American Athletic · Charles Huff, year 1 (2-1) · Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium · 58,325 · 45,632 avg in 2026
LastL 20–38 at Boise State · Sat Sep 12 · Hunter Tipton 229 rec yds, 1 TD
Nextvs UT Martin · Sat Sep 19 · 7 pm ET · Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium · series 2-1 · Game preview
Updated Tue Sep 15 · through week 2
| Wk | Date | Us | Opp | Line | Opponent | Result | Record | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 30 | #100 | #91 | +5✓ | @UNLV | W 27–21 139 | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| 1 | Sep 5 | #100 | #160 | -10.5✓ | Arkansas State | W 42–24 122 | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Sep 12 | #97 | #29 | +9.5✗ | @Boise State | L 20–38 127 | 2-1 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Sep 19 | #91 | #167 | UT Martin | ||||
| 5 | Oct 3 | @Charlotte | ||||||
| 6 | Oct 10 | UAB | ||||||
| 7 | Oct 16 | @Tulane | ||||||
| 8 | Oct 22 | East Carolina | ||||||
| 9 | Oct 31 | Army | ||||||
| 11 | Nov 13 | @South Florida | ||||||
| 12 | Nov 21 | @Navy | ||||||
| 13 | Nov 27 | Temple |
| Date | Opp | Result | Yds | TO | TOP | EPA/play | Success% | Explosive% | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | @Boise State | L 20–38 | 519 | 1 | 20:04 | +0.068 | 32.1% | 221.4% | Season-low EPA/play |
| Sep 5 | Arkansas State | W 42–24 | 523 | 2 | 29:27 | +0.491 | 49.2% | 149.1% | Season-high EPA/play |
| Aug 30 | @UNLV | W 27–21 | 418 | 1 | 24:51 | +0.288 | 47.5% | 108.8% | Best defensive stand |
| Season average (3 games) | 487 | 1.3 | +0.282 | 42.9% | 159.7% | ||||
Memphis builds 10-win teams and watches them get raided — for the players, for the coach, for the conference invite that never comes — and the chip is that the city keeps producing winners the powers keep treating as a parts bin.
The fanbase watches every realignment shuffle leave Memphis on the outside while it out-wins programs that got the call — the sense that the city beats people who'll never have to share a conference w…
The season in chapters
What fans said
Real posts from the day of the game, chosen by community score · usernames not shown
What it is like to watch them2025 · 8-5 · last season
✓ measured from 13 games · ranks are among American Athletic teams the same season
Recent form · last 10 games · incl. 2025
Cooling. 4-6 over the last 10, and lost the last one.
We’re seeing a bigger flood of TCU money on the spread. And then TCU moneyline on the parlays
Next Sep 19
vs UT Martin · at home
✓ fact on line · ~ our read on style
Market outlook
Sportsbook consensus · best odds across multiple books · 2026-09-14
the open questionis this a real, durable shift in the program's tier?
Memphis has slipped from elite-tier consistency — the first time below the top-14% tier since 2024 raises questions about sustaining an 8-5 standard with #59 talent.
our readfront page
Memphis win total rose from 7.5 to 8.5 (+1 wins) between Sep 9 and Sep 10, 2026 (tier B).
our readdeveloping
Ryan Silverfield enters his sixth season with an 8-5 record, but a coordinator change and uneasy fan sentiment signal unmet expectations for a program aiming to build on its recent upward trajectory.
our readbackground
Cortez Braham is a legitimate money-down target -- his 3rd-down conversion rate ranks among the position's best, and his per-target value holds up in that spot too.
our readdeveloping
Ryan Silverfield's third straight top-10 portal class arrives with just 2% QB production returning and zero continuity at quarterback — an extreme rebuild for a program that went 8-5 last year.
our readfront page
Charles Huff's first season at Memphis follows an 8-5 record, with a coordinator change reshaping units as the program seeks to build on its upward trajectory.
our readbackground
Brady Kluse is a real deep-ball threat -- a high share of his targets come on throws past the sticks.
our readbackground
Frank Peasant sees a real spike in usage once the game is out of reach.
our readbackground
Brendon Lewis (QB) headlines Memphis' top-2 portal class as Ryan Silverfield rebuilds 98% of a roster that reached an 11-2 ceiling last season.
our readdeveloping
Charles Huff took over as Memphis's head coach, replacing Ryan Silverfield.
our readbackground
Outcome band · Memphis · 2026
Floor, base and ceiling come from the season-path projection, which plays out conference title games and the CFP — so a ceiling can run past 12 games.
