Memphis football has a week to reflect.

The Tigers (4-1, 0-1 American Athletic Conference) earned a bounce-back 24-7 win over MTSU on Saturday at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. That followed an upset loss on the road to Navy that wiped away Memphis' spot in the US LBM Coaches Poll and put a serious damper on the Tigers' College Football Playoff hopes.

There have been some massive emotional swings the past few weeks: The win over Florida State on the road — the one coach Ryan Silverfield called "monumental" — and then the debilitating loss to the Midshipmen a week later.

Now, the Tigers have some extra time before they return to conference play with a road game Oct. 11 against South Florida (2-3, 0-1).

Here are three things for the Tigers to work on before they head to Tampa.

Tackling and defending QB runs

Navy quarterback Blake Horvath gashed Memphis for more than 400 total yards. Although the Tigers won't face a team that plays the same kind of hybrid offense as the Midshipmen, they could see some similar elements from South Florida.

Bulls quarterback Byrum Brown was injured during their loss to Tulane on Sept. 28, and his status is unclear. He is known for a high volume of QB runs — he carried the ball 23 times against Alabama, 15 times against Southern Miss and 14 times against Miami. There's no question Brown and coach Alex Golesh will look at the film from Memphis' loss to Navy and see plenty of things they can exploit.

No matter who plays quarterback for the Bulls, Memphis will need to tackle better. The Tigers did a better job against MTSU, and the return of linebacker Elijah Herring was a major boost for the entire unit. Still, you can expect defensive coordinator Jordon Hankins to be drilling tackling for plenty of the Tigers' practice time between now and Oct. 11.

Seth Henigan and the Memphis passing attack

Henigan had thrown a touchdown pass in every game he'd played for Memphis until Saturday, when the streak ended at 41 games and left him tied with Marcus Mariota for second all time. The senior is on track to throw for fewer touchdowns this season than in any of his previous three seasons with the Tigers.

Now, if Memphis keeps winning, no one will care. It has found an identity that works, thanks to a defense that has been dominant, other than the Navy game. If Memphis can win by scoring 20 points a game, Silverfield and the rest of the coaches will absolutely take it.

But there's obvious room for growth with the offense, and especially with the passing game. Roc Taylor's touchdown catch against Navy is the only one scored by a Memphis receiver this season. That's a surprise, given the depth of the room with Taylor, Demeer Blankumsee and Koby Drake all coming off strong seasons.

Silverfield mentioned drops as a problem, and there were a couple against MTSU. Whatever it is, there will likely be a game this season when Memphis needs to put up lots of points. Then we'll know if the passing game is still up to the task.

Special teams mistakes

There have been highs — Colby Cox's fumble recovery and Drake's punt return against Florida State come to mind — but there also have been lows. Silverfield called the kicking game "awful" after the first game. There was a muffed kickoff return against Navy, and then a muffed punt against MTSU.

Caden Costa is 7 of 10 on field goals this season, but he did connect on a season-long 47-yarder on Saturday. He missed an earlier kick with a different holder because of an injury to punter Joshua Sloan, so there's work to be done on consistency. And Memphis has lost two kick returners to injury.

Still, special teams can be the difference between wins and losses, and the coaching staff no doubt will be working on fixing those issues during the bye week.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Three things for Memphis football to work on during open week