Brandon Thomas nearly blew off his hand in a fireworks accident in high school. Now he may be the star running back that the Memphis Tigers need.

Undefeated teams featured in two of the games, and a head coach faces his former school. 

Trio of quarterbacks and two running backs are up for this week’s award.

More on punter Joe Doyle’s non-punting day, and Danton Barto to be honored Sept. 18.

Seth Henigan on Saturday became the first true freshman quarterback to start an opener for the Memphis Tigers. And the best part? He didn’t look anything like a true freshman. 

The University of Memphis had 322 rushing yards against Nicholls State, the most since Nov. 23, 2019.

Sept. 4, 2021: University of Memphis (1-0) defeats Nicholls State (0-1) at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Memphis scores twice in second-half stoppage time to win season series against arch-rivals in dramatic fashion.

Seth Henigan became the Tigers’ first freshman starting quarterback to open a season, and running back Brandon Thomas had 16 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown. 

Related story:

Box score: Memphis, 42; Nicholls State, 17

Tigers had a strong run game in the opener; Can they keep it up?

All signs point to Henigan to get the first official start to lead the Tigers into the 2021 season.

Prep Football roundup: Scores, summaries, reports and how the Power 15 fared.

Related story: Germantown edges Whitehaven in Region 8-6A slugfest

Here is a look at some of the key stats and numbers to pay attention to heading into the game against Nicholls State. 

Malik Young scores with 34 seconds left to lift Red Devils in a match-up of two of the state’s top teams.

Related story: Friday prep report: Collierville shuts down Spartans

The pandemic continues and conference realignment does not appear to be going well for the Memphis Tigers. But amid the gloom, there is reason to celebrate. Tiger tailgating is back!

BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston are expected to be officially invited in by Friday.

The Tigers are entering the 2021 season with a veteran presence in the locker room that is unprecedented.

At a time when diversity is supposedly valued in education, you’d think Memphis would be an important addition to the Big 12. Instead, the conference is preparing to add BYU, where just 1% of the student body is Black.

The Grizzlies will receive Kris Dunn, Carsen Edwards and the rights to swap a future second-round pick.

Two Houston athletes rescue defensive lineman on an ill-fated Wolf River kayaking adventure.

Nicholls State has one Memphis native on its roster and two former Tigers, among other connections between the schools.

Fans can expect to see a better, quicker version of Tate than they saw two years ago, when he suffered an Achilles injury.

Region 8-6A opener captured more than half the votes in The Daily Memphian’s poll.

The answers might surprise you.

The second-year veteran led the team in clearances and tied for first in minutes played.

City overturned its original decision because of “overwhelming demand.”