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The Athletic predicts Memphis to finish 5th in the American
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- The Athletic predicts Memphis to finish 5th in the American
(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
On Friday, The Athletic's Chris Vannini published his "2026 Group of 6 college football predictions," where he predicted the finishing order of all six conferences, and picked who would represent the Group of Six in the College football playoffs. Vannini predicts that Memphis will finish fifth in the American Conference and lists two Tigers as top newcomers in the conference.
The story predicts Charles Huff's team will finish behind USF, Tulane, UTSA and Navy, with the Midshipmen beating the Roadrunners in the conference championship game.
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Vannini didn't spend much time on each team, but he did bring up the Tigers' tough schedule being the reason to put them at No. 5.
"Memphis and new coach Charles Huff have a lot of talent but a brutal schedule that includes games at UNLV and Boise State," Vannini wrote.
Memphis has been an interesting team throughout the offseason, and their preseason predictions are anywhere between second in the conference and sixth in the American. Huff brought in an entirely new coaching staff and more than 70 new players.
While they have talent, they still must figure out roles, including the starting quarterback. Huff brought in Air Noland and Marcus Stokes from the transfer portal, and he said earlier this week that he will tell the team who the starting quarterback is on Sunday.
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Most people believe Stokes will win the starting job, but Vannini listed Noland as one of the top newcomers in the conference, which could indicate the writer thinks the South Carolina transfer could be the starter.
While there are questions about who will start on the offense, the Tigers' defense has garnered a lot of attention this offseason, and defensive end J'Mond Tapp was the other Memphis top newcomer in the conference. Tapp has received a ton of preseason recognition, and he could be one of the best players in the conference this year.
The Tigers will play three of the four teams that appear ahead of them in The Athletic's prediction, and they will play both Boise State and UNLV in the non-conference slate.
Vannini predicts Boise State will win the Pac-12, but he has the Rebels losing to New Mexico in the Mountain West championship game. The writer predicts Boise State will be the Group of Six representative in the College Football Playoffs.
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The Broncos open the season on the road against No. 2 Oregon before playing the Tigers in week 2. They will also play on the road against Western Michigan and Fresno State, who have both garnered preseason attention.
Memphis begins the season on August 29 in Las Vegas against UNLV.
