HUNTINGTON -- Memphis certainly is more than motivated for its traditional clash with nearby Ole Miss.

For Marshall University football fans, having Bowling Green at Joan C. Edwards Stadium last week conjured Mid-American Conference memories. And then there's the annual in-state bout with West Virginia.

Still, this week is different. It's conference time.

Marshall (2-1, 0-0) and Memphis (1-2, 0-0) open Conference USA play Saturday at the Liberty Bowl. Kickoff is 1 p.m. (EST) and CSS will televise the game.

Players and coaches on both sides welcome C-USA play, acknowledging the importance of a sound conference start.

"Anytime you get into conference play it is just different," Marshall head coach Mark Snyder said. "For the coaches, players, it's just a little different."

Snyder's Thundering Herd has knocked off Southern Illinois and Bowling Green and lost at Virginia Tech to begin the season. Memphis begins a run of three straight C-USA matchups prior to wrapping the non-conference schedule Oct. 17 at West Virginia.

"Luckily for us, the way our schedule is broken down, you can segment our season," Snyder said. "What is hard at times is when you switch back and forth between conference and non-conference.

"In that situation it is hard to segment your season and judge where you want to be. We are fortunate that we can segment our schedule. This starts conference play and I think our guys are excited about that."

Snyder's counterpart, meanwhile, is dealing with his team's own observations through three non-conference games. Losses to Ole Miss (45-14) and Middle Tennessee State (31-14) were followed by last week's 41-14 victory over Tennessee-Martin.

"We've played well in spots and then we've played terrible in spots," Tigers head coach Tommy West said. "It's an inconsistency right now. Probably defensively (more than offensively).

"If I had to pick something that pleases me the most, it is that we came back offensively. We were terrible. We were a bad offensive team (in the first two games).

"We have been inside the top 30 offensively two years in a row. All of a sudden, we are one of the worst teams in the country offensively in the first two games."

That trend flipped, coinciding with Tyler Bass taking over at quarterback in lieu of Arkelon Hall. Bass is completing 81.2 percent of his passes and has thrown four touchdowns against one interception.

"I guess the thing that pleases me the most is that now we are back on track offensively," West said. "I never saw that coming (that Memphis would be as bad offensively as we were in the first two games).

"I thought our defense would be inconsistent starting out because of a lot of new guys. I figured (the defense) would be the one I would have to worry about and the offense would carry us.

"If that gets back on track we will play better on defense because we won't be out there on the field all the time. I am excited because I think our return teams have been better.

"Our kick coverage team has been better than it has been and our kick return team has been a little bit better."

There's the analysis from both sides. Let conference play begin.

Anthony Hanshew covers Marshall football for The Herald-Dispatch. He can be reached at 304-526-2766. His e-mail address is hanshew@herald-dispatch.com.

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