Memphis has slipped from dynasty-caliber territory — down to the top 34% of FBS by three-year power rating, from the top 27%. It is a 25-11 record over the last three regular seasons. A measured structural decline the model registered before the coverage caught up. Quiet trending down is its own signal.
The off-field storyline driving the noise right now. Not analysis — the soap opera, and that's the point.
The 'resurgence is real' read: the numbers are starting to back the hype.
The 'wait and see' counter -- power shifts often get overread before the season proves them.
Nothing in our corpus yet — this door stays open for when there is.
Memphis: coordinator change reshaping a unit.
The off-field storyline driving the noise right now. Not analysis — the soap opera, and that's the point.
The optimistic read: momentum, and the 'this is real' takes.
The analytical counter: rankings, results, and 'the hype is ahead of the tape' takes.
Nothing in our corpus yet — this door stays open for when there is.
This event was in 40 of 383 board posts (10%) over the last 60 days — engaged but not consumed. Fan text shown verbatim, attributed to the community not the individual poster.
Board health this week (128 posts): 25% positive · 48% neutral · 27% negative. Team-level weekly mood — not specific to this event. The boards ≠ the fanbase: a self-selected vocal slice.
Fan mood index · most recent r/cfb data
More in this tab
Memphis is the American Athletic program whose Mike Norvell era produced multiple top-25 finishes and whose 2024 11-2 ceiling under Ryan Silverfield kept the trajectory upward.
The program ledger
since 2025DL Chris Stokes dismissed from team
Silverfield cuts Stokes loose after a handgun arrest on campus — roster already thin up front, and now the DL room takes a hit right before Jackson's commitment window closes.
Hunter Tipton: 9 rec · 229 yds · 1 TD at Boise State
Top 0.1% receiving yards game since 2021. at Boise State (FBS) L 20-38.
Win total: 7.5 → 8.5 (▲1)
The 7.5 to 8.5 move confirmed what was already public — the market repriced after the news landed.
Jaylin Carter: 19 car · 183 yds · 4 TD vs Arkansas State
Top 1% rushing TDs game since 2021. vs Arkansas State (FBS) W 42-24.
American Conference announces revenue sharing
Revenue sharing hits the American and Memphis — sitting at #72 nationally in class rank with IOL depth still a real concern — now has a financial argument it couldn't make two years ago when portal recruiting was pure hustle over dollars.
Top 3 commits
Recruiting Footprint · 2026
GA leads the 2026 class with 8 commits. National footprint reaching 9 states.
Where they recruit · 2023-2026
95 signees across 17 states, 2023-2026. GA leads the pull.
Miles from home · 2026 roster
The median Memphis player grew up 346 miles from campus.
Half this roster came from closer than that; half came from farther.
Straight-line distance from each player's listed hometown to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. Hometowns are placed at city-centroid precision, not street address — fine at this scale, but a player's true door-to-door number can differ by a few miles. 103 of 108 listed players have a geocoded hometown. Source: CFBD roster hometowns.
Top community posts · last 12 months · r/cfb
Fan confidence in a typical range for this program right now
84th percentile among FBS programs
Cashing in more than most: 36% of disrupted passes intercepted, vs. ~18% league-wide.
4 interceptions of 11 disrupted passes (7 deflected, 4 intercepted), 2026 only.
The flags have favored them: 22 penalties drawn on opponents vs. 16 committed, 30 yards to the good.
169 penalty yards committed vs. 199 drawn on opponents, 2026 season total.
Outcome band · Memphis · 2026
Recruiting Footprint · 2026