The five storylines to watch in Tigers’ football

Pollard could be on his way to setting record

Will Tony Pollard break the NCAA kickoff return touchdown record?

Pollard only needs one to tie the FBS record of seven and two to break it. He’s had at least two kickoff return scores his first two seasons so it seems possible. The big question is whether teams will kick it to him, especially in conference play, and how will the NCAA’s new kickoff rule — fair catches inside the 25 allow teams to start at the 25 — affect Memphis giving him chances.

Pollard is also on NCAA record watch for career kickoff return average where he sits second (32.5 yards per return) behind Tennessee’s Evan Berry (34.3). Even if he doesn’t score two touchdowns, he could still find himself atop the record book with enough big returns.

Can Brady White stay healthy?

White suffered a foot injury in 2016 that ended his season and also kept him out for 2017. The new Memphis quarterback has made

clear that it's behind him but with David Moore transferring to Garden City Community College, the Tigers don’t have much depth.

White already has pressure on him to keep the Memphis’ high-scoring offense running.

If he gets hurt, the offense would be turned over to either freshman Brady McBride or redshirt freshman Connor Adair. While both have shown promise, neither are ready to fully run Mike Norvell’s offense.

How fast can Memphis’ offense gel?

Memphis had 20 touchdown drives of less than a minute last year. It’s hard to expect the Tigers to do that with a new quarterback, and fans may need to scale back expectations even with returning depth at running back and offensive line.

It will take some time and there will be bumps until White gets adjusted. As a reminder, Riley Ferguson was inconsistent to start his Memphis tenure. He had six interceptions after four games but after his sixth game, he began to resemble the Ferguson that would set records in 2017.

Will Memphis’ defense be as improved as advertised?

Players and coaches have talked about the defense being much better, especially in the front seven. But can they back it up on the field?

The Tigers will create turnovers as one of the nation’s leaders over the past two seasons, but last year they were ranked No. 122 out of 130 teams in passing defense and No. 117 in total defense. That can’t happen because this offense is unlikely to put up 592 points like last year.

It depends how much better the Tigers’ pass rush is. Adding sixth-year senior Jackson Dillon back into the mix helps, and defensive coordinator Chris Ball is high on lineman Jonathan Wilson and linebacker Bryce Huff as guys who can get to the quarterback. But if Memphis wants to win the AAC, this unit has to be miles ahead of last year besides creating turnovers.

Can Memphis win the AAC outright for the first time?

Since the AAC created its conference championship game before the 2015 season, the team that lost the final did not return to the game the next year. Memphis, which split the AAC title in 2014, has a chance to buck that trend, but it all depends on how the Navy game goes on Sept. 8

A win puts the Tigers in the driver's seat regardless of what happens against UCF. A loss keeps the Tigers in the hunt, but they will need Navy and Houston to stumble at some point.

The Tigers host UCF on Oct. 13 in a highly anticipated rematch and host Houston in the regular-season finale on Nov. 23.

If Memphis wants to win the AAC and be ranked again, it will all depend how those three games go.