Memphis kicks off a brand-new era under Charles Huff with a home date against an FCS program that's actually won something recently — UT Martin.
Bush’s Picks
UTMMEM
UTMMEM
OverUnder
Best BetMemphis
Memphis at home against an FCS opponent is about as close to a lock as the moneyline market offers all season. The roster overhaul is a real story for Memphis fans, but it doesn't change the baseline talent gap against a Ohio Valley Conference team. Backing the Tigers here is about as low-variance as picking winners gets.
UT Martin
+Four straight conference titles from 2021-24
+6-2 in league play last season under Simpson
+21st-year coach brings continuity and stability
−Massive roster/talent gap vs an FBS program
−Playing its second straight FBS road test
−6-6 overall mark last year, uneven finish
Memphis
+12 straight bowl-eligible seasons, proven program stability
+Huff has a track record turning programs around fast
+Deep transfer-portal talent infusion at multiple spots
−Brand-new starting QB, unresolved camp battle
−Roughly 22 new starters means real chemistry risk
−First game under a new coaching staff and scheme
This one's really about Memphis figuring itself out. Charles Huff took over after Ryan Silverfield bolted for Arkansas, and the roster he inherited barely resembles last year's 8-5 squad — reports point to roughly 22 new starters pouring in through the transfer portal, with a dozen of them following Huff over from his Southern Miss turnaround job. The most important battle in camp is at quarterback, where West Florida transfer Marcus Stokes and Air Noland are competing for the job, and neither has taken a snap in a Memphis uniform yet.
UT Martin isn't just a body-bag opponent to feel good about. Jason Simpson is in year 21 running the program, and this group won four straight conference titles from 2021-24 before going 6-6 last fall — 6-2 in league play. The schedule-makers clearly weren't easing the Skyhawks in either: this trip to Memphis comes right after a road game at West Virginia, back-to-back FBS tests sandwiched around a manageable Central Arkansas opener.
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UTM UT Martin
MEM Memphis
The gap here is still the story. Memphis has been to a bowl game 12 straight years and is chasing its first American Conference title-game appearance since 2019, and even with a roster this unsettled, the talent and depth disparity against an FCS opponent is usually enough to cover for growing pains. UT Martin's recent conference dominance says the program is legitimate at its level — it just isn't built to hang with a Power-4-adjacent roster for four quarters.
UT Martin Skyhawks
Sep 12?@ West Virginia—
Memphis Tigers
Sep 12?@ Boise State—
Sep 5?vs Arkansas State—
Aug 29?@ UNLV—
Recent form.
What actually matters for Memphis fans is less the final score and more what they see out of the new pieces — how the Stokes-Noland battle shakes out in live snaps, whether the new-look offensive line holds up, and whether Huff's defense (built off whatever worked at Southern Miss) looks organized this early. Games like this are typically more about evaluation than drama.
UT Martin Skyhawks
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Memphis Tigers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
For UT Martin, the value of a trip like this is exposure and a paycheck, not a real shot at the upset. Simpson's teams have earned a reputation for being competitive inside their own league, and if the Skyhawks keep things respectable into the second half, that alone would be a solid data point heading into their Ohio Valley Conference schedule.
