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2019 Memphis

12–⁠2 (7–⁠1 American Athletic Conference), coached by Mike Norvell, then Ryan Silverfield (interim, bowl game), finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Memphis in 2019, game by game: won vs. Ole Miss 15–10; won vs. Southern 55–24; won at South Alabama 42–6; won vs. Navy 35–23; won at UL Monroe 52–33; lost at Temple 28–30; won vs. Tulane 47–17; won at Tulsa 42–41; won vs. No. 15 SMU 54–48; won at Houston 45–27; won at South Florida 49–10; won vs. No. 18 Cincinnati 34–24; won vs. No. 21 Cincinnati 29–24; lost vs. No. 13 Penn State 39–53+39−14Won 15–10 vs. Ole Miss+5Ole MissWon 55–24 vs. Southern+31SouthernWon 42–6 at South Alabama+36South AlabamaWon 35–23 vs. Navy+12NavyWon 52–33 at UL Monroe+19UL MonroeLost 28–30 at Temple-2TempleWon 47–17 vs. Tulane+30TulaneWon 42–41 at Tulsa+1TulsaWon 54–48 vs. No. 15 SMU+6No. 15 SMUWon 45–27 at Houston+18HoustonWon 49–10 at South Florida+39South FloridaWon 34–24 vs. No. 18 Cincinnati+10No. 18 CincinnatiWon 29–24 vs. No. 21 Cincinnati+5No. 21 CincinnatiLost 39–53 vs. No. 13 Penn State-14No. 13 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsOle MissW 15–⁠1070%
Sep 7vsSouthernW 55–⁠2484%
Sep 14atSouth AlabamaW 42–⁠670%
Sep 26vsNavyW 35–⁠2374%
Oct 5atUL MonroeW 52–⁠3364%
Oct 12atTempleL 28–⁠3051%
Oct 19vsTulaneW 47–⁠1762%
Oct 26atTulsaW 42–⁠4178%
Nov 2vs15SMUW 54–⁠4861%
Nov 16atHoustonW 45–⁠2766%
Nov 23atSouth FloridaW 49–⁠1074%
Nov 29vs18CincinnatiW 34–⁠2461%
Dec 7vs21CincinnatiAmerican Athletic Championship GameW 29–⁠2465%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs13Penn StateCotton BowlL 39–⁠5349%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Penn State 53–⁠39 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; American Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 84 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 23
  2. Wk 10: 24
  3. Wk 11: 19
  4. Wk 12: 18
  5. Wk 13: 18
  6. Wk 14: 17
  7. Wk 15: 16
  8. Wk 16: 15
  9. Final: 17

American Athletic Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the American Athletic Championship Game

AAC West champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Navy

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in American Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 15
Points
566–⁠370
Coach
Mike Norvell, then Ryan Silverfield (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1708 +145 this season
SP+ rating
18.0 No. 17 of 130; offense No. 8, defense No. 39, special teams No. 12
SRS
12.0 No. 20 of 130 in FBS
Returning
70% of last season’s EPA, No. 48 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 67 roster talent No. 71 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kevin Johns
Defensive coordinator
Adam Fuller
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense11th of 130
  • Defense47th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted10th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted43rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2347%1.3811th of 130
Defense0.0840%1.2247th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.23 off
0.07 def		48% off
40% def		—10th off
43rd 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
Offense3.7own 3121% allowed
Defense3.6own 2818% caused

CORE rating 16.0, 13th of 130 (offense 13.4, defense -2.6).

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 yardsBrady White QB4,014 yds
Passing touchdownsBrady White QB33 TD
Rushing yardsKenneth Gainwell RB1,459 yds
Rushing touchdownsKenneth Gainwell RB13 TD
Receiving yardsDamonte Coxie WR1,276 yds
Receiving touchdownsDamonte Coxie WR9 TD
TacklesAustin Hall LB75 tkl
SacksBryce Huff DE6.5 sacks
InterceptionsAustin Hall LB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Cole Mashburn SDE★★★No. 555
Jalil Clemons SDE★★★No. 662
Ja’Len Sims OLB★★★No. 980
Joseph Honeysucker WDE★★★No. 993
Trevis Hopper DT★★★No. 1024

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.833
Running backs22.50.811
Receivers43.00.821
Offensive line13.00.819
Defensive line43.00.867
Linebackers13.00.859
Defensive backs13.00.806
Athletes and specialists13.00.853
Whole class162.90.836

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 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 3Antonio Gibson WRWashington Football Team
Rd 7Chris Claybrooks CBJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 7Dustin Woodard CNew England Patriots

Roster 111

The 2019 roster

111 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 American Athletic Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Memphis7–⁠112–⁠217
Navy7–⁠111–⁠220
Cincinnati7–⁠111–⁠321
UCF6–⁠210–⁠324
SMU6–⁠210–⁠3
Temple5–⁠38–⁠5
Tulane3–⁠57–⁠6
Houston2–⁠64–⁠8
South Florida2–⁠64–⁠8
Tulsa2–⁠64–⁠8
East Carolina1–⁠74–⁠8
UConn0–⁠82–⁠10

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