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Welcome back to the Tigers Football Insider, where we bring you the latest news and analysis from The Daily Memphian’s Frank Bonner II, Geoff Calkins and John Martin each week.
Memphis was voted to finish fifth in the preseason AAC rankings and the Tigers have a chance to tie for the fifth-best conference record with a win at SMU this week.
MEMPHIS TIGERS FOOTBALL
Teams: Tigers (6-5, 3-4 in AAC) vs. SMU (6-5, 4-3)
Time: 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 26
Place: Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 98.9 The Roar of Memphis
Memphis is currently tied with ECU for the seventh-best conference record at 3-4. The Pirates beat Memphis with a 47-45 win in overtime earlier this year.
Tulane, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston are jockeying for the top four spots heading into the final week. There could also be movement for spots 5-9 depending on how this week pans out. SMU is currently in fifth place with a 4-3 record.
Both teams would end the season with a 4-4 conference record if Memphis beats SMU on the road. Navy is locked in with a 4-4 conference record and ECU could be the fourth team in the league with a 4-4 league record if it beats Temple.
An ECU loss and a Memphis win would give the Tigers a tied conference record with only SMU and Navy. Memphis would have wins over both of those teams.
There is no denying the season hasn’t gone the way Memphis has wanted and a fifth-place finish isn’t anything to be excited about. The standard for the program has risen to a higher expectation than the middle of the pack.
Fifth place, however, is better than finishing the year with the eighth-best league record. An SMU loss would put the Tigers near the bottom of the league with Tulsa, Temple and South Florida. ECU could also finish with a 3-5 conference record with an unlikely loss to Temple.
The Tigers have already qualified for their ninth straight bowl game but there is still some pride to play for when they travel to Dallas. An eight-win season is still in reach while they try to prevent from being one of the bottom four teams in the league.
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