Memphis Tigers: CFN College Football Preview 2021
College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Memphis football season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Memphis Schedule Analysis
– Memphis Tigers Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2020 Record: 8-3 overall, 5-3 in AAC
Head Coach: Ryan Silverfield, 2nd year, 8-4
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 50
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 60
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 9
Memphis Tigers College Football Preview 2021: Offense
– The offense wasn’t all that bad. It was hardly the home-run hitting show the previous versions were, but it was still fun. It averaged 453 yards and 31 points per game under the new coaching staff, the passing game was consistent, and the ground game had its moments. There’s just enough of an overhaul this year to need some work, but it’ll be dangerous.
– QB Brady White threw for close to 11,000 yards and 90 touchdowns as the longtime Tiger starter, but there are plenty of nice options to work with, Arizona transfer Grant Gunnell is a very big, very mobile option, former LSU star recruit Peter Parrish has a world of upside, and Keilon Brown has been around a bit and will get his shots.
Leading receiver Calvin Austin is coming off an all-star 63-catch, 11-touchdown season, but No. 2 yardage guy Tahj Washington is off to USC.
Sean Dykes is a terrific pass catching tight end after making 47 grabs for 581 yards and seven scores, and there’s enough receiving talent – helped by getting former Austin Peay QB Jeremiah Oatsvall as a jack-of-all-trades receiver – to make the passing game go.
– Nah, the running game wasn’t close to being at the 2018 level, and again, it wasn’t consistent. The offensive line was decent in pass protection but wasn’t great at allowing tackles for loss, and the ground attack averaged 145 yards per game.
Losing left tackle Obinna Eze to TCU doesn’t help, but three starters are back up front around 320-pound Matt Dale inside and the versatile Dylan Parham who’ll be moved around where needed.
The running backs are interesting. Asa Martin is a former big recruit for Auburn who ran for 233 yards last year, Kylan Watkins averaged over five yards per carry, and Rodrigues Clark led the way with 561 yards. But the Tigers ran for just nine scores – more on that in a moment.
– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Memphis Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Memphis Tigers College Football Preview 2021: Defense
Memphis Tigers College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– The defense got roasted a bit too often, but it took the ball away a lot and weren’t bad against the run. Now the secondary should be the star with a slew of good players returning and a few good ones back who were out – like 2019 fourth-leading tackler La’Andre Thomas.
Overall, the safeties are going to be a strength. Quindell Johnson is a terrific tackler who made 81 stops with three picks, Rodney Owens also intercepted three passes and made 53 tackles, and Tyrez Linsdey is a 212-pound veteran hitter who’s great in the rotation.
The Tigers lose TJ Carter to TCU at one corner spot, but Jacobi Francis is back at one outside job and Julian Barnett is coming in from Michigan State.
– The defensive front loses Joseph Dorceus to Tulane, but Morris Joseph is a 275-pound pass rusher who led the team with seven sacks and 52 tackles for loss. 246-pound Wardalis Duckworth is a quick interior presence for the rotation, but the pressure is on 300-pound Kajuan Robinson and 290-pound Maurice White to hold up as the bulk.
– The linebacking corps has a decent mix of talents across the four spots. JJ Russell is an undersized tackler in the middle – he’s 225 pounds, and that’s bulked up – and in general the Tigers used big safety-types who can move. The biggest guy – 240-pound Jalil Clemons – will likely work on the weakside after making 19 stops.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Memphis Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Memphis Tigers College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Memphis Tigers College Football Preview 2021: Top Players
Best Memphis Tigers Offensive Player
WR Calvin Austin, Jr.
He’s only 5-9 and 162 pounds, but he’s explosive with true track star speed. He’s a special sprinter for the Tiger track team, and he brings those wheels to the field as a big-play target in his first two years before rolling last season.
He led the team with 63 catches for 1,053 yards and 11 scores – and returned a punt for a touchdown – with six 100-yard games.
2. OG/OT Dylan Parham, Jr.
3. TE Sean Dykes, Sr.
4. RB Rodriques Clark, Soph.
5. QB Grant Gunnell, Soph.
Related
Memphis Football Schedule 2021, Analysis
Best Memphis Tigers Defensive Player
S Quindell Johnson, Soph.
The Tigers have a solid group of defensive backs to work the defense around – the safeties might be the team’s biggest strengths. There’s more coming back with big tackler La’Andre Thomas, and there’s depth to play around with, but it’s Johnson who should be the leader of the bunch.
The All-AAC free safety followed up a 58-tackle freshman season with a team-high 81 stops with three picks and five broken up passes. He’s a good-sized 6-1, 195-pound leader who’s an all-star in the classroom as well as on the field, and he’s going to once again be one of the league’s best all-around defenders.
2. DE Morris Joseph, Jr.
3. LB JJ Russell, Sr.
4. S Rodney Owens, Jr.
5. S La’Andre Thomas, Jr.
Top Incoming Memphis Tigers Transfer
QB Grant Gunnell, Soph.
Memphis got one of its best quarterbacks in program history from Arizona State. Brady White saw a little time with the Sun Devils before turning into a big-bombing star for ten Tigers.
