College Football: 10 teams doomed to be worse in 2016
By John Buhler
If there is any team in Division I football that might fall off a cliff in 2016, it has to be the American Athletic Conference’s Memphis Tigers. Memphis got off to an impressive 8-0 start last season under head coach Justin Fuente with a star at quarterback in junior Paxton Lynch. Memphis would fade in the final weeks to finish 9-4 (5-3) on the year.
Not only did Memphis lose its unrealistic shot at a College Football Playoff in early November, but the Tigers no longer have either Fuente or Lynch as a part of the program. Fuente has embraced the challenge of replacing the best head coach in Virginia Tech history in Frank Beamer. Lynch declared for the NFL Draft and now competes for playing time on the defending Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos.
Though the Tigers upset metro area rival Ole Miss at home, they couldn’t beat the three other good teams in the American. Memphis lost in succession to Navy, Houston, and Temple to fall to 8-3 and miss out on a conference championship.
Hiring former Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell might be a good move in the long-term, but Memphis will have a brutal slate in 2016. They can win their first two games against Southeast Missouri State and Big 12 laughing-stock Kansas, but Bowling Green State and Ole Miss are not going to be fun opponents to close out their non-conference schedule. Ole Miss will be bitter after last year will annihilate the Tigers in Vaught-Hemingway on October 1st.
Memphis might get Temple, Tulsa, and Houston at home, but road games to Navy on October 22nd and Cincinnati on November 18th will be challenging. Likely Navy and Houston will vie for the American West Division crown with Cincinnati and Temple duking it out in the American East.
To make matters potentially worse, Memphis’ last two games of the year will come against the two schools poised to leave the American should they get Big 12 bids: Cincinnati and Houston. Both schools offer major media markets for the Big 12 and will absolutely want to play their best ball at the end of the year to appease their Power 5 Conference suitors.
Norvell can get the Tigers to a bowl game, but Memphis is likely not better than middle of the pack in the American. They’re not beating Ole Miss, they’re not beating Houston, and will probably drop some more games against teams like Cincinnati, Navy, and Temple. Memphis isn’t guaranteed to go back into the cellar, but expect a down year for Tigers football in the American.
Next: 1. Mississippi State Bulldogs.