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A month ago, Memphis football was undefeated, dreaming of CFP. Then Brendon Lewis got injured
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- A month ago, Memphis football was undefeated, dreaming of CFP. Then Brendon Lewis got injured
GREENVILLE, NC — For the second straight week, Memphis football quarterback Brendon Lewis' final pass went for an interception.
It's hardly an indictment on his ability. The interception against Tulane came on a play where he took a massive hit and left the ball hanging in the middle of the field. The interception against ECU on Nov. 15 came on a Hail Mary play on the game's final snap .
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Both plays had at least one more similarity, though — they began and ended with Lewis in pain. Memphis ' quarterback has been visibly affected by an ankle injury for the past month, but he hasn't missed a start and the Tigers' coaching staff has continued to show faith in him.
The Tigers (8-3, 4-3 American Conference) saw their slim College Football Playoff hopes evaporate over those last two games, with the losses to Tulane and ECU knocking Memphis firmly out of the conference title conversation.
"He's a tough young man," Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield said. "He loves this program, he loves this place, and he gives everything he has. He's in a lot of pain. And so it's finding that fine balance. Is he in too much pain, or is his performance going to be detrimental to the performance of the overall team, the offense? I'd sit there and say this: I think he performed at a high enough level to find a way to win the football game. Obviously we fell short so he'll be the first to tell you it wasn't good enough, but if we ever get to that point where we have to make a change, we certainly will."
How Brendon Lewis ' injury changed Memphis' season
The Tigers came into 2025 with a new offense featuring Lewis at quarterback. Unlike four-year starter Seth Henigan , Lewis — a transfer from Nevada who's a year older than Henigan and in his sixth year of college — is a true dual-threat player. Memphis' offense was humming over the first six games of the season, and opposing defenses had no answers for the Memphis running attack with Lewis alongside dynamic running backs Sutton Smith and Greg Desrosiers.
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There were always going to be questions about Lewis' ability to remain healthy throughout an entire season, especially considering his avowed disinterest in sliding and apparent interest in fighting for every possible extra yard. He briefly went out of a game against FAU on Sept. 27 with what he called a stinger.
He tallied double-digit carries in five of Memphis' first six games, then got hurt on a run against UAB on Oct. 18 and had to miss most of the second half. He was clearly not himself in the first half of Memphis' next game against USF, but he turned it around at halftime and led the Tigers to a comeback win.
Next up was an uncompetitive game against lowly Rice , and it was the only time in the last month that Lewis went into a game without questions about his availability. The Tigers rolled to an easy win.
With Memphis up 38-7 in the fourth quarter, Lewis ran on three of four plays to start a drive. On the final one, he immediately limped off the field after taking a hit.
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"There's a lot of things throughout college football in my career in a game," Silverfield said ahead of the ECU game. "I wish I'd called this play instead of that one. I wish I'd asked for the ball on the right hash. I wished maybe I'd pulled B-Lew out two plays prior. But I also didn't think that he would — you know. We're not going to play that game."
Lewis was visibly limping in warm ups but played most of the game against Tulane. A week after that, he played most of the game against ECU but was again clearly not close to 100%. He threw for a career-high 317 yards against Tulane, then had a career-high 43 pass attempts against ECU.
Memphis' running game has also declined noticeably over the back half of the season. Opposing defenses are daring Memphis to pass, and Lewis' decreased mobility means less room for the running backs.
Silverfield and the rest of the staff ultimately decided that the version of Lewis they got gave them a better chance to win than either freshman A.J. Hill or redshirt freshman Arrington Maiden would have. Both Hill and Maiden have appeared in relief of Lewis this season, and Memphis would like to keep both of them past this season. In the transfer portal era, that might be a tough sell.
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Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How QB Brendon Lewis' injury changed everything for Memphis football
