Opening Salvos -- First-Game Surprises Can Make or Break Coaches

Summary

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Chuck Stobart, retired and living in Phoenix, was sitting by the pool earlier this week watching his wife swim when his cell phone rang.

The caller wanted Stobart, the Memphis State football coach from 1989 to 1994, to relive the greatest season-opening win in Tigers history, a 24-10 conquest of No. 16 Southern California to start the 1991 season in Los Angeles.

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Opening Salvos -- First-Game Surprises Can Make or Break Coaches

Even on a sunny afternoon in Phoenix, Stobart's day brightened even more recalling the stunning victory.

"Maybe my best game (as a head coach)," said Stobart, 77. "It was big. I didn't think we had won until there were 30 seconds left."

Coaches never know what will happen in an opener. Does an imp...

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