• The SEC remains the SEC. Since shocking Peyton Manning and 6th-ranked Tennessee on November 9, 1996, Memphis has played teams from the Southeastern Conference 35 times . . . and lost 30 times. Most of these games have been against Ole Miss (the Tigers are 4-10 against the Rebels) and Mississippi State (1-10). Tiger fans relished recent victories over Ole Miss (2015 and 2019) and the Bulldogs (2021), but to think the gap has been closed with SEC competition would mean an extra shade of rose on the lenses. SEC programs operate with “resources” (read: money) that Memphis can’t approach. Alabama’s football revenue (just football) is considerably more than the U of M athletic department’s (all sports). For the Tigers to capture a rare win requires a precision in roster-building that simply can’t be replicated one year after another. That truth was made clear in the declawing suffered last Saturday in Starkville. Be grateful for those recent wins, ye Tiger faithful, but retain perspective — and don’t panic — when Memphis appears second-rate against an SEC foe.
• “Let’s not compare this guy to Mike Norvell.” A Twitter follower suggested this approach in evaluating the 2022 Tigers and their third-year head coach, Ryan Silverfield. Sorry to disappoint, but Silverfield will be compared with Norvell as long as he’s wearing blue and gray. Norvell hired him. Norvell nurtured Silverfield’s growth as an assistant coach for four years, all but placing him on a tee for Memphis to hire when Norvell departed for Florida State after winning the 2019 American Athletic Conference championship. Said U of M president David Rudd upon Silverfield’s hiring, “I am confident that he will build on a well-established foundation to help us take another step forward for Tiger football.” Well-established foundation. There the comparisons to Norvell began.
In Norvell’s third season as Tiger coach, Memphis lost at Tulane, 40-24. Three weeks later, the same team lost at Missouri, 65-33. (SEC . . . ugh.) Needless to say, better days arrived for Norvell and the Tigers. While we won’t find Anthony Miller or Tony Pollard on the current roster, there’s reason to believe better days will come for Silverfield in his third season as head coach, starting this Saturday at Navy.
• Stretch the arm, Seth. The Tigers will win (and lose) games on sophomore quarterback Seth Henigan’s right arm. Henigan was solid but well short of spectacular against Mississippi State. He completed 63 percent of his passes (19 for 30), but averaged only 5.5 yards per attempt. Compare this with the 8.5 he averaged last season as a freshman. (Brady White averaged 8.7 yards per attempt over his record-breaking three seasons as the Tigers’ quarterback.) Henigan didn’t throw an interception, so his decision-making passed the first-game test. But Memphis will have to stretch the field offensively, I’m convinced, to climb back into contention in the AAC. Seven players caught passes against the Bulldogs, so Henigan would seem to have targets. Here’s hoping new offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey draws up some plays with deep arrows for Saturday’s game at Navy.
