Resetting Memphis football’s path to American Conference title game
By: Jonah Dylon
With three games left to play in the regular season, Memphis football is in the thick of the American Conference title race.
That’s exactly where the Tigers (7-2, 4-1 American Conference) wanted to be in Charles Huff’s first season at the helm of the program. It hasn’t always been straightforward, but they’re in position to get to the title game heading into the final month of the season.
Memphis has an open week after beating Army on Oct. 31 in maybe the Tigers’ most impressive performance of the season. That made it two straight wins after the Tigers lost in a shocking upset to Tulane on Oct. 16.
The defeat meant Memphis lost control of its own destiny in conference play, but it is still in a good spot. Here’s an updated look at the title race.
North Texas, UTSA are the only undefeated teams left
UTSA and North Texas are both undefeated in conference play. Memphis has one conference loss, and everyone else has at least two.
While other teams that had preseason buzz as title contenders have mostly slipped, the Roadrunners have been at the top of the American all season. They lost to then-No. 1 Texas and are undefeated outside of that, with quarterback Owen McCown playing at a high level and the defense making enough plays to win them games.
North Texas has been the biggest surprise this season. Neal Brown inherited basically nothing after the Mean Green‘s top players and coaches went to Oklahoma State with Eric Morris, but he has built an explosive offense overnight. Jahiem White leads the country in rushing, while Tayven Jackson is third in passing.
UTSA and North Texas meet on Nov. 14 in San Antonio, so one of them is guaranteed a loss.
UTSA schedule:
- at FAU
- North Texas
- at UAB
- Tulsa
North Texas schedule:
- Rice
- at UTSA
- at Tulane
- UAB
What’s Memphis’ path to get to the title game?
Let’s assume for a second that North Texas and UTSA win their remaining games (except for when they play each other). The winner of that game would be undefeated in conference play and would host the title game.
The other spot would be between one-loss North Texas or UTSA, and Memphis. Because there’s no head-to-head, it would go to CFP rankings or computer rankings if neither team is ranked in the polls. At that point, it’s essentially about comparing résumés.
It’s tough to know exactly how that would play out. UTSA would have a strong résumé against Memphis if it came to that — the Roadrunners’ losses would be to Texas and North Texas, while Memphis’ would be against Boise State and Tulane.
North Texas would be a closer one — the Mean Green lost to Indiana and Texas State and would have another loss to UTSA in this scenario. They also crushed UNLV 44-6 at home, while Memphis beat UNLV 27-21 on the road.
In other words: It’s really hard to say exactly what all this would look like.
What Memphis fans should be rooting for the final month of the season
First off, Memphis has to win out.
After that, it’s probably better if UTSA beats North Texas. But what the Tigers really need is one of those teams to lose another game, because that would clear the way for Memphis to get to the title game without needing any more help.
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