Memphis Tigers 2016 NCAA Football Preview

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MEMPHIS TIGERS

American Athletic Conference – West Division

2015 Record – 9-4

ATS – 6-6-1

2016 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating Rank

West Division #2

Conference #6

2015 Recap

Well it had to end at some point. The Tigers’ 15-game winning streak ended with a home loss to Navy and they followed that up with two additional conference losses to take them out of AAC Title contention. They wiped the floor with SMU in the final week 63-0 and could not compete with Auburn in the Birmingham Bowl losing 31-10. A 19-7 mark over two seasons is something to be proud of especially considering where the program has been recently.

2016 Preview

OFFENSE

There is a big hole to be filled as 3-year starter and first round NFL DC QB Paxton Lynch heads off to play on Sundays. Tennessee transfer Riley Ferguson looked good in the spring and should do a good job piloting the offense. Leading rusher Doroland Dorceus is back in the fold this season but RB Jamarius Henderson transferred and that hurts the depth of the group. Leading receiver from last year’s squad Mose Frazier is gone but they have a lot of players on the roster that had reps last season including the #2 thru #4 receivers. We are optimistic that this offense can still be very productive as 4/5 starters return on the offensive line.

One interesting thing to note about last year’s squad is that despite putting up 40 points per game they did not have a 1000-yard rusher OR a 1,000 yard receiver. While it is true there is new HC and QB in town, we feel that Memphis has enough athletes to make this offense work.

DEFENSE

Memphis finished mid-pack in the AAC last season in total defense but struggled against the better offenses like Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Tulsa and Houston. They do not have any lights-out playmakers on defense but do return 7 starters for new DC Chris Ball. The offense will likely take at least a small step back without Lynch at the controls so it is incumbent upon the defense to play better than last year if they want to challenge for the division crown.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Memphis has the best special teams in the conference and we always like to give extra consideration to teams that are good in this area because you can often find value. PK Jake Elliott is fantastic and he hit 23/28 FGs last season including 10/11 (!) from 40+ yards. Spencer Smith is a 1st Team AAC punter and the return game looks to be in good shape as well.

MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 5.0

MEGALOCKS says:

It should be interesting to see how the Tigers fare with a new HC and inexperienced tarting QB. We feel they will make a bowl game this season but not sure that the defense will be good enough to help them win the division. The manageable part of their schedule comes in the first 9 games and then they finish up with USF, Cincinnati and Houston.

Overall, we give the TIGERS a 5.0 ATS Value Rating (Average) this season. It’s hard for us to get a feel for this team. Memphis is coming off a pair of really nice seasons with Paxton Lynch at the controls, but it is also important to note that HC Fuente did not have a losing season ATS while with the Tigers. Have to watch and wait.

Want more Memphis Tigers football?

Website

http://www.gotigersgo.com/index.aspx?path=football

Forum

http://memphis.247sports.com/Board/Memphis-Tigers-Basketball-Message-Board-Forum-59481

http://csnbbs.com/forum-499.html

News

http://www.commercialappeal.com/sports/tigers/

http://bleacherreport.com/memphis-tigers-football

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/teams/memphis-tigers

Twitter

https://twitter.com/MemphisFB @MemphisFB

https://twitter.com/Tom_Schad @Tom_Schad Tom Schad