2018 Memphis Tigers football team

The 2018 Memphis Tigers football team represented the University of Memphis in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee and competed in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Mike Norvell. They finished the season 8–6, 5–3 in AAC to finish in a three-way tie for the West Division championship. After tie-breakers, they represented the West Division in the AAC Championship Game where they lost to East Division champion UCF. They were invited to the Birmingham Bowl where they lost to Wake Forest.

2018 Memphis Tigers football
AAC West Division co-champion
American Athletic Championship Game L 41–56 vs. UCF
Birmingham Bowl, L 34–37 vs. Wake Forest
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Division	West Division
2018 record	8–6 (5–3 American)
Head coach	Mike Norvell (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Kenny Dillingham (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Chris Ball (3rd season)
Home stadium	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 59,308)

2018 American Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 11 UCF x$		8	–	0					12	–	1
Temple		7	–	1					8	–	5
No. 24 Cincinnati		6	–	2					11	–	2
South Florida		3	–	5					7	–	6
East Carolina		1	–	7					3	–	9
UConn		0	–	8					1	–	11
West Division
Memphis xy		5	–	3					8	–	6
Houston x		5	–	3					8	–	5
Tulane x		5	–	3					7	–	6
SMU		4	–	4					5	–	7
Navy		2	–	6					3	–	10
Tulsa		2	–	6					3	–	9
Championship: UCF 56, Memphis 41
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2017 season 10–3, 7–1 in AAC play to be champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in The American Championship Game where they lost to East Division champions UCF. They were invited to the Liberty Bowl where they lost to Iowa State.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award	Player	Position	Year
Rimington Trophy[1]	Drew Kyser	C	SR
Chuck Bednarik Award[2]	Curtis Akins	LB	SR
Maxwell Award[3]	Darrell Henderson	RB	JR
	Tony Pollard	RB	JR
Doak Walker Award[4]	Darrell Henderson	RB	JR
John Mackey Award[5]	Joey Magnifico	TE	JR
Butkus Award[6]	Curtis Akins	LB	JR
Jim Thorpe Award[7]	T.J. Carter	DB	SO
Bronko Nagurski Trophy[8]	T.J. Carter	DB	SO
Outland Trophy[9]	Trevon Tate	OL	SR
Paul Hornung Award[10]	Tony Pollard	RB/KR	JR
Wuerffel Trophy[11]	Patrick Taylor	RB	JR
Walter Camp Award[12]	Darrell Henderson	RB	JR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[13]	Brady White	QB	JR
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award[14]	Patrick Taylor	RB	JR

AAC media poll

The AAC media poll was released on July 24, 2018, with the Tigers predicted to win the AAC West Division.[15]

Media poll (West)
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Memphis	171 (23)
2	Houston	146 (4)
3	Navy	129 (3)
4	SMU	72
5	Tulane	68
6	Tulsa	44

Personnel

Depth Chart

Defense FS La'Andre Thomas Sanchez Blake Jr. WLB MLB SLB J.J. Russell Cade Mashburn Austin Hall Tim Hart Jaylon Allen Thomas Pickens Nehemiah Augustus SS Tyrez Lindsey Josh Perry CB T.J. Carter Jacobi Francois DE DT DT DE Carlito Gonzalez Ross Anderson Emmanuel Cooper Jonathan Wilson Chris Claybrooks Noah Arrindell Khalil Johnson Joseph Dorceus CB Tito Windham Tamaurice Smith Tim Gordon Offense "X" WR John Williams Kedarian Jones "Z" WR Sam Craft Mechand Slade LT LG C RG RT Trevon Tate Dylan Parham Drew Kyser Dustin Woodard Roger Joseph Obinna Eze Manuel Orona-Lopez Issac Ellis Brytain Peddy Titus Jones Scottie Dill "Y" TE Joey Magnifico Sean Dykes Tyce Daniel "S" WR Damonte Coxie Antonio Gibson Tre'Von Hamilton QB Brady White Brady McBride Connor Adair RB Darrell Henderson Patrick Taylor Tony Pollard Special Teams PK Riley Patterson PK Mike Kroeze P Adam Williams P Mike Kroeze KR Tony Pollard Darrell Henderson PR John Williams T.J. Carter H Preston Brady

