2011 Memphis Tigers Football Preview

Head coach Larry Porter and his Memphis Tigers would like to forget about the 2010 campaign. In Porter’s maiden voyage as leader of the Tigers, Memphis won just one ballgame. The remaining 11 contests were defeats. How bad was it? All but one of the Tigers’ losses involved margins of two touchdowns or more. In fact, eight of their losses were by 20 points or more. This team didn’t possess much in the way of resources, which marked a clear decline from the latter years of former coach Tommy West’s tenure. It’s true that this is a basketball school, but it’s not as though football is irrelevant for this school, which plays in the venerable Liberty Bowl stadium and has historically relished the chance to play both Ole Miss and Tennessee on a regular basis. Memphis is in the midst of a full-fledged identity crisis; this is what happens when a team proves to be as non-competitive as the Tigers were last season. Getting crushed by one of the worst Tennessee teams to hit the gridiron in many years was an embarrassment to the school’s football family. Perhaps nothing much should have been expected of Porter in year one, but this only makes it that much more essential for real progress to emerge in 2011. Suffice it to say, Memphis is ready to leave 2010 behind, but now the Tigers need to produce the kind of season that will allow 2010 to fade away into the ether.

Unfortunately, the Tigers don’t have much experience to rely on. Just nine total starters, four on offense and five on defense, return in 2011. Quarterback is as big a question as any other position. After Porter announced a move away from a pro-style offense in lieu of a spread attack, starting quarterback Ryan Williams asked for a release from the program. With only two quarterbacks on the roster for spring and two true freshmen from this season’s recruiting class, Porter will have to choose a signal caller who has no experience.  Andy Summerlin, Will Gilchrist, Taylor Reed, and Dominique Harris will all vie for the starting nod on opening weekend, when the Tigers host Mississippi State.

Thankfully, the schedule is much easier for the Tigers this year around. Memphis will play just one BCS school, a needed break from the three it played last season. Interestingly enough, the Tigers won’t play Ole Miss or Tennessee in 2011. This might be seen as something of a concession that the team is not ready to be competitive against multiple SEC opponents. Fair enough, but that only makes it more essential for the Tigers to win two or three games in Conference USA. Last year’s 0-8 bagel won’t be tolerated; neither will a 1-7 “breadstick.”

It’s time for Memphis to start cooking; no one’s expecting a bowl game, but this team needs to win at least three games while fighting hard in a handful of other games if the locals are going to believe in the Porter regime.

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