Memphis Football: 3 takeaways from season-opening win over Arkansas State

3. No Gainwell, no problem

The Tigers should be in contention for the AAC title this season.

With former coach Mike Norvell now at Florida State, Memphis promoted offensive line coach Ryan Silverfield to the position, and his game plan on Saturday seemed to reflect his background. The Tigers surprisingly ran the ball most of the night with the combo Rodrigues Clark and Kylan Watkins. Clark was the better of the two, finishing with 20 carries for 105 yards while Watkins went 14-for-52.

It was a conservative game plan that might have been an attempt to keep their cards close to their vest early in the season while trying to give both of their backs an opportunity to show off. Nonetheless, Memphis had the size advantage against the Red Wolves and often used zone runs to make some nice gains.

Still, for an up-tempo offense, it was start-and-stop for most of the evening, which perhaps could be expected in the first game.

Luckily for Memphis, Brady White tossed four scores, and the receiving corps looks ready to step up. Following the loss of Antonio Gibson, Damonte Coxie did exactly what was expected of him with eight receptions, 90 yards and one touchdown.

However, most encouraging was the breakout of senior tight end Sean Dykes. Prior to this game, Dykes only had 33 total receptions in his career. Dykes blew past his defender for his first touchdown of the night and also looked versatile as seen on his second score where he originally lined up wide before coming inside for a post route to the end zone.

If Memphis can find a way to run the ball this season, they could get these guys in one-on-one situations. Watch out.

By the way, keep an eye on the polls next week. The Tigers did not appear in the top 25 of the initial AP poll, but they are currently at No. 26 with the most votes of any unranked team. Considering that the AP also ranked nine teams not playing this Fall, Memphis could jump into the top 15 following this win.