Coming off another ten-win season and an 11th consecutive postseason trip, the Tigers aim to continue their sustained success with an almost entirely new team, but despite that, the Tigers football program has never been in a better position to carry on the winning ways that dates back to Justin Fuente when he laid the foundation for the Tigers to maintain a level of success never seen before. Just last season, the Tigers rattled off 11 wins, with a postseason win in the Scotter’s Coffee Bowl over the Mountaineers of West Virginia.

Entering a new season brings with it all the questions, concerns, and optimism that come with the territory of a new Memphis football season; this fall is no exception.

Reasonably speaking, despite only having three returning starters from last season, the Memphis Tigers are in a prime position to come into the season as the underdog with a lot of talent on the depth chart, hungry and ready to prove some people wrong this season. With a fairly navigable schedule on the horizon, the Tigers could win ten to eleven games with an undefeated regular season in the deck of cards as well. There’s only one week where the Tigers play back-to-back games away from the Liberty Bowl, as they travel to Georgia State on September 6th and Troy on September 13th. Every road game is followed by a home game, giving the Tigers a slight advantage in terms of schedule management. As we’ve seen in years past, the Tigers also have a massive late September opportunity against the Razorbacks of Arkansas from the Southeastern Conference; a win over the Hogs and the Tigers could be in the driver’s seat for a fun season that rivals that of the 2019 Cotton Bowl year.

For the first time in four years, the Tigers will have to learn what life without Seth Henigan is like as Henigan graduated and went on to bigger things in the NFL and beyond. Luckily for Coach Silverfield and offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey, the Tigers landed a talented transfer from Nevada in Brendon Lewis and one of the highest-rated recruits in the history of the program in Arrington Maiden; the quarterback room at Memphis is in good hands with two guys who are both expected to provide the Tigers with immediate impacts. Sutton Smith is back at running back with Greg Desrosiers as his backup; the backfield at Memphis has the potential to be one of the most potent in the AAC. Memphis also has three transfer wide receivers, CJ Smith, Ger-Cari Caldwell, and Jadon Thompson, to give the Tigers the next generation of explosive wideouts.

On the defensive side of the ball, Memphis has one returning starter in William Whitlow; combined with a heavy transfer portal class headlined by Everett Roussaw Jr from UAB and Drue Watts from Nevada to go with Kourtlan Marsh in the secondary, the Tigers will lean heavily on the guidance from defensive coordinator Jordon Hankins to mold the Tigers into a force on the defensive side of the ball.

Overall, there are more questions than answers for the Tigers as they head into the 2025 season. Still, Coach Silverfield and his staff have proven time and again that they have what it takes to develop Memphis into a premier football team as the season progresses. The Tigers have some early tests, but the potential is there for a successful football season with the school’s 12th straight postseason trip.

Memphis opens the season on August 30th, welcoming UT-Chattanooga to the Liberty Bowl.