Memphis football has gotten plenty of national interest this offseason, with the expansion of the College Football Playoff positioning the Tigers as a potential playoff team.
That led to an appearance for Ryan Silverfield on “The Paul Finebaum Show” Thursday afternoon, the well-known college football show that mostly focuses on the SEC. And Silverfield laid out his case for the winner of the American Athletic Conference to earn the Group of Five’s playoff spot this season.
“I believe the winner of this conference certainly should go to the playoff, regardless of what occurs in other conferences,” Silverfield said. “I think that deserves the 12th seed, or whatever that looks like.”
A Memphis native, Finebaum praised Silverfield earlier this year when he appeared in the Bluff City for an event with the Memphis Touchdown Club. Finebaum, who had criticized Silverfield in the past, said he “didn’t see the turnaround” that led to Memphis’ 10-3 season in 2023 and all the expectations heading into 2024.
“There’s such a thing in this industry as being completely and totally wrong, and I was,” Finebaum said in April. “I really didn’t see the turnaround and I didn’t see the excitement that was going to be re-attributed to this program, and I think this is a great time in Memphis.”
Thursday was Silverfield’s first appearance on Finebaum’s program, and the fact Finebaum tapped him for the show is an indication of the interest the Tigers are getting from college football fans and media around the country. The pair talked about Memphis’ offseason and how the Tigers retained key players like quarterback Seth Henigan, wide receiver Roc Taylor and linebacker Chandler Martin.
“In my nine years here, I think this is the most talk we’ve had in the offseason, which is great,” Silverfield said. “And now we’ve got to go play on the field.”
Finebaum ended the interview with a farewell that Tigers fans will certainly echo.
“Hope to hear your name, in early December heading into the playoff,” he told Silverfield. “That would be a great moment for Memphis.”
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ryan Silverfield appears on ‘The Paul Finebaum Show,’ talks expectations