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	6:00 p.m.	Mercer*	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPN3	W 66–14	33,697
September 8	2:30 p.m.	at Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	L 21–22	31,762
September 14	7:00 p.m.	Georgia State*	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPN	W 59–22	27,678
September 22	7:00 p.m.	South Alabama*	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	WMC	W 52–35	27,765
September 28	7:00 p.m.	at Tulane	Yulman Stadium New Orleans, LA	ESPN2	L 24–40	16,631
October 6	6:00 p.m.	UConn	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	CBSSN	W 55–14	27,581
October 13	2:30 p.m.	No. 10 UCF	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ABC/ESPN2	L 30–31	38,831
October 20	3:00 p.m.	at Missouri*	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	SECN	L 33–65	52,917
November 3	11:00 a.m.	at East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPNU	W 59–41	29,127
November 10	11:00 a.m.	Tulsa	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPNU	W 47–21	27,905
November 16	8:00 p.m.	at SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, TX	ESPN2	W 28–18	15,794
November 23	11:00 a.m.	Houston	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ABC	W 52–31	27,790
December 1	2:30 p.m.	at No. 7 UCF	Spectrum Stadium Orlando, FL (The American Championship)	ABC	L 41–56	45,176
December 22	11:00 a.m.	vs. Wake Forest*	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Birmingham Bowl)	ESPN	L 34–37	25,717
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:[16]

Game summaries

Mercer

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	0	14	14
Tigers	28	28	0	10	66

See also: 2018 Mercer Bears football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Navy

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	7	14	0	21
Midshipmen	3	6	0	13	22

See also: 2018 Navy Midshipmen football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–2	2017	W, 30–27

Georgia State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	3	7	6	6	22
Tigers	21	17	7	14	59

See also: 2018 Georgia State Panthers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

South Alabama

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jaguars	7	14	6	8	35
Tigers	7	14	10	21	52

See also: 2018 South Alabama Jaguars football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Tulane

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	7	0	7	10	24
Green Wave	14	3	7	16	40

See also: 2018 Tulane Green Wave football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
22–11–1	2017	W, 56–26

UConn

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	7	7	0	0	14
Tigers	13	28	7	7	55

See also: 2018 UConn Huskies football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–1	2017	W, 70–31

UCF

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 10 Knights	7	10	7	7	31
Tigers	17	13	0	0	30

See also: 2018 UCF Knights football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–11	2017	L, 55–62 ^2OT

at Missouri

	1	2	3	4	Total
MEM Tigers	3	17	7	6	33
MIZZU Tigers	21	27	14	3	65

See also: 2018 Missouri Tigers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–2	1999	L, 17–27

at East Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	10	14	14	21	59
Pirates	14	3	17	7	41

See also: 2018 East Carolina Pirates football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
7–14	2017	W, 70–13

Tulsa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Hurricane	0	0	14	7	21
Tigers	17	10	7	13	47

See also: 2018 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
17–11	2017	W, 41–14

at SMU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	7	7	14	28
Mustangs	3	2	7	6	18

See also: 2018 SMU Mustangs football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
7–3	2017	W, 66–45

Houston

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	7	14	10	0	31
Tigers	3	14	14	21	52

See also: 2018 Houston Cougars football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
11–15	2017	W, 42–38

at UCF (AAC Championship Game)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	24	14	3	0	41
No. 7 Knights	7	14	14	21	56

See also: 2018 UCF Knights football team and 2018 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–12	10/13/18	L, 30–31 ^2OT

vs. Wake Forest (Birmingham Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	14	14	0	6	34
Demon Deacons	7	17	6	7	37

See also: 2018 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team and 2018 Birmingham Bowl

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–2	1967	W, 42–10

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2019 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
3	70	Darrell Henderson	RB	Los Angeles Rams
4	128	Tony Pollard	RB	Dallas Cowboys

References

1. "Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
2. "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
3. "2018 Maxwell Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
4. "2018 Doak Walker Award Candidates". July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
5. "2018 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released" (PDF). July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
6. "Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
7. "Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Names 2018 Preseason Watchlist". July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
8. "2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
9. "22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
10. "43 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2018 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
11. "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
12. Carbone, Al (July 27, 2018). "Walter Camp Football Foundation Announces 2018 Player of the Year Preseason "Watch List"". Retrieved July 30, 2018.
13. "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
14. "2018 Nominations The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award" (PDF). August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
15. "UCF Tabbed as Favorite in 2018 Preseason Media Poll". TheAmerican.org. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
16. "2018 Memphis Tigers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved April 27, 2018.