Navy (1-4, 1-2 AAC) at Memphis (3-3, 0-2 AAC)
When	Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021 | 7:30 pm (ET) / 6:30 pm (CT)
Location	Memphis, Tenn. | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Television	ESPN (Matt Barrie, Roddy Jones, Harry Lyles Jr.)
Live Video Stream	WatchESPN
Listen	Navy Football Radio Network (Pete Medhurst, Joe Miller, Keith Mills, Scott Wykoff) WBAL 1090 AM / 101.5 FM (Baltimore) | WFED 820 AM, 94.3 FM (Frederick, Md.) | WFED 1500 AM | WFED 104.5 FM (Western Fairfax / Loudon, Va.) | WNAV 1430 AM, 99.9 FM (Annapolis) | WBQH 93.5 FM (Washington, DC / No. Virginia) | WJBT 100.3 FM (Jacksonville) | KWFN 97.3 FM (San Diego, Calif.) | WGH 1310 AM, 100.9 FM, 97.3 HD2-3 (Norfolk, Va.) | Satellite: Sirius 84 / XM 84 / SXM App 84
Live Stats	Navy Athletics
Game Notes	Navy | Memphis | AAC
Season Statistics	Navy | Memphis | AAC
Social Media	@NavyAthletics | @NavyFB | Facebook | Instagram

Opening Kick
•    Navy and Memphis meet for the seventh time in series history, all as American Athletic Conference foes, when the two square off on Thursday night (7:30 pm ET) at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
•    The all-time series between the two schools is tied at 3-3, with the home team going 2-1 at their respective home venue.
•    Navy's last trip to Memphis was a memorable one as the Mids defeated Kansas State 20-17 in the 2019 Liberty Bowl, capping off a school-record tying 11-win season (11-2). The Mids also went 11-2 in 2015, Navy's first year in the AAC.
•    The Memphis contest is the fourth of five-consecutive games in which Navy will play against the top-five teams in the AAC Preseason Poll. Memphis was picked fifth in the preseason poll.
•    Navy will play the third-toughest schedule in the country this year based on opponent winning percentage from 2020. The Mids' 12 opponents this fall combined for a 72-42 (.632) record in 2020. Only Arkansas (.644) and UMass (.644) have tougher slates based on last year's results.
•    This will be the first time since 2004 that Navy has played a Thursday game after playing on Saturday. That year, the Mids beat Jay Cutler and Vanderbilt 29-26 and then traveled to Colorado Springs and beat Air Force 24-21. In 2010, the Mids played Maryland on a Monday (L, 17-14) before turning around and playing Georgia Southern at home on a Saturday (W, 13-7).
•    Navy is 31-19 in the American Athletic Conference since joining in 2015. That record is the fourth-best mark in the conference during that time. Only Memphis (34-16), Temple (32-17) and UCF (32-18) have been better. Navy has defeated every team in the conference at least once.
•    Senior corner Michael McMorris has forced three fumbles this year which is tied for the third most in the country.
•    Senior safety Kevin Brennan, senior wide receiver Mychal Cooper, senior linebacker Diego Fagot and senior slot back Chance Warren were selected as team captains for the 2021 season by their teammates. Being selected team captain is the greatest honor a Navy athlete can receive, to be chosen the leader of a group of leaders.
•    Cooper was also chosen to serve as the Captain of the Captains by a vote of the team captains of all 33 of Navy's varsity sports. It's the second time in three years that a football player has been selected. Ford Higgins was the Captain of the Captains for the 2019-20 academic year.
•    Fagot is on the "Watch Lists" for the 2021 Chuck Bednarik Award (Maxwell Football Club) and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Football Writers Association of America) which are presented to the top defensive player in college football.
•    Fagot was named a Third-Team Preseason All-American by Phil Steele's College Football Magazine, while Fagot (first team), senior corner Michael McMorris (third team), sophomore nose guard Donald Berniard Jr. (fourth team), senior safety Kevin Brennan (fourth team) and junior kicker Bijan Nichols (fourth team) were named to Steele's All-AAC team. Fagot is a two-time All-AAC performer, garnering second-team honors by the league's coaches as a junior and first-team recognition as a sophomore.
•    Head coach Ken Niumatalolo earned his 100th-career victory last fall (Oct. 10) when the Mids defeated Temple in Annapolis. He is the 24th active coach with 100-career wins and just the sixth active coach to achieve it all at one school.
•    Navy is 43-30 (.589) in the Niumatalolo era (2008-present) in one-score games (8 points or less).

Broadcast Coverage
•    ESPN will carry Thursday's prime time contest with Matt Barrie, Roddy Jones and Harry Lyles Jr. on the call.
•    The Navy Football Insider Show with Joe Miller airs every Thursday night from 7:00-8:00 pm on WBAL Radio (1090 AM, 101.5 FM). Pete Medhurst, Keith Mills and Scott Wykoff also contribute to the show. This week's show, however, will not air due to the Thursday night game.
•    The Navy Football Tailgate Show on WNAV Radio 1430 AM / 99.9 FM will air from 5:30-6:30 pm on Thursday with Wylie Baker and Bill Lusby serving as the hosts.
•    The Navy Football Pregame Show with Medhurst, Miller, Wykoff and special commentary from John Feinstein will get underway at 6:30 pm on the Navy Radio Network, followed by game action beginning at 7:30 pm with Medhurst, Miller and Mills on the call.
•    Following the contest, Medhurst, Miller, Mills and Wykoff will recap the day's events in a 30-minute postgame show.

