Many thought 2015 would be somewhat of a rebuilding year for the Memphis Tigers, losing eight defensive starters and defensive coordinator Barry Odom.
If Memphis beats Cincinnati, prepare for a New Year’s bowl run
It’s still early and the American is tough, but Ole Miss could be the only thing standing between the Tigers and an undefeated season.
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But fresh off of a thrilling 44-41 win at Bowling Green, the Tigers are anything but rebuilding. Quarterback Paxton Lynch has the Tigers rolling and has helped the team transition from a gritty, defensive-minded squad to a team that can score with the best of them.
Year four under head coach Justin Fuente is shaping up to be the Tigers’ best season ever. Currently, Memphis is sitting at 3-0 and has won 10 straight since a confusing loss to a bad Houston team a year ago. That’s good enough for the nation’s third longest active winning streak. And it shouldn’t stop this week.
The Underdogs Poll is a weekly venture in which SB Nation's blogs on non-power schools vote to rank the top 15 non-power teams at the moment.
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BYU (12) | 214 | 1 |
| 2 | Toledo (7) | 199 | 4 |
| 3 | Boise State | 192 | 3 |
| 4 | Memphis (3) | 177 | 5 |
| 5 | Temple (2) | 172 | 2 |
| 6 | Houston (1) | 102 | 7 |
| 7 | Navy | 71 | 11 |
| 8 | Northern Illinois | 60 | 14 |
| 9 | Cincinnati | 35 | 8 |
| 10 | Western Kentucky | 33 | 6 |
| 11 | Ohio | 30 | 18 |
| 12 | Air Force | 21 | 10 |
| 13 | Georgia Southern | 20 | 13 |
| 14 | Bowling Green | 16 | 15 |
| 15 | Marshall | 10 | 9 |
| Dropped Out: Louisiana Tech | Others Receiving Votes: Middle Tennessee (9), Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech (7), Arkansas State (4), Rice (2), South Alabama (1), | |||
A few weeks ago Memphis vs. Cincinnati looked to be one of the biggest matchups between Underdogs Poll teams — a possible prelude to the American Athletic Conference title game on Dec. 5.
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UC already lost a hard fought game to AAC foe Temple and followed that up with a lackluster performance against a bad Miami RedHawks team. As if that wasn't enough to swing the odds squarely in the Tigers' favor, Cincinnati's Gunner Kiel might not be able to play following a head injury that knocked him out of last week's game.
If Kiel is unable to play, the Tigers should have little problem beating the Bearcats in Memphis Thursday night on ESPN. After that, the toughest remaining games on Memphis’ schedule are an Oct. 17 home game vs. Ole Miss, and back-to-back road games at Houston and Temple in November.
Don’t sleep on the Ole Miss game. Following an almost sure-win at USF next week, the Tigers could be 5-0 with 15 days to prep for the Rebels. But even if the upset at home doesn’t work out, it’s looking like a lock — at this point — that Memphis will be 11-1 come Dec. 5. Not bad for a rebuilding year.
Helmet Stickers
Cody Grice - The Akron nose tackle and fullback should be the Piesman Trophy front-runner at this point. His three — yes, three — rushing touchdowns in Akron's runaway win over Savannah State are anything but a gimmick. The 285-pounder is the Zips' goal line offense. This isn't his first multi-touchdown game, either. He had two in one game against Pitt last season.
Demetrius Monday - The Kent State sophomore cornerback was the key figure in the Golden Flashes' shocking three-point loss at Minnesota Saturday. With a pair of first half interceptions under his belt, Monday scored Kent State's lone points on the day with an 80-yard fumble recovery on a fumble he caused himself.
NIU - Let’s face it, the MAC just kicked ass last week, and NIU was atop the list of accomplishments. The entire Huskies squad earns a helmet sticker this week. NIU rode into the Horseshoe against the top ranked Buckeyes and gave them fits. Many will tell you that the closeness of the Huskies’ seven-point loss had more to do with the Bucks’ inability to play competent football than with NIU’s ability, but that’s just silly. There’s a reason NIU is among the top six winningest programs over the last half decade.
Keenan Reynolds - Navy's senior quarterback wasted little time getting to work in the Midshipmen's first conference game ever. Reynolds scored five rushing touchdowns on just 24 carries against ECU in a 45-21 win. Reynolds is the admiral — terrible pun intended — of Navy's dangerous triple-option rushing attack, and he looks as good as ever.
Tyler Jones - Listen, I know that Texas State lost a barnburner at home to Southern Miss, but it wasn't because the Bobcats' junior quarterback didn't put on a hell of a performance. With 470 yards of total offense and five total touchdowns, Jones was the Bobcats offense. Add this fictional sticker to your helmet young man, you did good.
Three To Watch
Cincinnati Bearcats at Memphis Tigers, Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Boise State at Virginia, Friday Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
Arkansas State at Toledo, Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. on ESPN3
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