Memphis Football: Can Tigers repeat as top Group of Five team in 2020?

Strong pool of talent returns for new DC Mike McIntyre

While the offensive side of the ball should look no different than its recent iterations, the defense gets a bit of an overhaul with the shift in coaching staffs. Former San Jose State and Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre has a long history as a defensive coach at both the college and pro level, and will look to keep the Tigers trending upward after showing some signs of life without the football in 2019.

After giving up 428 yards and 32 points per game in 2018, Memphis improved enough to win the AAC in 2019. The Tigers conceded only 384 yards and 26.4 points last season, putting the league champions in the middle of the conference pack in terms of those statistics. With a large contingent of talent back for this campaign, MacIntyre should have plenty of experienced talent to utilize.

Maintaining excellence in the secondary will be critical, as the defensive backfield ranked 16th nationally in opponent passing efficiency last season. Sanchez Blake and Quindell Johnson pack a strong punch at the safety spots, but it is the cornerback position where the biggest gains can be made at that level of the defense.

Focusing on the Memphis defensive line

Last season’s defensive line in Memphis was something of an enigma. At once they excelled at causing disruption in the backfield, finishing in the top 35 nationally in both sacks and total tackles for loss. Yet that same group was only mediocre at getting third-down stops, allowing teams to move the chains nearly 40 percent of the time in such situations.

With outside linebacker Bryce Huff now off to the NFL, the defensive line will have less support at the second level to cause disruptive plays. Thus it falls on guys like defensive ends Joseph Dorceus and Everitt Cunningham to step up and improve upon solid 2019 campaigns.

Where MacIntyre will have the most work cut out for himself is at the tackle position. Senior O’Bryan Goodson has plenty of experience at the position, but tips the scales at an undersized 245 pounds. Redshirt sophomore Nigel Brannon has plenty of size at 6-foot-5 and 333 pounds, but is transitioning to defensive tackle for the first time after suiting up for the offensive line last year. Behind them there is little depth at tackle, which could ultimately be this defense’s Achilles heel.