Can Memphis replace several key pieces and get back to the top of the AAC?
Featuring six home games, the Memphis football schedule provides some unique challenges for Ryan Silverfield’s squad which is coming off a 10-win season that was capped with a thrilling 42-37 over West Virginia in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl.
Challenge #1- For the first time since 2021, there will be a quarterback competition along with having to replace key pieces at linebacker, tight end and wide receiver. Memphis returns 39% of their offensive production from a year ago.
As it almost always does, it will come down to quarterback play. Can Memphis quickly replace 4-year starter and likely NFL draft pick Seth Henigan. That will determine the season.
Challenge #2- Likely because of construction, Memphis will not have consecutive home games this season.In addition to logistics, this can create one of two responses from the team: an inability to play with a high level of energy each week from a constantly changing environment to an “us against the world” mentality
Let’s look at each week on the schedule and give a quick off-the-cuff-don’t-hold-me-to-it prediction.
August/September
August 30th- vs Chattanooga: Memphis starts the season with FCS Chattanooga that finished the 2024 season 7-5. Memphis should win this game on talent alone. (1-0; 0-0)
September 6th- @ Georgia State: The first of back-to-back opponents from the Sun Belt- both on the road. These two games should never have been scheduled to begin with as the Tigers have nothing to gain and everything to lose. Memphis will struggle in one of the two games, but should have enough talent to win (2-0; 0-0)
September 13th - @ Troy: As they seemingly did all season, Memphis struggled to put the Trojans away last season in a 38-17 win at home. Memphis is much more likely to struggle against a Troy team that should be better than last season, but Memphis should still be the better team. Memphis can’t afford to look ahead to the next week on the schedule, and that’s one thing the Tiger coaching staff will really need to guard against. (3-0; 0-0)
September 20th- vs Arkansas: Memphis’ premier non-conference game of the season pits the Tigers against their SEC neighbor to the west, Arkansas. The Razorbacks haven’t faced the Tigers in Memphis since 1994 when Memphis defeated the Razorbacks 16-15. In fact, the Tigers are 3-2 all-time against the Hogs but have lost the last two games. If this is an 11am game, there will be more barbecue in the stadium than on Tiger Lane. Memphis rides the momentum to win and start the season 4-0. (4-0; 0-0)
September 27th- @ Florida Atlantic: Memphis opens AAC play against a team not named Navy since the 2021 season. Memphis heads to Boca Raton to face an Owls team that fired Tom Herman in the offseason and welcomes in Zach Kittley. This is a game that Memphis will have to be careful of- as the Owls will be coming off a bye week and FAU will be excited to welcome what should be a Top 25 Memphis team into Boca. (5-0; 1-0)
October
October 4th – vs Tulsa: Memphis last played the Golden Hurricane in 2022 (Memphis 26-10). Tulsa seems to be in constant rebuild mode coming off another dismal season finishing 1-7 in league play. Memphis should gain bowl eligibility in this one. (6-0; 2-0)
October 11th- Bye week. The Tigers get a chance to catch their breath a bit before the home stretch of the season that will feature their toughest games.
October 18th- @ UAB. This is one of the few games that Memphis dominated the way they were supposed to beating down the Blazers 53-18. The UAB program is in complete disarray as the Trent Dilfer has been an abject failure. I’ll be stunned if Trent Dilfer is still the coach at this point in the season. But this is somewhat of a rivalry game and the Tigers have historically struggled at times against the Blazers. This game will be much closer than it should be, but Memphis should pull away late. (7-0; 3-0)
October 25th- vs USF: Maybe this is the year? I thought that South Florida was a dark horse last year but just had everything go completely wrong. Alex Golesh’s team struggled offensively and was plagued by injuries seemingly all season. That said, this may be his best team yet and their physicality will give Memphis trouble, but I think Memphis wins. (8-0; 4-0)
October 31st- @ Rice: Another program that just seems to be in perpetual rebuild, Memphis should be able to go into Houston and pick up a win- but weeknight games can be weird- and the Tigers have a showdown looming, so much like the Troy game a look ahead needs to be avoided. (9-0; 5-0)
November
November 7th – vs Tulane: Last year the Tigers spoiled the Green Wave season- costing them the opportunity of hosting the AAC title game and possibly a shot at the college football playoff. The Green Wave will be a different squad under coach Jon Sumrall this season and like Memphis, will be breaking in a new quarterback. By this point in the season, that won’t matter. Tulane has only won twice in Memphis in series history- in 2023 and 1998. This will be the game of the year up to this point and look for Memphis to ride what should be a large home crowd to the victory. (10-0; 6-0)
November 15th- @ East Carolina. Oof. This is the first spot where I don’t like the matchup for Memphis. Greenville is always a very tough place to play, at East Carolina should be a very good team and right in the thick of the AAC race. I think the Tigers falter for the first time and fall to 10-1, 6-1 in league play.
November 27th/28th- vs Navy. In a complete departure from the norm, Memphis faces Navy in the final regular season game of the 2025 regular season. Navy is a team that you’d think you’d want to see sooner rather than later but following the disaster that was the trip to Annapolis last season, Memphis will be looking for revenge. Memphis is the more talented team, but Navy is always a tough out. Can Memphis recover from a loss at ECU? That will determine the outcome. I think Memphis gets it done to finish the regular season at 11-1, 7-1 in AAC play.
Final Thoughts
It's far too early to talk about league titles and college football playoff bids, but things do set up fairly well for Memphis. The Tigers have a chance to get things rolling early- and if they can pull the upset over Arkansas, Memphis will likely be favored in every other game. With all of the marquee league opponents at home (except for East Carolina), Memphis is well positioned to make noise in the league and possibly the national scene.
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