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FACTS & STATS: Site: Bright House Networks Stadium (45,323) -- Orlando, Florida. Television: None. Home Record: Memphis 1-2, UCF 2-0. Away Record: Memphis 0-1, UCF 0-2. Neutral Record: Memphis 0-0, UCF 0-0. Conference Record: Memphis 0-1, UCF 0-2. Series Record: UCF leads, 4-1

GAME NOTES: The Memphis Tigers and UCF Knights are both in search of their first league victory, and they'll square off against one another in a Conference USA tilt at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando on Saturday afternoon.

Memphis opened its conference slate with a 27-16 loss to Marshall last weekend. With the exception of a 41-14 win over Tennessee-Martin two weeks ago, the Tigers' offense has not been able to get off the ground, averaging less than 15 points in their three losses. With two of their next three games being played on the road, the Tigers really need to get on track.

The Knights have had similar problems on offense, averaging 18 points over their last three games. They are coming off a 19-14 loss at East Carolina. Both of UCF's wins this season have come at home, while both losses have come on the road.

UCF has won four of the five all-time meetings between these two programs.

Tyler Bass has replaced Arkelon Hall as the starting quarterback for Memphis. Bass has been a bit more productive, although the difference has been marginal. In two starts, Bass is completing 65.2 percent of his passes and is averaging 186 passing ypg. He has thrown five touchdowns and three interceptions and has also been a factor with his legs, as he leads the team with 53.7 rushing ypg. However, four of Bass' touchdown passes came two weeks ago against FCS foe UT-Martin. Last week against Marshall, he threw for 232 yards and a touchdown, in addition to 64 rushing yards. But he also threw two interceptions, one of which came in the end zone. After the game, head coach Tommy West conceded that his team isn't good enough on offense to win any football games right now. Beyond Bass, the Tigers haven't had much of a running game, which has been a big problem. Starting running back Curtis Steele has missed the last two games with a knee injury, though the team is hopeful he can return this weekend.

The Tigers have also struggled quite a bit on defense. They currently rank 93rd in the nation in both total defense (389.5 ypg) and scoring defense (29.25 ppg). Last weekend, Marshall running back Darius Marshall had himself a field day, running for 203 yards (8.1 ypc) and three touchdowns. Despite that effort, coach West said at his weekly press conference that he still believes the defense has a chance to be really good. But the team must first improve its gap control and also do a much better job tackling, the latter of which West has been harping on for weeks. Like Memphis, UCF has been breaking in a new quarterback. And one area the Tigers have excelled in this year has been getting to the quarterback, as their 11 sacks ranks 17th in the nation. Expect for West to try and exploit that matchup and force UCF signal-caller Brett Hodges into some poor decisions.

Hodges had his ups and downs in UCF's recent loss to East Carolina. On the positive side, he completed 62 percent of his passes and finished with 266 passing yards and a touchdown. The 266 passing yards were the most UCF has posted in a game since 2007. But he was also sacked four times and threw four interceptions in the wake of all that pressure. With the Knights struggling to move the ball consistently, Hodges needs to do a better job with his reads to limit those kinds of momentum-killing mistakes. His interception in the final minute came right after UCF cut the deficit to five and recovered an on-side kick. But it all doesn't fall on Hodges. UCF ranks 113th in the nation in total offense (274.5 ypg) and 95th in scoring (21 ppg). A.J. Guyton emerged last weekend with a career-high nine catches for 119 yards, while Brynn Harvey carried the ball 16 times for 71 yards and a score.

The UCF defense did a respectable job against ECU, although the end result is really all that matters. The Pirates weren't able to get a whole lot going on the ground, as they totaled 110 yards and averaged 2.9 ypc as a team. UCF currently ranks second in the conference and 23rd in the nation in run defense, holding foes to an average of 98 ypg on the ground. East Carolina quarterback Pat Pinkney finished with 293 passing yards, one touchdown and an interception. A lot of his success was due to wideout Dwayne Harris, whom the Knights had difficulty covering. Harris tallied 121 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches. Safety Derrick Hallman leads the UCF defense with 33 tackles to go along with an interception and a forced fumble. Defensive end Jarvis Geathers has registered a team-high four sacks and has forced a pair of fumbles.

On paper this looks to be a fairly even matchup between two hungry teams. But for one reason or another, UCF has had the Tigers' number in recent seasons, and the Knights are playing at home in this contest.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: UCF 30, Memphis 23