Memphis Football comes in at number 25 in the coaches poll. On Saturday, Ryan Silverfield and his Memphis Tigers head south to take on Mike Norvell and the Seminoles of Florida State. Memphis will look to put years of excitement into facing their former Head Coach on Saturday in a matchup that could open the door wide for the Tigers to reach the College Football Playoff, paving the way for Coach Ryan Silverfield to continue on his journey of earning his legacy as the head man of the Memphis Tigers football coach.

Many had come before Ryan Silverfield and won games against Power Four opponents Tommy West, Justin Fuente, and Mike Norvell. Coach Ryan Silverfield has done it before but has his best team since taking over at Memphis, ready for a fight on Saturday morning against the Seminoles. Over the history of college football, there have been moments where the apprentice beats the mentor, almost a changing of the guard of some sort. We saw it when Kirby Smart at Georgia beat Nick Saban for a National Championship; Coach Silverfield has the chance on Saturday to bury the past and continue building Memphis Football into the best program out of the Power Four Conferences.

From a matchup standpoint, Memphis is the better team now. Florida State comes into the game on a two-game losing streak after falling to Georgia Tech during the week zero matchup in Dublin, Ireland, and Boston College at home. Florida State enters Memphis following a bye week, during which the Seminoles overhauled the program to salvage the mess within.

Memphis will need to do what they do: control the controllable because, despite the 0-2 record, Florida State is much better on the depth chart than the record shows. Memphis will have its hands complete with a Florida State that many thought would compete for the ACC crown in 2024. With that said, Florida State is still 0-2 and comes into the Memphis game with unreal pressure, as an 0-3 start to the season would be a disaster for Coach Norvell and his staff.

For Memphis, a win over Florida State would set the tone for the season, but a loss wouldn’t ruin the season, as there are plenty of chances to bounce back in efforts to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. Make no mistake, though, a loss is not the end of the season for the Tigers; playing with that energy level leans the advantage towards the Tigers this weekend.

This weekend will be the first meeting between the Tigers and Seminoles since 1990, when the Tigers dominated Florida State 35-3. Florida State holds the overall record over the Tigers 10-7-1, a series dating back to 1959 when the Tigers won the first meeting 16-6.

Kick-off is slated for 11:00a with a National Television audience on ESPN.

(Photo Credits- Memphis Football on X )