CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2009 Memphis

2–⁠10 (1–⁠7 Conference USA), coached by Tommy West.

Schedule and results

Memphis in 2009, game by game: lost vs. No. 8 Ole Miss 14–45; lost at Middle Tennessee 14–31; won vs. UT Martin 41–14; lost vs. Marshall 16–27; lost at UCF 14–32; won vs. UTEP 35–20; lost at Southern Miss 16–36; lost vs. East Carolina 19–38; lost at Tennessee 28–56; lost vs. UAB 21–31; lost at No. 24 Houston 14–55; lost at Tulsa 30–33+27−41Lost 14–45 vs. No. 8 Ole Miss-31No. 8 Ole MissLost 14–31 at Middle Tennessee-17Middle TennesseeWon 41–14 vs. UT Martin+27UT MartinLost 16–27 vs. Marshall-11MarshallLost 14–32 at UCF-18UCFWon 35–20 vs. UTEP+15UTEPLost 16–36 at Southern Miss-20Southern MissLost 19–38 vs. East Carolina-19East CarolinaLost 28–56 at Tennessee-28TennesseeLost 21–31 vs. UAB-10UABLost 14–55 at No. 24 Houston-41No. 24 HoustonLost 30–33 at Tulsa-3Tulsa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vs8Ole MissL 14–⁠4538%
Sep 12atMiddle TennesseeL 14–⁠3140%
Sep 19vsUT MartinW 41–⁠1464%
Sep 26vsMarshallL 16–⁠2753%
Oct 3atUCFL 14–⁠3233%
Oct 10vsUTEPW 35–⁠2043%
Oct 17atSouthern MissL 16–⁠3630%
Oct 27vsEast CarolinaL 19–⁠3838%
Nov 7atTennesseeL 28–⁠5617%
Nov 14vsUABL 21–⁠3143%
Nov 21at24HoustonL 14–⁠5513%
Nov 27atTulsaL 30–⁠3323%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tulsa 33–⁠30; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 11th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 63rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 84 on file).

Record
2–⁠10
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 11th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
262–⁠418
Coach
Tommy West
Elo
1314 −122 this season
SP+ rating
-14.4 No. 101 of 120; offense No. 84, defense No. 108, special teams No. 67
SRS
−14.8 No. 107 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 88
Offensive coordinator
Clay Helton
Defensive coordinator
Kenny Ingram
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense100th of 120
  • Defense101st of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted104th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted110th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0141%0.78100th of 120
Defense0.1247%0.88101st of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.09 def		42% off
44% def		—104th off
110th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 302% allowed
Defense-0.1own 322% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Player leaders are hidden for this season: our source’s player stats for Memphis are missing players (they add up to less than 85% of the team’s passing or rushing yards).

Top recruits in the 2009 class

Will Gilchrist DUAL★★★No. 1269
Randy Powell ATH★★★No. 1260
Jamie McCoy OT★★★No. 1272
Brooks Johnson TE★★★No. 1411
Ricky Hart DT★★★No. 1411

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2009 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.834
Receivers13.00.823
Offensive line32.30.789
Defensive line22.50.795
Athletes and specialists32.30.781
Whole class102.50.796

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 99

The 2009 roster

99 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2009 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

2009 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
East Carolina7–⁠19–⁠5
Houston6–⁠210–⁠4
SMU6–⁠28–⁠5
UCF6–⁠28–⁠5
Southern Miss5–⁠37–⁠6
Marshall4–⁠47–⁠6
UAB4–⁠45–⁠7
Tulsa3–⁠55–⁠7
UTEP3–⁠54–⁠8
Rice2–⁠62–⁠10
Tulane1–⁠73–⁠9
Memphis1–⁠72–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.