try to run the ball (only 14 attempts). Still, the Owls can't be upset about the fact that they held the Mustangs to 11 yards on the ground.

Turnovers proved costly for Memphis against Ole Miss last weekend. Trailing 21-7 in the second quarter, Memphis put together a lengthy drive and was threatening to score. Until quarterback Will Hudgens was intercepted in the end zone. On the Tigers' next drive Arkelon Hall took the reins under center. Three plays later, he was picked off. So, instead of a possible 21-21 tie at halftime, the Tigers went into the locker room trailing 27-10. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the game. Despite out-gaining Ole Miss in total offense (453-438) and in first downs (28-19), the Tigers were never really in position to win. One of the quarterbacks will need to step up sooner rather than later. Hall finished 15-of-27 for 159 yards and an interception. Hudgens was 8-of-15 for 102 yards, three TDs (one rushing) and one interception.

The Memphis defense struggled against the run in the Ole Miss game, allowing 216 yards and an average of 6.0 ypc. The Rebels only completed 11 passes, but they went for 222 yards (20.2 yards per completion). So if there is anything the Tigers can take away from that game, it's that they've got to do a much better job limiting big plays. Ole Miss set the tone in the first quarter with a 64-yard touchdown pass, and a 32-yard touchdown run. Brandon Patterson led the Tigers with eight tackles, while Alton Starr logged seven stops. After struggling last season, it wasn't the type of start the defense needed under new coordinator Tim Walton.

Even playing at home, it's tough to find an edge for Memphis in this one. Last week the Tigers couldn't take care of the football on offense, and they couldn't stop anybody on defense. Meanwhile, all the Owls did was force a boatload of turnovers on defense, and score almost at will on offense.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Rice 42, Memphis 21

Saturday, September 6th, 8:00 p.m. (et).