As many of you already know, Memphis is off to quite a strong start to its 2023 campaign. Following blowout victories over Bethune Cookman in week one and Arkansas State in week two, the Tigers are in position to have a chance to return to the national spotlight this season. On Sunday, ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Scholaback released their bowl predictions after a loaded slate of games in week two. Bonagura predicted that Memphis would be playing Alabama in the Chik-Fil-A Peach Bowl. Scholaback, on the other hand, has Memphis playing in the Military Bowl against Syracuse.
What This Means for Memphis
In a nutshell, this means Bongura believes Memphis could have another historic season this year. This suggests he thinks Memphis can win the AAC, and not lose many games while doing so.
For those who don’t know, the best Group of 5 school every year gets an automatic bid to a New Year’s Six bowl game. Indeed, the Peach Bowl would be an NY6 bowl game for the Tigers.
The Rest of Memphis’ Schedule
Although Memphis is off to an impressive start, the toughest part of the schedule is still yet to come. After a game against a relatively weak Navy team, Memphis faces a grueling three-game stretch. First, they take a trip up to St. Louis to play Missouri (9/23) in week four. Then, they will be home for back-to-back games against Boise St (9/30) and Tulane (10/13). If the Tigers can get through that stretch 2-1 or even 3-0, they would be in a good position to return to national relevance. Here’s the rest of the schedule in full:
Sept. 14: Navy
Sept 23: Missouri (in St. Louis)
Sept. 30: Boise State
Oct 13: Tulane
Oct. 21: at UAB
Oct 28: at North Texas
Nov. 4: South Florida
Nov. 11: at Charlotte
Nov. 18: SMU
Nov. 24/25: at Temple