The 2021 Memphis Tigers Football season is nearly upon us. I was reviewing multiple pre-season publications and the prognosticators have Memphis finishing anywhere from 2nd to 5th in the AAC. This would be mostly due to Brady White completing his eligibility along with a relatively new coaching staff. Plus, and lets all be honest here, last season felt like a bit of a blessed one. The Tigers won at least 2 games the probably shouldn't have, and some would argue more.
While the Tigers finished 8-3, including breaking the UCF curse and winning their first bowl game since 2014, there was a sense of the team being a bit charmed. UCF led by 21...TWICE...once in the 2nd half. USF led the tigers by 13 with just over 2 minutes to play. Plus, there were times the offense felt predictable and the offensive line played sporadic...at best.
So we enter the 2021 season with questions. When Coach Johns was asked about this earlier this year on our podcast, his answers were honest. No spring practice in 2020, limited fall camp, and attempting to install his version of the offense affected the results. So, we enter 2021 with no excuses. The vast majority of the players who will take the field this fall will have been through a full spring and a full fall camp, as well as a full offseason training.
The current over/under for wins by the 2021 Memphis Tigers is 8. To be honest, I think 8 is about right. I look at the schedule and I see 2 games we'll almost certainly lose and 5 games I feel pretty confident in. I'll go over these during our pre-season podcast. I think there are 3 games that will make or break this season. 3 games that will most likely determine if Tiger fans consider this season to be a success or a failure.
So in order of importance lets start with game #3. Game #2 will be released tomorrow, then #1 on Monday.
October 2, 2021 at Temple.
As we've discussed since the schedule was announced, the October schedule is loaded. In a bad way. It all starts on October 2 in Philadelphia. Fun fact...the Tigers haven't beaten Temple in Philadelphia since November 2014. Sooooo...it's been a while. Good Memphis teams have gone to Philadelphia and left with a loss. The 2019 team lost 2 games, one of them...in Philadelphia. (yeah Joey caught the ball)
When you go to Philly expect a knife fight to break out. The Owls may not have explosive offensive players, and probably won't lay 40 or 50 on you (watch, they will this time just because I wrote this), but they damn sure will punch you in mouth. You better bring your A game, and get ready for freaking Thunder Dome.
Depending on how the Tigers perform in September, they could easily enter this game with a 3-1 record or better. A win in Philly could set the tone for the next 3 games of hell month. A loss...well you're staring a tough month dead in the face. So mark your calendars for October 2, and get ready for a fist fight in Philly.
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