Scouting Memphis
3-3 Overall  |  0-2 AAC
Head Coach: Ryan Silverfield

•    Memphis enters Thursday's game with a 3-3 record, earning wins over Nicholls (42-17), Arkansas State (55-50) and a big win over Mississippi State (31-29). The Tigers lost to UTSA (31-28), along with conference foes Temple (34-31) and Tulsa (35-29). Memphis' last five games have been decided by a total of 19 points.
•    Memphis once again is fielding a prolific offense, ranking 11th nationally in passing offense (323.0 yds/gm), 11th in total offense (499.0 yds/gm), 15th in passing yards per completion (14.91), 20th in third down conversions (.472) and 24th in scoring offense (36.0 pts/gm).
•    The Tigers' special teams are indeed special, ranking fourth in punt return defense (0.75 yds/return), fourth in punt returns (22.5 yds/return), seventh in net punting (44.24 yds/punt) and 24th in kick return defense (18.0 yds/return).
•    Meanwhile, the defense is fifth nationally in defensive touchdowns with 2.
•    The Memphis roster features 26 transfers, including 9 from the Autonomy 5. Freshman kicker Noah Grant is a transfer from the Naval Academy Prep School.
•    Senior wide receiver Calvin Austin III is one of the best players in the country. He ranks second nationally in all-purpose yards (162.0 yds/gm), second in receiving yards per game (139.5), fourth in touchdown catches (8), seventh in receptions per game (8.0) and 25th in scoring per game (9.3). He has also returned a punt for a touchdown.  Last week against Tulsa, he had 13 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown.
•    True freshman quarterback Seth Henigan is ranked eighth in the country in passing yards per game (323.0), 11th in passing yards per completion (14.91), 12th in total offense per game (328.5), 14th in passing touchdowns (14), 18th in yards per pass attempt (9.01) and 21st in completions per game (21.67).
•    Redshirt freshman running back Brandon Thomas is 21st in the country in rushing yards per attempt (6.37).
•    Fifth-year linebacker JJ Russell ranks second in the country in solo tackles per game (7.3) and total tackles per game (11.0). Redshirt junior defensive back Quindell Johnson stands 22nd in tackles per game (9.2).
•    True freshman defensive back Greg Rubin is second in the country in passes defended per game (1.8).

Playing Against The Home State
•    Navy has 9 players on its roster from the state of Tennessee, including 4 that are on the current three-deep depth chart.
•    Starting right tackle Kip Franklin hails from Germantown, second-team center Luke Coleman is from Memphis, second-team striker Tyler Fletcher (starts at linebacker in the nickel package) is from Nashville and third-team slot back Daniel Taylor is from Franklin.

Hodges Has Career Game Against SMU
•    Junior linebacker Johnny Hodges had a career game against SMU.
•    Hodges led the Mids with a career-high 14 tackles and picked off his first-career pass in the end zone. The 14 tackles were the most by a Navy player since J'arius Warren had 14 in last year's Army-Navy game.
•    Hodges came to Navy as a lacrosse recruit, but after his freshman year made the move over to football.

Defensive Touchdown
•    Diego Fagot's 20-yard fumble return for a touchdown against SMU, thanks to a Clay Cromwell sack of quarterback Taylor Mordecai, was Navy's first defensive touchdown since 2019 when Tony Brown returned a fumble 8 yards for a touchdown on the final play of game in Navy's win over Air Force. The Cromwell sack was the first sack that SMU has allowed all year.
•    The touchdown was the second of Fagot's career. He returned an interception 17 yards for a touchdown against Tulane in 2019.

Block That Kick
• Navy has blocked 2 kicks this year, both in the UCF game.
• Senior defensive tackle J'arius Warren blocked an extra-point in the first quarter and senior corner Michael McMorris blocked a punt that Navy recovered for a touchdown in the second quarter.
• The blocked punt was the first by Navy since 2008 when the Mids blocked two in a win over Air Force. Blake Carter blocked a punt that Bobby Doyle recovered in the end zone and Greg Shinego blocked a punt that Carter returned for a  touchdown in Navy's 33-27 win.
• Warren blocked an extra-point last year at East Carolina.
• Navy's 2 blocked kicks are the 14th most in the country.

McMorris Making Plays
•    Senior corner Michael "Mikey" McMorris has made some big-time plays for the Mids this fall.  
•    McMorris is fourth on the team in tackles with 21, has a tackle for loss, a sack, a pass breakup, blocked a punt and has forced 3 fumbles despite being hobbled by injuries.  McMorris was limited in the Air Force game and played sparingly against SMU.
•    The 3 forced fumbles are tied for the third most in the country.