Ranking the 2022 Memphis football opponents by toughness

Who will be the toughest opponent for the Memphis Football team in 2022?

The Memphis football team is coming off a down year in which they finished 6-6 and had their bowl game canceled due to Covid-19.

The Memphis Tigers have a lot to prove in 2022, especially with what seems like the final opportunity to make the case that Memphis belongs in a Power 5 conference with respect to conference realignment.

Memphis football coach Ryan Silverfield has yet to match the success of his predecessors Justin Fuente and Mike Norvell, but perhaps this is the season he gets things back on track.

Armed with a great QB in Seth Henigan, who really shined as a true freshman in 2021, and a superb secondary on defense, led by safety Quindell Johnson, a popular pick to be named to the All-AAC Defensive team, the Tigers should be improved.

Let’s dive into the Memphis football schedule and go through each game on the 2022 schedule, ranking them in order of toughness. We’ll start with the easiest games and work our way down to the toughest.

North Alabama won just three games last season, finishing seventh in the Big South. The Lions went QB by committee last season, featuring three players who threw six or more touchdowns each. Two of them return for the 2022 season, so Memphis will need to game plan to see both Brady Pope and Jaylen Gipson in action.

Memphis should have faster and stronger athletes which will allow them to get to the quarterbacks early and often in the game. The two returning quarterbacks for the Lions were sacked a combined 28 times last season. This should be an easy, late-season win for the Tigers.

Temple is deep into a rebuild after winning a combined four games in 2020 and 2021. They’ve let Head Coach Rod Carey go after three seasons and brought in Stan Drayton— someone who has spent the majority of his coaching career in the running back room in both the NFL and college.

He’s looking to help get the Owls back into prominence. The team has only won one bowl game since 2011. Expect the Tigers to take care of business at home against Temple.

Tulane is a tough place to get a lot of support for college football. The Green Wave has to compete for ticket sales with the NFL’s Saints and the NBA’s Pelicans right in their own backyard and most of the state has pledged fealty to LSU.

So, it’s no surprise the Green Wave continues to meddle in mediocrity. Tulane has not won more than 7 games in 20 years (8-5, 2002). But, Head Coach Willie Fritz has done better than many of his predecessors, getting his team to three consecutive bowl games before taking a massive step back last season when they went 2-10.

Memphis and Tulane have played each other every season since 2014, alternating between Memphis and New Orleans for the game. The Tigers have dropped the past two meetings in New Orleans, so they have a little bit of a challenge ahead of them in this matchup.