Another Saturday has gone by, and the Memphis Tigers remain unbeaten and the first team to reach bowl eligibility after a 45-7 dismantling of Tulsa. As another game passes by and the Tigers approach the bye week before heading to Birmingham to take on UAB, the conversations surrounding the program have shifted from College Football Playoff hopeful to control their destiny while drawing comparisons to the 2019 Memphis team that reached the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, after winning the American Athletic Championship game over the Bearcats of Cincinnati. 

Memphis came into the game with Tulsa as a double-digit favorite, not only did they cover the spread on Saturday once again, the Tigers then sent a resounding message to the rest of the college football world that the 2025 Memphis Tigers were not only a College Football Playoff hopeful, but they were a team ready to take the next step as a program to have a seat among the best this season. Memphis did to Tulsa what great teams do to less talented teams: the Tigers kept their foot on the throttle and never let up, easing to another blowout victory this season. 

With six games behind them and the Tigers remaining perfect, Coach Silverfield and his Memphis football program approach the bye week with vigor and controlled excitement while focusing on finishing the regular season undefeated because the heat is about to get turned up a few notches as the Tigers close out October with at UAB next Saturday, before returning home on the 25th as welcome South Florida in what could be one of the biggest games in college football. 

So, let’s deep dive into three takeaways from the first six weeks of the 2025 season. 

First, we’re starting things off with the defensive side of the ball. There’s zero doubt in the minds of the coaching staff or really college football that Memphis has a championship-caliber defensive unit that has bought into the schemes of Coach Jordon Hankins, turning the Tigers into a legitimate championship-worthy defense. In the six wins this season, the Tigers’ defense has given up a combined 97 points, with 31 of those points coming against Arkansas. There’s room to improve, but just last week, the Tigers’ defense forced three turnovers from the Tulsa offense, which gave the Tigers prime field position on offense to further expand the lead over Tulsa on Saturday night. 

Second, the offensive units as a whole are among the best at the Group of Six level, scoring a combined 243 points through six games. What makes the unit so special this season is the sharing of the wealth. Memphis has so many ways to beat a team this season, from Brendon Lewis running and passing, to Sutton Smith, and Greg Desrosiers Jr, tearing up the backfield, while guys like Jamari Hawkins, Marcello Bussey, and Cortez Brahm doing what they do in the wide receiver core. It’s a well-balanced attack; take the Tulsa game, for example. The Tigers had 457 yards of total offense, 266 of which came through the air, while 191 came on the ground. Memphis has so many ways to beat a team this season, making them difficult to gameplan for and a menace for the team to fully prepare for. 

Third, this goes out to the Memphis fans. With home games against three of the top teams in the league in South Florida, Tulane, and Navy over the next two months, there is no excuse for you not to go out to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium and support the Tigers. What people don’t realize is that the better support the Tigers have at home, the better the chances are that they land in a more favorable draw for the College Football Playoff. Drawing 27,303 like they did on Saturday night against Tulsa isn’t good enough, and the true Memphis fans ought to be ashamed for not going out in full force to support these guys. What’s the excuse? Crime? You have the federal government in Memphis for the foreseeable future, cracking down on that. Money? Memphis runs ticket sales every single week of a home game. Last week against Tulsa, where the tickets were nine dollars? Stop making your pitiful excuses and go out and give Coach Silverfield and the boys the support they deserve. This is a Memphis team that not only has a shot to win a conference championship, but it also has the opportunity to reach the College Football Playoff, forever changing the narrative of the city for years to come. Go out, support the Tigers, and show some pride in supporting the city’s team. 

There’s something special about this 2025 Memphis football team; there are even similarities with the 2019 team, which was running strong. However, the next two months for Tigers football have all the possibilities of not only changing the program but also being the healer for a broken city. Enjoy every game, because this second half of the season is all the makings of one that will end up etched into the folklore of Memphis athletics. 

Memphis returns to action next Saturday afternoon on the 18th as they travel to Birmingham to take on UAB in the Battle of the Bones. 

Photo Credits- Memphis Football on X