Memphis bowl predictions after week 9

Memphis picked up another win over the weekend to improve to 7-2 on the season, and earlier this week, several outlets updated their bowl predictions.

The Tigers are bowl eligible for the 13th straight season, and Charles Huff is bowl eligible for the sixth season in a row. While Memphis has gained bowl eligibility, the biggest question becomes what bowl game will it land at.

Most of that will be determined by how the rest of the season plays out, and with more wins, it should mean a better bowl destination and opponent. While it seems like a long shot for the Tigers to make the College Football Playoffs, The Athletic gives them a 3 percent chance, they could still make the conference championship game in December. 

If they are in the conference championship game, that should mean a bowl game against a Power Four program, which is what most fans want to see.

Here are the current bowl projections from several outlets.

ESPN:

Bonagura: Frisco Bowl vs. Buffalo

Schlabach: Boca Raton Bowl vs. Western Michigan

ESPN has two analysts making bowl predictions on their website, and both have the Tigers playing other Group of Six opponents in their bowl game. 

Kyle Bonagura still thinks Memphis will play in the Frisco Bowl against Buffalo. The Bulls gained bowl eligibility Tuesday night with a 34-31 win in overtime over Miami (OH). 

Buffalo has gone to six bowl games since 2018, but they didn’t gain bowl eligibility last season. The Tigers have never played Buffalo.

Mark Schlabach predicts Huff’s team will play Western Michigan in the Boca Raton Bowl. It would be the Tigers’ second appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl if that’s where they’re going, and the Tigers would be looking for their first win after losing to Western Kentucky by 20 in 2016.

The Broncos have won four of their last five games, and sit at 6-3 in the MAC. It would be the first meeting between Memphis and Western Michigan if this prediction is correct.

CBS Sports:

Armed Forces Bowl vs. Kansas State

CBS Sports predicts Memphis will play Kansas State in the Armed Forces Bowl, which would mean the Tigers would play a Power Four opponent again. The Wildcats are 4-4, and they’ve lost four of their last five games.

They still need to win two games to gain bowl eligibility, and they will play at home against Oklahoma State, at TCU, home against No. 22 Arizona and at Iowa State to end the season. ESPN Analytics matchup predictor gives Kansas State more than a 50 percent chance to win only one of the four remaining games on its schedule.

Memphis and the Wildcats have met three times, but they haven’t met since the 1973 season. The Tigers are 1-2 in the series.

On3:

Fenway Bowl vs. North Carolina

On3’s Brett McMurphy continues to predict the Tigers will play in the Fenway Bowl, and he thinks they will play North Carolina. The Tar Heels sit at 4-4, but they’ve played some competitive games this season. 

All four of their losses have been by single digits, and they lost to No. 1 Miami over the weekend by three points. Bill Belichick’s team will play at UConn, home against Louisville, at Virginia and home against NC State to end the season, and there’s a good chance they can win two games before the year is over.

Memphis has played North Carolina twice in program history, losing both meetings, but the two teams haven’t met since the 1984 season.

USA Today:

Birmingham Bowl vs. Auburn

USA Today predicts a rematch of the 2015 Birmingham Bowl with Memphis playing Auburn. The last time these two teams met Auburn won the bowl game 31-10 at Legion Field.

The game is now held at Protective Stadium, the home of UAB football.

Auburn, like the other two P4 teams listed, are 4-4, and it has lost back-to-back games against LSU and Ole Miss. The Tigers will finish the season with a home game against Arkansas, at Mississippi State, home against Samford and at Alabama. 

If Memphis meets Auburn in a bowl game, there will be a lot of familiarity to the fan base. Former USF head coach Alex Golesh took over at Auburn over the summer, and he took star quarterback Byrum Brown with him.

While Memphis lost the most recent meeting, it holds a 2-1 lead in the series.