Marcus Stokes delivered the kind of performance that can keep a season on track.
The Memphis quarterback was sharp from the start and never let Army settle in, completing 29 of 35 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns without an interception in a 49-22 win. He added 30 rushing yards and another score on the ground, putting together his best outing since coming over from the Division II ranks.
That win mattered in the American Conference race, where both teams came in with one conference loss and knew the margin for error was shrinking fast. Memphis handled the pressure by flipping a recent script that had seen slow offensive starts against Tulane and East Carolina. This time, the Tigers scored touchdowns on four of their five first-half possessions and raced out in front.
Stokes spread the ball around, but his best chemistry came with Jermane Hayes, Jemyri Davis and Hunter Tipton. Hayes caught the first two touchdowns and finished with nine receptions for 86 yards.
Davis later added two scores of his own, finishing with four catches for 75 yards. Tipton was just as important in the middle of the field, hauling in five passes for 86 yards and helping Memphis keep the chains moving.
By halftime, Stokes was 20 of 24 for 258 yards and three touchdowns, and one of those incompletions came on a spike.
Army did manage to stay level early, matching Memphis at 7-7 and 14-14. But the Tigers took control late in the second quarter and into the third when their defense started to choke off the Black Knights’ option game.
That was no small task against Cale Hellums, who had averaged 180 rushing yards over his previous three games and scored 10 rushing touchdowns in that span. Memphis held him to 34 yards on 13 carries, doing a better job against the star runner than any other defense has this season. The Tigers also finished the night with only one tackle for loss, but they still found a way to blunt Army’s attack when it mattered most.
Memphis then stretched the lead with three straight touchdowns to go up 35-14 before Army finally snapped the drought late in the third quarter. The Black Knights had two chances to pull within one score after Memphis’ offense cooled, but the Tigers’ defense answered both times.
The finish belonged to Memphis’ ground game and secondary. Jaylin Carter ran for 96 yards and two touchdowns, while Manny Covey added 57 yards. Then Chauncey Logan Jr. and Ellis Ellis Jr. picked off Army on its final two possessions, pushing the Tigers to 18 takeaways on the season, tied for fourth in the FBS.
Army, now 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the American, saw its four-game conference winning streak end before 32,502 fans in Memphis. The Black Knights have had a clear pattern with Hellums: when he rushes for at least 80 yards, they are 5-0; when he finishes under 60, they are 0-3. With only East Carolina on Nov. 21 and Rice on Nov. 28 left in conference play, Jeff Monken’s team faces a tough road back to its first conference championship game since 2024.
Memphis improved to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the American, extending its streak of finishing .500 or better to 13 straight seasons. The Tigers have won at least seven games every year since 2014 except for 2021, when they went 6-6 and had their Hawaii Bowl canceled because of COVID-19. First-year coach Charles Huff is now 5-0 at home, and Memphis stays in the championship hunt, sitting one game behind North Texas and UTSA, neither of whom is on the Tigers’ schedule.
In Other News...
Mike Norvells Name Is Suddenly Tied To An Unexpected Job
Oregons decision to move on from offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer seven games into the 2026 season has already sent the search cycle into overdrive, and one of the more surprising names floating around is Mike Norvell. Dan Lanning turned to Jay Johnson as the interim play-caller, but the long-term opening has quickly become a topic of speculation because the Ducks are expected to explore a wide range of options as they reshape the offense.
Norvells sudden availability after being dismissed at Florida State has only added to the chatter, especially with his professional ties to Lanning from their time working together at multiple programs. Chip Kelly has also been mentioned in the same breath, which speaks to the kind of profile Oregon could be targeting as it weighs its next move and tries to settle the offensive staff before the season drifts any further. [Read more 🡒]
Memphis Believes Its Power Four Case Is Stronger Than Ever
Memphis has spent a long stretch trying to make itself impossible to ignore, and athletic director Ed Scott thinks the schools case is getting stronger by the year. In a recent interview, Scott pointed to the Tigers broad athletic success, their footprint in the community and the steady relevance of both football and basketball as reasons Memphis is positioning itself well for whatever comes next in conference realignment.
Scott also emphasized the way the football program has chosen to challenge itself with scheduling, a detail that matters when schools are trying to sell more than wins and losses. For Memphis, the pitch is about being ready when the next round of expansion opens up, and Scotts message was clear enough: the Tigers believe they have built a profile that belongs in the Power Four conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Memphis Opens With A Huge Test And One Major Roster Cloud
Memphis will waste no time finding out where it stands in the 2026-27 season, opening with a neutral-site matchup against No. 18 Iowa State at Sanford Pentagon. The Tigers also enter the year with some preseason respect in hand, picked to finish second in the American Conference preseason coaches' poll, while senior Jayden Reid and Tylik Weeks earned spots on the league's preseason all-conference teams.
The bigger question, though, is how the roster will look when the games begin. Senior Nemanja Popovic was cleared by the NCAA for two years of eligibility, but he still has to serve a six-game withholding period because of previous international competition, and Memphis is appealing that ruling. For a team with high expectations and an immediate test on deck, his status is one more wrinkle in a season that already starts with plenty of attention. [Read more 🡒]