The 2024 season is the most anticipated in Memphis Tigers football history, coming with the highest expectations the program has ever seen. For the first time ever, Memphis was chosen to win the AAC in the conference preseason poll, even including the 2019 Cotton Bowl year. Additionally, a Group of 5 team is guaranteed to be in the College Football Playoff with its new 12 team format, and Memphis is among the top contenders for it.
Coming off a 10-3 year capped off with a dominating performance over Big XII member Iowa St, the Tigers return many key starters and bring in one of the best transfer classes in the Group of 5.
Offense
The greatest reason for optimism about this team is the amount of returning starters from the sixth highest scoring offense in the country last year. Quarterback Seth Henigan returns for his fourth year as the starter, as do many of his weapons. Three of his top four wide receivers return in Roc Taylor, Demeer Blankumsee, and Koby Drake, along with top tight end target Anthony Landphere.
While Memphis lost starting running back Blake Watson to the NFL, they return key backup Sutton Smith and brought in South Carolina’s second leading rusher last year, Mario Anderson Jr. The two should split carries out of the backfield, as both were listed as RB-1 on the initial depth chart of this season.
The offensive line will once again be anchored by Jonah Gambill at right guard, but he will be flanked by new faces: Marshall transfer Trent Holler at center, Louisiana Monroe transfer Keydrell Lewis at right tackle, and Old Dominion transfer Chris Adams at left tackle, who beat out South Carolina transfer Jaylen Nichols for the job. Returnee Xavier Hill rounds out the starting offensive line for week one at left guard.
Defense
Last season, the Tigers defense crumbled down the stretch. However, under new Defensive Coordinator Jordan Hankins, Memphis saw its most encouraging game defensively in the Liberty Bowl against Iowa State.
Star linebacker Chandler Martin returns to lead this defensive unit, and Coach Silverfield added several notable transfers to hopefully bolster this unit.
Elijah Herring transfers in from Tennessee after leading the Volunteers in tackles a season ago. He and Arkansas State transfer Javonte Mackey should start alongside Martin in a revamped linebacker group.
Memphis brings back most of its secondary from last season, and, with a veteran group, hopefully the Tigers can tighten up the back end.
On the defensive line, Cormantae Hamilton returns for his fifth season, and the Tigers added Oklahoma transfer Reggie Grimes II up front.
Schedule breakdown
For Memphis to be the Group of 5 representative in the playoff, they will have to earn it, as they have a particularly hard conference schedule and a marquee road game against defending ACC champion Florida St.
Memphis’ home schedule is fairly weak and should be one this team can feast on. They open the season with North Alabama, an FCS team that should be easy to discard, followed up with Troy, an upper-level Sun Belt team that will likely present the toughest challenge Memphis will face at home this year.
The four conference home games this year are all against teams picked to finish in the bottom half of the league. Simply put, Memphis must take care of business at home against teams that are demonstrably less talented than them.
The key to the season will be the road performance, something Memphis has struggled with during Ryan Silverfield’s tenure, as he owns an 8-11 road record as head coach. This season, as mentioned, Memphis will have to travel to Tallahassee, as well as UTSA, Tulane, and USF, the teams picked 2, 3, and 4, respectively, in the preseason AAC poll. Memphis must win at minimum 2 of those 4 games, likely 3 of those 4 to be in the College Football Playoff.
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Renovations
Home games will have a much different appearance this year, as most of the west side of the stadium has been torn down due to the ongoing renovations. Capacity is expected to be in the lower 30,000s this season and next season due to the renovations, per the University of Memphis. When this phase is complete, capacity is expected to be around 50,000, much lower than the 58,325 capacity pre-renovations.
Prediction
Randall: Memphis fields one of the better teams in program history, yet falls just short of their first College Football Playoff appearance. They finish 10-2 overall, with losses to Florida St and USF. While they win the AAC title game, it is not enough as Boise St finishes the year 11-1 and with the best resume in the Group of 5.
McCormick: The Memphis offense proves too much to handle for the rest of the American, and the Tigers win the AAC championship game and finish the season 11-1. A birth in the College Football Playoff will come down to the committee’s opinion on an undefeated Liberty team, as Boise State could easily drop multiple games this season facing Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington State.
