Memphis football has an open week before conference play starts.
That makes it a perfect time to take stock of what we've seen from the first four games and what to expect for the rest of the season.
The Tigers' next game is Oct. 3 (2:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+), when they open American Conference play at Charlotte.
What's the path to CFP? - Tekedrion Perry
For the sake of this exercise, let's assume Memphis wins out and claims the American Conference title at 12-1. If the Tigers lose again, especially if it's an ugly loss, they're probably going to be out of the race.
Their playoff hopes obviously took a massive hit with the loss to Boise State. That result means the Broncos — especially if they beat Western Michigan on Sept. 26 — will be in the driver's seat to claim the Group of Six's spot in the College
Football Playoff for the foreseeable future.
The Tigers are also behind a few other teams. New Mexico has looked good and only lost 14-6 at Oklahoma. In an era where quality losses seem to consistently get valued the most, New Mexico's loss against the Sooners is better than Memphis' loss at Boise State.
James Madison is undefeated and might be favored to win out the rest of the way. Would an undefeated James Madison get in over a 12-1 Memphis? That's where margin of victory might come into play.
The path for Memphis is this: Win out, root for Boise State to lose (maybe twice), root for chaos in the Mountain West and for James Madison to lose at least once.
What are the problems with the Memphis defense? Is it just tackling or is it deficit of talent? Both? - Michael Wofford
Tackling will definitely be an emphasis this week because it was a major problem against Boise State. It's also much harder to tackle Dylan Riley than it will be to tackle basically anyone else the Tigers play this season, so there's reason for optimism there.
Elsewhere, the secondary has looked shaky at times. The defense is built to overwhelm offenses at the point of attack (and you saw that against UNLV), but you'd like to see more consistency at the back end of the defense.
As for the talent: I wouldn't put that as an issue. Memphis has as much or more talent as anyone in the American, and I think you'll see that during conference play.
What is the QB status for next season? How many seasons do either QB have left? I am assuming one will leave. - Brent Annaratone
Marcus Stokes has one season of eligibility remaining after this year, while Air Noland has two.
Jordan Thompson sure looked good in last week's game against UT-Martin. Do you see more playing time for him going forward? - Ben Ward
Thompson flashed in that game against UT Martin, and — aside from the pre-emptive celebration that led to him getting tackled by the turf monster — he looked dynamic in the playing time he got. He is someone the coaching staff was high on all offseason, as evidenced by the fact that he was on the travel list to UNLV for Memphis' opener even as a true freshman.
But it's hard to see him cracking the rotation, especially because Jaylin Carter and Manny Covey each has been impressive. Dallan Hayden has worked behind Carter and Covey this season, which isn't a surprise. He's a different type of running back, but Carter and Covey were always expected to get the majority of the work.
Which two opponents present the greatest challenge on our schedule, and what makes them so?
This is an interesting one, because I think the answer has changed from what it would have been in the offseason. At that time, I probably would have said Navy and East Carolina.
Now, I'm going to say Army and South Florida.
Army because of the simple fact that styles make fights. Jeff Monken no doubt watched Memphis' game against Boise State and started crafting a game plan to run the ball down the Tigers' throat the same way Boise State did. The Black Knights are going to be relentless with the option running game, and the time of possession battle in that game might look something like 45-15. That's going to be a tall task for Memphis' defensive front.
South Florida has looked a little shaky but also looks like a solid team under new coach Brian Hartline. Memphis has to play the Bulls on the road later in the season, and I still think South Florida's Michael Van Buren might be the most dynamic quarterback in the conference.
Can we start a petition to bring the LIVE Tiger Back? LSU still has theirs. - Darrell Maxwell
Start? Yes. Succeed? That's, uh, above my pay grade.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis' path to the CFP, Jordan Thompson's emergence and other burning Tigers questions
