The American Athletic Conference championship trophy is expected to be at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium today.

Host Memphis can capture at least a share of its first conference title since 1971 in its regular-season finale.

UConn will attempt prevent a postgame trophy ceremony from happening. So the heavy underdogs have a bit of extra motivation to pull off an upset in the AAC game. Kickoff is 4 p.m. (ESPNEWS)

"We definitely realize that we can be a spoiler," red-shirt junior Andrew Adams said. "The stadium is going to be packed with all Memphis fans and they think it's a huge game in their school history.

"Our goal is to go down there and get a road win, and I believe that's what's going to happen."

It will require UConn's best effort this season to accomplish that feat. The Huskies (2-8, 1-5) have to emerge from a funk that's seen them lose seven of their last eight including a humbling 41-0 defeat at the hands of Cincinnati last week.

But they did prove they're capable of overcoming long odds earlier this month, shocking Central Florida (37-29) on Nov. 1 in East Hartford. It is still the Knights' only conference loss.

Memphis (8-3, 6-1) enters today's game as one of the conference's hottest team, riding a five-game winning streak.

The Tigers are enjoying a significant turnaround after going 3-9 overall last season and winning just one league game. They're bowl eligible for the first time since 2008.

Almost a year after suffering a 45-10 loss at UConn on Dec. 7, Memphis is competing for a championship.

"They're a completely different team…," UConn coach Bob Diaco said. "You can see a smart, tough, disciplined team that's made a great investment and that has this indomitable spirit. It's a great thing to watch.

"… It's an exciting game to play in and it's an exciting model."

UConn has set it sights on taking a similar jump from mediocrity to title contender. Winning a tough road game is a good place to start. The Huskies have yet to win away from home while the Tigers went unbeaten on the road in conference action.

Consistency has been a major issue for UConn.

"I'd like to go on the road in our final road game and play as well as we can play and finish," Diaco said.

Memphis is as talented a two-way team as there is in the conference. The Tigers are ranked in the top three in scoring defense (1st, 17.7 pts), total defense (3rd, 350 yards), scoring offense (3rd, 34.1 pts) and total offense (427.3 yards).

The defensive player to watch is red-shirt senior end Martin Ifedi, the program's all-time sack leader with 22.5.

Red-shirt senior tailback Brandon Hayes (840 yards, five TDs) powers an offense that averages 193.1 yards per game. Quarterback Paxton Lynch, a dual threat, has accounted for an average 252.2 yards per game and not thrown an interception in 130 pass attempt during his team's winning streak. The Tigers also excel at special teams play.

A dedicated group of Memphis seniors helped build a winning foundation.

Through adversity during the rebuilding process, the Tigers grew into a tough team, according to Memphis coach Justin Fuente.

"We have been behind in games and they haven't blinked," Fuente said during the AAC conference call. "We've played in hostile environments and they've continued to go compete. We've had our backs up against the wall and they've responded.

"I think they have character. I think this is important to them. I think they try to do what we ask them to do. When it's important you'll find a way. When it's not important you find an excuse. For me, these kids have done everything they can to try to find a way."

UConn needs to win its last two games to top last year's win total. The Huskies close the regular season by hosting SMU on Dec. 6 in East Hartford.

g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe