It’s that time of year again as the Memphis Tigers prepare to open the season with an opening game inside the friendly confines of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium as they prepare to welcome in-state foe UT Chattanooga before back-to-back road games at Georgia State and Troy. This will be the first meeting between the two in-state programs since the 2006 season, when the Tigers came away victorious, 33-14, over the Mocs. 

For the Tigers as they open another season under Coach Ryan Silverfield, they look to continue the sustained success of reaching a 12th straight bowl games, a streak dating back to the 2014 season. This season will be different. Memphis has almost no returning starters from last season and will have somebody other than Seth Henigan at quarterback. Memphis has three returning starters from last season, including Chris Adams and Malachi Breland on the offensive side of the ball, and William Whitlow on defense. Sure, they’ll have familiar faces in Sutton Smith and Greg Derosiers Jr, but for the most part, when the Tigers kick off on Saturday afternoon against UT-Chatt, they will look a lot different than in years past. 

With the inexperience on the roster, an opening game against an FCS opponent is exactly what Coach Silverfield and his team need to learn about each, learn what works, what doesn’t work, and what they can do with in game situatuions agaisnt another team not named Memphis before the meat of September picks up and the Tigers face challenging road games at Georgia State, and at Troy before coming home to take on the Razorbacks of Arkansas on September 20th. Sure, the Tigers got reps in practice, but like many teams in this modern era of college football, they would have benefited from an actual spring game against another opponent as a learning experience for the season. 

As far as the matchup goes on Saturday? Memphis might struggle right out of the gate, but should be in a position with the talent on the roster to not only secure an easy win over the Mocs, but also give many players from different positions valuable reps that will benefit the Tigers in the long run. For different groups, the objectives will change as the game progresses, but for Coach Silverfield and his staff, Saturday’s opener is more about getting their players in-game practice before turning up the pressure with a challenging non-conference schedule, and then turning the corner to make a run at another AAC Championship. 

One thing in particular to watch out for as Saturday rolls around is how the offense flows with Brendon Lewis. If they come out stagnant, will offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey go to Arrington Maiden or even AJ Hill, or will they let Lewis figure it out as the experienced transfer? Elsewhere, at running back, how will the reps between Greg Desrosiers Jr and Sutton Smith go? According to the two-deep depth chart released on Monday, Desrosiers got the nod as the starter on Saturday, but Smith is expected to get quality snaps as well. 

Any way you cut it, Memphis has the opportunity on Saturday to make a statement and set the bar pretty high for expectations this season if they just come out and take care of business against UT-Chatt. 

Photo Credits- Memphis Football on X