It has been six years since the University of Memphis football team played in a bowl. But it’s now just about impossible to imagine that streak extending to seven seasons.

After a Halloween night win over Tulsa, the Tigers are one win away from being bowl-eligible.

(Daily News/Andrew J. Breig)

The Tigers beat Tulsa 40-20 on Halloween night at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium for their fifth win. Get to six, and they’re bowl eligible.

“Like coach says, we’re just focused on going 1-0 (each week),” said senior running back Brandon Hayes, who had a career-high 199 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns. “If we do that, we become bowl eligible. After that, we are going for the conference.”

Now 5-3, the Tigers are two games over .500 for the first time since 2007. At 3-1 in the American Athletic Conference, they are in a five-way tie for first-place with East Carolina, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF. Temple is right behind at 3-2.

For Hayes, who received a sixth year of eligibility because of injury, all of this winning is new. And a welcome change.

“It’s definitely a better feeling than I’ve been used to these last five years,” Hayes said. “This team is just different than any other team I’ve played on. We have something special going on in all phases of the game.”

Alabama (7-1, 4-1) is still in contention for the SEC West title and the College Football Playoff because of quarterback Blake Sims. After waiting behind A.J. McCarron, and after beating out the odds-on favorite for the job this year in transfer Jake Coker, Sims is proving to be a difference-maker.

Quite simply, he brings the added threat of running the ball that McCarron really didn’t. And Sims has developed a nice chemistry with dynamic wide receiver Amari Cooper.

“I take what the defense gives me,” said Sims, who has passed for 2,034 yards with 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions while also rushing for 250 yards (5.4 yards per carry) and five touchdowns. “If there’s a guy open, I want to give him the ball. … If nobody’s open, I just try to use my legs, do whatever I can.”

The Crimson Tide travels to Death Valley this Saturday to play LSU (7-2, 3-2). The Tigers handed Ole Miss its first loss on Oct. 25 in a 10-7 game. The Tigers may not have a reliable passing game but they rushed for 264 yards against a Rebels team that, at the time, was allowing 97.1 rushing yards per game.

Since losing to Auburn, LSU has reeled off three straight wins.

“We came together and realized how talented we are,” center Elliott Porter said.

Hurry-up

• The SEC teams scoring the most points aren’t necessarily having the best seasons. Texas A&M (6-3, 2-3) leads with 328 points. Then comes Georgia (6-2, 4-2) with 324 points, Arkansas (3-5, 0-5) and South Carolina (4-5, 2-5) are next with 323 points each.

• Ole Miss defensive back Senquez Golson intercepted his ninth pass of the season Saturday against Auburn (second most in the nation). He has a five-game streak of at least one interception.

• The most overlooked stat in Auburn’s 35-31 victory over Ole Miss? Auburn’s 13 penalties for 145 yards.

• Mississippi State (8-0, 5-0) faced its first double-digit deficit of the season when falling behind Arkansas 10-0 before rallying for the 17-10 victory.

• Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs produced 467 yards of offense and five touchdowns in the 45-42 comeback overtime victory at South Carolina. Dobbs passed for 301 yards and rushed for 166, the single-game rushing record for a Vols quarterback. Dobbs broke the record of 150 yards held by Jimmy Streater vs. California on Sept. 10, 1977.