ESPN doesn’t list Memphis as a team to watch in the American in its CFB preview magazine:

ESPN released its first college football preview magazine earlier this month ahead of the 2026 college football season. The magazine, which is only 128 pages, mainly focused on the Power Four programs, but it briefly touched on all six conferences in the Group of Six.

In its breakdown for the American, it highlighted five teams, Tulane, North Texas, Navy, South Florida and UTSA, but it didn’t mention Memphis. This is a contrast from most of the other preseason magazines that have the Tigers finishing anywhere between second and fifth in the conference standings.

It isn’t clear if the magazine just pointed out teams that are interesting going into the season, or if this is their top five teams in the American. If it’s a projection of the conference standings, that would mean ESPN predicts the Tigers will finish sixth in the conference at best.

Most think the Tigers will slot in at No. 2 in the conference and could be a dark horse candidate for the College Football Playoffs. Last season, the Tigers tied for sixth in the conference with an 8-5 record, including 4-4 in conference play.

ESPN’s magazine points out Tulane first in the American conference and headlines that fact that it returns a lot of players from last season’s team, despite losing head coach Jon Sumrall. The Green Wave are another team where it feels like people are having a hard time predicting where they will finish in the conference standings.

UTSA has been a team that hasn’t received a ton of offseason buzz, mainly because they are a rare team in the American bringing back familiar faces. Jeff Traylor returns for his seventh season as the Roadrunners’ head coach, and he returns quarterback Owen McCown, who threw for 2,995 yards, 30 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Like the Tigers, UTSA is looking to bounce back from a sixth-place finish in the conference with a 4-4 record in conference play.

Outside of conference play, the Tigers will play three other Group of Six teams in UNLV, Arkansas State and Boise State. The magazine listed Boise State as a favorite in the first year of the Pac-12 alongside San Diego State, and they predict UNLV could have a lot of success in the Mountain West.

While they highlight Tulane, Boise State and UNLV as teams that could find success in the conference, ESPN’s preseason magazine chose Hawai’i to represent the G5 in the college football playoffs.