We ranked the toughest games on Memphis football's schedule, here's who's at the top

Memphis football’s season gets underway next month.

The Tigers will face UNLV on Aug. 29 in Las Vegas as part of college football’s Week Zero, and it’ll be a chance for both teams to establish themselves as legitimate contenders to claim the Group of Six’s bid in the College Football Playoff. It will be Charles Huff’s first game as Memphis coach, and it means he won’t have any time to ease into the job.

Memphis’ non-conference schedule also includes a trip to Boise State, a similarly intriguing matchup between two teams expected to compete at the top of the Group of Six. Those games are no doubt among the toughest on the Tigers’ schedule.

In 2025, their schedule looked backloaded and the season bore that out. They started 6-0 but finished 8-5. This season, it looks more balanced, with tough tests in the first month but tricky American Conference games near the end, too.

Here’s our ranking of every game based on expected difficulty.

1. At Boise State (Sept. 12)

Memphis’ first-ever trip to the Smurf Turf figures to be a difficult test. The Broncos return quarterback Maddux Madsen and are positioned as the clear preseason favorites in the revamped Pac-12. The Tigers are 1-0 all-time against Boise State, winning in 2023 despite four touchdowns by Ashton Jeanty.

2. At UNLV (Aug. 29)

Memphis has started its season against an FCS opponent the past few seasons, so this will be a different kind of test. Dan Mullen’s team is coming off a 10-win season and has reloaded in the transfer portal with a roster that positions the Rebels as preseason Mountain West favorites.

3. At Navy (Nov. 21)

Trips to Annapolis are always difficult, and Navy’s style of play means this game won’t be fun for Memphis even if the Midshipmen aren’t in the conference title race by this point in the season. Navy is also coming off back-to-back wins over the Tigers, so this game will have an extra edge for Memphis.

4. At South Florida (Nov. 12)

This game comes on the 10-year anniversary of South Florida’s most recent win over Memphis. The Bulls will be an interesting team to watch as Brian Hartline steps into his first head coaching job, with a talented roster. This could be a sneaky important game in the conference title race.

5. At Tulane (Oct. 16)

Given Memphis’ opponents, it’s no surprise that the five toughest games are all on the road. Tulane will be a bit of an unknown under new coach Will Hall, but the floor should be pretty high based on the incredible success it has had the past few years. There’s enough talent for it to be one of the better teams in the American Conference.

6. East Carolina (Oct. 22)

The Pirates beat the Tigers in Greenville a season ago, but both teams will look very different this time around. This will be East Carolina defensive coordinator Jordon Hankins’ return to Memphis after he spent the past two seasons as the Tigers’ DC.

7. Army (Oct. 31)

Facing Army’s option offense is never straightforward, and the Tigers will host the Black Knights for the first time as American Conference foes.

8. Arkansas State (Sept. 5)

Historically, this is a pretty even matchup (or rivalry, depending on who you ask). But the Red Wolves haven’t beaten the Tigers since 2012 and got embarrassed in the most recent meeting, in 2023. However, coach Butch Jones has taken Arkansas State to back-to-back bowl games, and this won’t be a walkover.

9. Temple (Nov. 27 or 28)

The Owls looked like an improving team in 2025 in K.C. Keeler’s first season at the helm of the program, so this could be a tricky one. It mostly comes down to where each team is in the standings at this point in the season, though.

10. UAB (Oct. 10)

Memphis should probably have this game circled on the calendar because of what happened last season in Birmingham, when the Blazers stunned the Tigers in one of the biggest upsets of the season across all of college football. UAB doesn’t look like a great team on paper, but that might not matter when these teams meet.

11. At Charlotte (Oct. 3)

Charlotte was atrocious in 2025 and projects as one of the bottom teams in FBS again heading into 2026. But Memphis has gone life-and-death with the 49ers twice the past few years, so this isn’t exactly a given.

12. UT-Martin (Sept. 19)

This is the FCS game on Memphis’ schedule. It’ll be the non-conference finale and will be a game the Tigers are heavily favored to win.

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: We ranked the toughest games on Memphis football’s schedule, here’s who’s at the top