In a season full of historic highs, longtime Memphis Tigers football fans can’t help but reflect on the program’s lows that made a chance at the Cotton Bowl even sweeter.

Doug Guizlo, a University of Memphis graduate tailgating ahead of the American Athletic Conference championship game Saturday, remembers the back-to-back 1-10 seasons in 1981 and 1982. He remembers the Tigers beating Arkansas State 12-0 at the end of 1982 and how miserable the weather was.

“I bet there weren’t 500 people in that stadium,” Guizlo said of the 1982 season’s lone win. “It rained all day long, and we tore the goalposts down at the end of that game. It was so cold and wet the band left, and we were there.”Expectations are much higher now. Guizlo and tens of thousands more gathered at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on Saturday to watch the No. 16 Tigers play the No. 21 Cincinnati Bearcats in the AAC championship game.

Another win against the Bearcats — Memphis defeated Cincinnati 34-24 last week — would mean the Tigers’ first outright conference title since 1969. It would also launch the Tigers to the Cotton Bowl and extend the school record for most wins in a season at 12.

“We’ve been crushed so many times over the years as Tigers fans, so this is like nirvana right now,” said David Ziegler, another University of Memphis graduate who remembers the lows of the 1980s.

This is the third consecutive season Memphis played in the AAC championship game, but the first time the Tigers were the host.

Tailgater Lori Frederick called the AAC championship game “the pinnacle of the program,” a celebration after years of hardship. Others pointed to ESPN’s “College GameDay” visit to Memphis and the victory over SMU that same day as a game-changing moment for both the program and the city.

“How many millions of dollars is that worth? How many have come to Beale Street now because they saw what a crazy place it was on ‘GameDay’? It’s great for the city,” said David Wedaman.

In the leadup to Saturday’s game, however, fans couldn’t shake the bittersweet feeling of coach Mike Norvell’s reported departure. Florida State is expected to announce Norvell as its next coach, the Tallahassee Democrat reported, citing sources.

“It’s been a great year, but unfortunately it’s been dampened by the news of Coach Norvell,” Guizlo said.

Frederick said she remains thankful the program has reached new heights under Norvell, adding that she doesn’t believe a Norvell departure will usher in a new era of lows. Ziegler said the program is well past the point of “everyone leaving to go to other games,” pointing out both the Tigers football team and basketball team being ranked.

“It puts the program somewhat at risk because you don’t know what the next guy is going to do,” Wedaman said of Norvell’s reported exit. “When we hired the guy, we hoped we wouldn’t lose him, but that’s just the way it works.”

Max Garland covers FedEx, logistics and health care (and sometimes sports) for The Commercial Appeal. Reach him at max.garland@commercialappeal.com or 901-529-2651 and on Twitter @MaxGarlandTypes.