Memphis Tigers
Final Overview
The Memphis Tigers may have the best returning offense in the entire AAC West, but what will be a stumbling block towards winning the conference title will be their defense. The offense can win most days in offensive shootouts, but that will not always work, and it failed on more than a couple of occasions last season. If the Tigers are to hold off Houston and Navy and any possible dark horse candidates in the division, they have to fix that defense. They are a top three team in the division now, but could dominate with improvements. They are close.
What Really Happened
Memphis won the AAC West, and had one of the greatest single seasons in school history. The offense was as advertised, and at the end of the day, the glaring issue was that defense. The Tigers allowed 62 points in a double OT loss to UCF in the AAC title game, and their scoring defense actually worsened from 28 points per game allowed to 33. Pass defense worsened by over 30 yards allowed per game, and the run defense stayed fairly stagnant, improving by just 8 yards per game year to year. The offense did indeed win many games for the Tigers, but they had to score plenty to win as they did. Memphis improved by 8.9 points per game on offense in 2017, scoring over 47 points per game. Still, it was a rock solid season by anyone's assessment, and Tiger fans should be plenty happy that Mike Norvell agreed to a contract extension rather than leaving for Arkansas.
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