Now Memphis might have its next great passer from the state of Arizona – at least from one of its colleges.
Gunnell almost pulled off a win over USC last season. He was a bright spot for the dismal Wildcats with three touchdown passes in each of his first two games, he missed almost all of the next two games, the 70-7 Arizona State debacle happened, in came a new coach, and now he’s in a spot to take over the Tiger starting gig.
The 6-6, 228-pounder will still have to earn it, and he probably won’t throw for over 10,000 yards like White did when making the move, but he should be the team’s new main man
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Memphis Schedule Analysis
NEXT: Memphis Tigers College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Memphis Tigers College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Memphis Tigers Biggest Key: Offense
What happened to the Memphis running game? The Tigers were just fine even though the ground attack struggled compared to previous years, but in the high-octane AAC, they need their big-play rushing identity back.
It’s not like they didn’t try; they just weren’t good at it.
The Tiger offense took a dip from the 2019 version, which took a massive leap from the 2018 ground game.
The wild 53-39 loss to Penn State in the Cotton Bowl was the only time in the 14 games in 2019 that the Tigers failed to get to 100 yards on the ground. The 2018 team only missed the 100-yard mark once in 14 games and went over 200 the other 13 times.
The 2020 rushing game failed to hit the 100-yard mark against anyone but Stephen F. Austin over the last six regular season games, and it and came up with just four touchdowns against the FBS teams.
Memphis Tigers Biggest Key: Defense
The pass defense has to be a whole lot stronger, and it should be.
Defensive coordinator Mike McIntyre is fantastic at developing defensive backs. He did it at San Jose State and then Colorado, and now he’s got work to do with a secondary that has the experience and depth, but has to hold down more teams.
The Tigers picked off 12 passes, but they also got roasted for 200 yards or more on a regular basis – getting rolled for over 600 against USC and 473 against SMU.
Fortunately there aren’t a ton of teams on the slate that can bomb away, but hosting Mississippi State early and dealing with UCF, SMU and Houston over the second half will be fights.
Memphis Tigers Key Player To A Successful Season
OT/OG Dylan Parham, Jr.
The real key player is the new starting quarterback, but that will be fine. To hammer this point home from before, the running game has to be stronger, and it starts by getting more out of the front five.
A guard early in his career, he kicked out to right tackle for a stretch, and now he’ll be the key part of the line puzzle. Will he take over Obinna Eze’s spot at left tackle, or will the – most likely – line’s best blocker really work at guard?
Start with cementing him in a home and go from there.
Memphis Tigers Key Game To The 2021 Season
at UCF, Oct. 22
Memphis finally did it.
0-13 against UCF, the Tigers overcame 703 yards of Knight offense to pull off their first ever win in the series. It was 50-49, it was a blast, and it wasn’t pretty defensively.
Now they have to do it again – but maybe D up a little.
The game is in Orlando this time around as the end of a run of three road games in four weeks. The team’s week off comes right after, and then comes the sneaky-tough finishing kick of SMU, East Carolina – don’t laugh, the Pirates might be a problem this year – at Houston and Tulane.
Memphis can win every game on the AAC slate – there’s no Cincinnati – but lose at UCF, and there might not be any margin for error.
– Memphis Tigers Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2020 Memphis Tigers Fun Stats
– 4th Down Conversions: Opponents 22-of-33 (67%) – Memphis 14-of-24 (58%)
– Average Rushing Yards Per Game: Memphis 145.2 – Opponents 145.1
– Opponents 2nd Quarter Scoring: 101 – 3rd Quarter Scoring: 55
NEXT: Memphis Tigers College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
Memphis Tigers College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction
It didn’t seem like it – considering Cincinnati got all the 2020 attention in the American Athletic Conference that Tulsa didn’t enjoy – but Memphis and new head coach Ryan Silverfield had a solid year.
It’s hard to get too jacked up for 8-3 after seeing the bright lights of a New Year’s Six game and with three straight AAC Conference Championship appearances, but the program had to make a coaching change – even if it was seamless – in the middle of a global pandemic.
The offense wasn’t close to being as devastating as it had been, and the defense still have issues, but eight wins including the first bowl victory since 2014 was a good launching pad to 2021.
But is the team in place to get back to the AAC Championship level?
Set The Memphis Tigers Regular Season Win Total At … 8
It’s good enough to get close, but with the running game needing to ramp up, a new quarterback taking over, and with a few huge losses in the transfer portal, there should be just enough missing to win the conference title.
The Tigers will be a factor, though, and they’ll be in the hunt until the end before going off to a bowl game.
They don’t have to play USF – who might have been lousy last year but was a problem in a 34-33 Memphis win – and best of all, they don’t get Cincinnati.
Navy, SMU and Tulane a good home games to have, but having to go on the road to deal with UCF, Houston, Tulsa and Temple should be just enough to keep them on the outside looking in.
But if Tulsa could get into the title game last year, this team can certainly do it.
It’s a program used to winning big and playing for important things – it’s okay to be AAC Championship or Bust.
Memphis has earned the right to have those expectations.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– Memphis Schedule Analysis
