Phil Steele predicts Memphis will finish sixth in the American

Phil Steele’s annual magazine has been released, and he predicts the Tigers will finish sixth in the American Conference. This preseason ranking is the lowest among the preseason magazines, and it would put them close to where they finished last season with a 4-4 conference record.

Steele predicts, like many do, that Navy will win the conference, but the magazine put UTSA, Tulane, East Carolina and Army ahead of Charles Huff’s team. He also ranks Memphis as the No. 87 team in his “Power Poll Top 138” rankings.

Steele points out that his “Power Poll Top 128” is his ranking of the talent of the teams entering the season, while the preseason top 40 rankings are where he thinks teams will end the season.

Earlier this month, Steele released his All-Conference teams, and the Tigers had four defensive players on the All-Conference First Team. Memphis is the only team to have more than two players on the First-Team defense, but Temple leads the conference with the most players on the All-Conference First Team.

Three Tigers’ offensive linemen appear on the Third and Fourth teams, but it appears Steele has questions about how the team as a whole will mesh in 2026.

Steele points out the talent on the roster, but the question is how the team will mesh. He puts them in a category where they can be a contender in the conference, but could also take a step back this upcoming season from last year’s 8-5 record. 

What’s clear is that the defense should be the strength of the team. Steele ranks every team’s unit in the conference, and the Tigers ranked in the top two in all three defensive units (DL, LB & DB).

Memphis finished first in defensive line and defensive backs, and they ranked second, behind Tulane, at Linebacker.

Steele also released his strength-of-schedule rankings, and the Tigers rank 80th out of the 138 teams. He doesn’t use the win/loss model, which is why Memphis’ strength of schedule is much lower than where fbschedules had them earlier this month.

Steele lists a projected starting lineup for every team, and he predicts Marcus Stokes will start at quarterback, with Air Noland as the backup. Stokes appears to be the frontrunner for the starting position, but Huff has said multiple times that both quarterbacks will be evaluated ahead of the opener against UNLV.

The magazine also predicts sophomore Jaylin Carter will start at running back after following the staff from Southern Miss.

The Tigers are less than 70 days away from kicking the season off in Week Zero, and there is a ton of intrigue and questions heading into year one under Huff.