For the second time in the first three games of the season, the Memphis Tigers are heading out west for another monster matchup with College Football Playoff implications on the line. This go-around, the Tigers are heading to Boise, Idaho, where they’ll face the Broncos of Boise State on the blue turf, with the winner taking the driver’s seat as the Group of Six College Football Playoff representative, which would be huge heading into conference play for both the Broncos and Tigers.

On the Boise State side, the Broncos are in their first season as members of the revamped Pac-12 conference, and they enter the Memphis game looking for their first win of the season after taking the 2nd-ranked Oregon Ducks down to the wire in Eugene last weekend. Setting the scene for a wild environment as Memphis comes to town on Saturday afternoon. On paper, Saturday’s game against Memphis will likely be Boise State’s toughest remaining game as the new-age Pac-12 is a revamped Mountain West Conference with Oregon State and Washington State. Neither Washington State nor Oregon State are known as college football contenders. That said, Boise State has been the standard in the Group of Six, as they were the first to show the autonomy conferences that the Group of Six can compete and deserve the opportunities to do so. What Boise State did in the early 2000’s laid the brick for programs like Memphis, Tulane, and many others to close that gap.

For Memphis, the Tigers enter the Boise State game perfect at 2-0, with a Week 0 road win over UNLV and a home opener win at the newly renovated Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium over Arkansas State in a fun regional rivalry. Out of the few teams who have already played two games this season, the Tigers already have the leg up on the Group of Six, and a win over Boise State on Saturday would give Coach Charles Huff and the Memphis Tigers the advantage of the two frontrunners out of the Group of Six heading into the season, as they would then hold the head-to-head over UNLV and Boise State, and would likely land Memphis inside the top-25 before opening conference play on October 3rd at Charlotte.

Through the first two games of the season, Coach Charles Huff has brought the energy back to Memphis football as the Tigers took it to the UNLV Rebels on the road, then came home and took care of business despite a slow start against long-time regional rival Arkansas State. Now, the Tigers face their toughest battle yet in this highly anticipated matchup against the Boise State Broncos. Despite the excitement, Memphis has started slowly in the first two games; they found ways to win, but a slow start against Boise State could dig a hole too deep for the Tigers to climb out of, as Boise State is one of those teams that, once they build a lead, don’t let up, and the Broncos are built a lot like the Tigers.

As for the matchup itself for Memphis, last week against Arkansas State was all about Jaylin Carter, as he rushed for 183 yards with four touchdowns last Saturday in the win over the Red Wolves. A performance in fact that earned him the honor of American Conference Offensive Player of the Week. On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers will need big games again from Zach Ruffin, Dylan Smith, and Ahmere Foster to limit Boise State’s scoring chances, something the Broncos did well last week in their loss to Oregon, finishing with 27 points. Elsewhere around the roster, Memphis needs Marcus Stokes, who showed up and showed out against UNLV in week zero, and not the quarterback, who managed the rough seas but still threw two interceptions last week against Arkansas State.

On the other sideline, Boise State has a one-two punch in the backfield as quarterback Maddux Madsen and running back Dylan Riley run the show for the Broncos on offense. Last week against Oregon, Maddux Madsen threw for 181 yards, with three touchdowns as well, while Riley finished his day with 50 yards and zero touchdowns. Madsen leads this Boise State team as a 5th-year senior who has played his entire career at Boise State. On the defensive side of the ball for Boise State, two names to watch out for are free safety Travis Anderson, who led the way in tackles for the Broncos last week with eleven, and edge rusher Bol Bol, who finished his day last week with one sack.

As kickoff approaches, if you’re Memphis, you’ve been here before. This is the second road test of the season. Avoid the slow start, go out there and play the brand of football that makes Memphis so unique, and then let the chips fall where they may. Both Boise State and Memphis enter the game with a true road game under their belts; Memphis is the only one with a win. Who knows? College football is a brutal sport, but the Tigers have the experience needed to win another massive road game before conference play starts.

Memphis and Boise State will meet Saturday evening in Boise, Idaho, with kickoff slated for 5:00 CT on the USA Network.  

Photo Credits- Memphis football on X