DeAngelo Williams will line up in the Memphis backfield.

DeAngelo Williams will take the handoff from his buddy Mo.

DeAngelo Williams will look up and see, uh, remember the game from your youth called kill the guy with the ball?

One kid grabbed the football and ran with it.

Everyone else tried to tackle him.

That's everyone in the neighborhood, maybe a dozen guys, and often someone's dog.

The kid eventually got wiped out.

Then someone else would pick up the ball and start to run.

And that's how DeAngelo Williams is going to feel Saturday, except he's going to be the one picking it up every dang time.

"I'm not worried about getting hurt," he said, Monday.

Hmmm.

You notice he wasn't asked that before the Houston game, right?

But this is Tennessee week, the week the Tigers travel to Knoxville to face the not-particularly-mighty Vols.

What an odd time, eh?

After eight games, Memphis has accumulated more starting quarterbacks (4) than Tennessee has accumulated wins (3).

"It's going to be adversity vs. adversity," said Williams.

Take adversity, minus the points.

Both teams have injuries.

Both teams have problems at quarterback.

Both teams are scrapping to get to a bowl.

Oh, and both teams know Memphis has only one chance to move the ball.

DeAngelo.

GET HIM!!!

"This will be the first team we've played that lives with the kill shot," said Williams.

The kill shot?

"They try to take your head off every play."

They succeed, too, despite the fumbles and the bumbles and everything else.

The Vols may not be able to do anything else right this season, but they can still stop the run.

They're fourth in the country. They're loaded up front.

"I think they're better than when we went up there before," said Memphis coach Tommy West.

Before, they had Albert Haynesworth and John Henderson.

Now they have Parys Haralson, Jason Hall, Jesse Mahelona, Justin Harrell.

So there was West, sitting in his easy chair Saturday afternoon, trying to determine whether to pull for Tennessee or Notre Dame.

"I did sit there and try to figure out which way would help us," West said, "but they're going to have the same four defensive linemen whether they win or lose."

Those four haven't allowed a running back to get 100 yards all year. Kenneth Darby of Alabama didn't get 100. Neither did Thomas Brown of Georgia or Joseph Addai of LSU.

And those guys were running behind the Alabama, Georgia and LSU offensive lines. Taking handoffs from Brodie Croyle, JaMarcus Russell and D.J. Shockley.

As for Memphis?

"We're not as good up front as we've been," said West. "And we can't throw the ball to keep you off balance."

Pause.

"Doesn't sound like a great matchup, does it?"

The lousy part of all this is there are those will judge Williams on his performance against the Vols. Never mind the 5,538 rushing yards he's cranked out in four years. If he didn't do it against SEC defenses, it doesn't count.

It's an odd double standard. Nobody asks Reggie Bush to prove he could run behind the Memphis line. But they want Williams to prove he can run behind that line against the likes of Tennessee.

"Is it fair?" West said. "No, but I'm the one who said life isn't fair."

So Williams will get the ball, and get the ball, and you sensing a theme here?

"We can't just go up there and say we can't run," said West.

Of course not.

"We have to find a way to run."

An invisibility cloak, anyone?

Williams shrugged. The Vols put their pants on one leg at a time, and all that.

"Maybe I don't see the games the way other people see the games," he said. "For myself, they're just like any other team."

So there.

"We're going to be successful running the ball."

So there.

"Of course, the definition of success can be different from person to person."

Ahhhhh, now we're getting closer to the truth.

Memphis is going to have a hard time getting anything on the ground. Memphis is going to try anyway.

There's 11 guys waiting on you, DeAngelo.

RUN!!!!!!

To reach Geoff Calkins, call him at 931-529-2364 or e-mail calkins@commercialappeal.com