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2017 Memphis

10–⁠3 (7–⁠1 American Athletic Conference), coached by Mike Norvell, finished No. 25 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Memphis in 2017, game by game: won vs. UL Monroe 37–29; won vs. No. 25 UCLA 48–45; won vs. Southern Illinois 44–31; lost at UCF 13–40; won at UConn 70–31; won vs. No. 25 Navy 30–27; won at Houston 42–38; won vs. Tulane 56–26; won at Tulsa 41–14; won vs. SMU 66–45; won vs. East Carolina 70–13; lost at No. 12 UCF 55–62; lost vs. Iowa State 20–21+57−27Won 37–29 vs. UL Monroe+8UL MonroeWon 48–45 vs. No. 25 UCLA+3No. 25 UCLAWon 44–31 vs. Southern Illinois+13Southern Illino…Lost 13–40 at UCF-27UCFWon 70–31 at UConn+39UConnWon 30–27 vs. No. 25 Navy+3No. 25 NavyWon 42–38 at Houston+4HoustonWon 56–26 vs. Tulane+30TulaneWon 41–14 at Tulsa+27TulsaWon 66–45 vs. SMU+21SMUWon 70–13 vs. East Carolina+57East CarolinaLost 55–62 at No. 12 UCF-7No. 12 UCFLost 20–21 vs. Iowa State-1Iowa State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsUL MonroeW 37–⁠2978%
Sep 16vs25UCLAW 48–⁠4562%
Sep 23vsSouthern IllinoisW 44–⁠3185%
Sep 30atUCFL 13–⁠4049%
Oct 6atUConnW 70–⁠3171%
Oct 14vs25NavyW 30–⁠2748%
Oct 19atHoustonW 42–⁠3841%
Oct 27vsTulaneW 56–⁠2677%
Nov 3atTulsaW 41–⁠1459%
Nov 18vsSMUW 66–⁠4576%
Nov 25vsEast CarolinaW 70–⁠1388%
Dec 2at12UCFAmerican Athletic Championship GameL 55–⁠6237%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsIowa StateLiberty BowlL 20–⁠2169%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Iowa State 21–⁠20 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 25 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 84 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 25
  2. Wk 9: 24
  3. Wk 10: 22
  4. Wk 11: 20
  5. Wk 12: 18
  6. Wk 13: 17
  7. Wk 14: 16
  8. Wk 15: 19
  9. Final: 25

AAC West champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Led the nationTony Pollard: kickoff return average (40.0)

Consensus All-AmericanAnthony Miller, WR

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in American Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 25 peak No. 16
Points
592–⁠422
Coach
Mike Norvell
Elo
1635 +86 this season
SP+ rating
7.8 No. 41 of 128; offense No. 17, defense No. 86, special teams No. 41
SRS
6.9 No. 39 of 130 in FBS
Returning
88% of last season’s EPA, No. 9 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 56 roster talent No. 69 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Darrell Dickey
Defensive coordinator
Chris Ball
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense6th of 130
  • Defense77th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted15th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted63rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2746%1.536th of 130
Defense0.1143%1.3077th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
0.08 def		44% off
43% def		—15th off
63rd 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
Offense4.2own 3215% allowed
Defense3.7own 3020% caused

CORE rating 10.1, 25th of 130 (offense 9.3, defense -0.7).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsRiley Ferguson QB4,257 yds
Passing touchdownsRiley Ferguson QB38 TD
Rushing yardsDarrell Henderson RB1,154 yds
Rushing touchdownsPatrick Taylor Jr. RB13 TD
Receiving yardsAnthony Miller WR1,462 yds
Receiving touchdownsAnthony Miller WR18 TD
TacklesCurtis Akins LB88 tkl
SacksGenard Avery LB8.5 sacks
InterceptionsTerrell Carter DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Obinna Eze OT★★★★No. 207
Carlito Gonzalez S★★★No. 366
Nick Robinson WR★★★No. 473
T.J. Carter CB★★★No. 486
Quindon Lewis S★★★No. 502

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.798
Running backs12.00.793
Receivers42.50.805
Offensive line33.30.863
Defensive line52.60.799
Linebackers23.00.842
Defensive backs73.00.847
Athletes and specialists32.30.769
Whole class272.70.819

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.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 2Anthony Miller WRChicago Bears
Rd 5Genard Avery ILBCleveland Browns

Roster 118

The 2017 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 American Athletic Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCF8–⁠013–⁠06
Memphis7–⁠110–⁠325
South Florida6–⁠210–⁠221
Houston5–⁠37–⁠5
SMU4–⁠47–⁠6
Navy4–⁠47–⁠6
Temple4–⁠47–⁠6
Tulane3–⁠55–⁠7
Cincinnati2–⁠64–⁠8
East Carolina2–⁠63–⁠9
UConn2–⁠63–⁠9
Tulsa1–⁠72–⁠10

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