Tulane defeated No. 22 Memphis 38-32 on Friday night, keeping their hopes alive for a spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP) designated for Group of Five teams. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff showcased his skills by passing for 332 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Green Wave to victory and ending the Tigers” aspirations.
With this win, Tulane improved to 7-2 on the season, and 4-1 in the American Athletic Conference. The team managed to fend off a late surge from Memphis (8-2, 4-2), who rallied from a 21-point deficit in the third quarter. The Tigers” comeback effort was thwarted when they failed to convert on a crucial fourth-and-8 from the Tulane 35-yard line with just two minutes remaining, thus ending their 11-game home winning streak.
“I”m so proud of our guys for their resiliency,” said Tulane coach Jon Sumrall. “It was so cool to see how our guys responded after last week”s loss at Texas-San Antonio. Bad things are going to happen sometimes. You just have to keep showing up.”
Brendon Lewis threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns for Memphis, while Cortez Braham Jr. caught 11 passes for 113 yards. The Green Wave started strong, scoring on their first play of the game with a 65-yard touchdown pass from Retzlaff to Shazz Preston. They found the end zone on four of their next five possessions in the first half, where Retzlaff completed 14 of 15 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns.
“I thought Jake played his tail off in the first half,” Sumrall noted. The Green Wave amassed 364 yards of offense in the first half, but were limited to just 93 yards in the second half. Despite the struggles, Memphis could not capitalize on their defensive adjustments.
“Clearly, we didn”t play to our standard in the first half,” said Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield. “We gave up too many explosive plays, and offensively, we had too many self-inflicted wounds. It”s unlike us. Our guys will learn from this.”
The Tigers matched Tulane“s scoring early on, tying the game at 7 within two minutes as Lewis connected with Jamari Hawkins for a 55-yard touchdown. After falling behind, Memphis managed to score again on their first play of the second quarter with a 21-yard run by Arrington Maiden.
Retzlaff responded decisively, leading Tulane on consecutive touchdown drives, including a 33-yard rushing touchdown by Retzlaff himself and a 54-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Brown-Stephens. A 5-yard touchdown pass to Preston put the Green Wave up 35-17 just before halftime.
As the fourth quarter began, Memphis trimmed the lead to 38-25 with a 1-yard touchdown run by Frank Peasant and a successful two-point conversion, after Maiden replaced Lewis at quarterback following an injury. Lewis returned to the game and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Brady Kluse, closing the gap to 38-32 with 7:49 left. However, Arrington finished the game as the Tigers” quarterback.
Memphis had entered the contest as the leading candidate from the Group of Five for the CFP, ranking highest among non-Power 4 programs, but the overwhelming offensive display from Tulane dashed those playoff hopes.
Tulane is set to host Florida Atlantic on November 15, while Memphis will visit East Carolina on the same day.
