The 2021 Memphis Tigers football team represented the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

in the

2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 152nd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The r ...

. The Tigers played their home games at

Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (originally named Memphis Memorial Stadium, and later Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium) is a football stadium located at the former Mid-South Fairgrounds in the Midtown area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The st ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, and competed in the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

. They were led by second-year head coach

Ryan Silverfield Ryan Daniel Silverfield (born August 4, 1980) is an American football coach who is the head football coach at the University of Memphis. Silverfield has spent most of his coaching career, which began during his senior year of high school, as eithe ...

. The Tigers finished the regular season with a 6–6 record and were due to face the

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wāhine are the athletic teams that represent the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UH), in Honolulu, Hawaii. The UH athletics program is a member of the Big West Conference in most sports and competes a ...

in the

Hawaii Bowl The Hawaiʻi Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching Athle ...

. However, due to a COVID-19 outbreak, season-ending injuries, and transfers, the Rainbow Warriors were forced to withdraw the day before the game, leaving the Tigers without a bowl game. Silverfield later jokingly declared Memphis as “Hawaii Bowl champions”.

Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2020 season 8–3, 5–3 in AAC play to finish third in the conference. They won the

Montgomery Bowl The Montgomery Bowl was a postseason NCAA Division I FBS college football bowl game played in December 2020. Played at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama, the brand is owned and operated by ESPN Events. The Montgomery Bowl was announced in ...

25–10 against Florida Atlantic.

Preseason

American Athletic Conference preseason media poll

The American Athletic Conference preseason media poll was released at the virtual media day held August 4, 2021.

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, who finished the 2020 season ranked No. 8 nationally, was tabbed as the preseason favorite in the 2021 preseason media poll.

Schedule

* Hawaii was forced to withdraw due to COVID-19 and other related issues within the team. The game was canceled shortly after.

Game summaries

Nicholls

at Arkansas State

Mississippi State

UTSA

at Temple

at Tulsa

Navy

at UCF

SMU

East Carolina

at No. 24 Houston

Tulane

Rankings

References

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Memphis Tigers football seasons

Memphis Tigers football The Memphis Tigers football team represents the University of Memphis in college football in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The Tigers play in the American Athletic Conference as an all-sports member. They play home games at Si ...

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