NEW ORLEANS – When three deep passes by Darian Mensah resulted in turnovers, Tulane's long-shot hopes of sneaking into the College Football Playoff slipped away.
Greg Desrosiers Jr. caught two scoring passes and ran for a touchdown, and Memphis defeated No. 18 Tulane 34-24 on Thursday night to end the Green Wave's eight-game winning streak.
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“You can’t have the critical mistakes we had," said Tulane coach Jon Sumrall, whose team needed to win its regular-season finale and the American Athletic Conference title game to have any realistic chance at making the new 12-team CFP.
“There’s a lot of stuff we didn’t execute to our standard that we have for several games in a row now," he added. "It’s very frustrating. We’re all hurting, and it should hurt when you play a game like that.”
Two turnovers by Tulane (9-3, 7-1 AAC) came on fumbles after long receptions at or inside the Memphis 10-yard line. Another came on a long pass by Mensah that was intercepted at the 2-yard line by Davion Ross, and the Tigers responded with a game-sealing drive capped by Mario Anderson Jr.’s 47-yard touchdown run.
“We could have easily held our heads down,” Desrosiers said, referring to a pair of conference losses that dropped Memphis (10-2, 6-2) out of the AAC title picture. “Obviously the season didn't go as planned ... but we know what we deserve. We know what we're capable of. So, we came out here and we wanted to dominate.”
Tigers defensive back Kourtlan Marsh caused both momentum-turning fumbles, the first when he leveled Yulkeith Brown after the receiver's 40-yard catch. AJ Watts recovered at the 10 and returned it 37 yards, initiating a drive that ended with Desrosiers' 29-yard touchdown run on third-and-4 to give Memphis a 27-10 lead.
In the fourth quarter, with Tulane trailing 27-17, Mario Williams fumbled at the Tigers 9 after hauling in a 55-yard pass. Marsh recovered.
“If those three turnovers don’t happen, we’re probably talking about a final play to figure out who the winner is," Sumrall said.
Seth Henigan completed 22 of 29 passes for 218 yards and two TDs without a turnover for Memphis, which totaled 454 yards against a Tulane defense that had allowed just nine points in its previous three games combined. Anderson rushed for 177 yards on 24 carries.
“When you can't win the conference championship, all you can do is win the play that you're in and the game that you're in,” Henigan said. “Our guys came together and played for each other.”
Mensah passed for 317 yards and two TDs, and Arnold Barnes ran for a 2-yard score — not enough for Tulane to prolong its 17-game streak of regular-season conference wins.
“I didn’t see that performance coming,” Sumrall said. “I thought we’d play better than we did. Memphis played good, but we didn’t play to our standard. We didn’t help ourselves a whole lot.”
Tulane gave up a touchdown on Memphis' opening drive when Henigan hit Desrosiers for the first of his two touchdown catches — a leaping 17-yard grab in tight coverage.
“To come out on the opening possession and score, that was big for our offense and maybe our confidence as well, just to know we could execute on these guys,” Henigan said. “Playing against a great opponent, that's an opportunity. So we had to make sure that opportunity wasn't wasted.”
Tulane's only lead came when Williams' 7-yard TD catch made it 10-7 late in the first quarter. Desrosier's 25-yard catch and run put the Tigers back in front for good in the second.
The Takeaway
Memphis: The Tigers played like a team that felt disrespected as two-touchdown underdogs. They converted 10 of 16 third downs to help them surpass the 20-point plateau for a 39th straight game. Their defense was disruptive and opportunistic. Now they have consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time in program history. Henigan also became the AAC's all-time leading passer, now with 13,972 career yards.
Tulane: The Green Wave looked tight early. Receivers dropped several passes and Tulane's normally productive run scheme did not match up well with a Memphis run defense that ranked 18th nationally. Missed tackles on defense and trouble getting third-down stops made for a rough night.
Poll implications
Tulane might drop out of the AP Top 25, lessening the magnitude of next week's AAC championship game.
Up next
Memphis: Awaits a bowl bid.
Tulane: Will play Army on Dec. 6 in the American Athletic Conference championship game at a site to be determined.
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