Best, worst from Tigers’ loss at Tulane
Memphis had high expectations for this season. Another AAC West division title. A possible AAC championship and a New Year’s Day bowl game.
After losing at Tulane Friday night, everything took a step back. Memphis (3-2, 0-2) went from wanting to be respected to a team that needs to figure out who it is according to coach Mike Norvell.
“We’ve got to look in the mirror. We’ve got to make sure that the things that happen today, it’s on all of us,” Memphis coach Mike Norvell said. “We were outcoached, outperformed, and outprepared.”
For the first time since 2013, Memphis started 0-2 in conference play. The Tigers were also held under 300 yards of total offense for the first time since 2015 when Justin Fuente was the coach.
Here are the best and worst moments from a game the Tigers would like to forget.
Best start: Darrell Henderson
Darrell Henderson had another big play with a 47-yard touchdown run to open the game. It was everything Memphis loves to do. Start fast. Lean on its offensive line. Watch Henderson fly.
It was a perfect start in a far from perfect game.
Worst injury luck: Tigers defense
The Tigers not only played with linebacker Jackson Dillon and safety La’Andre Thomas, they were without cornerback Tito Windham and defensive lineman Emmanuel Cooper and O’Bryan Goodson.
That’s five defensive starters out and it showed as Memphis struggled to slow down Tulane’s offense or show the energy they usually have on the field.
“(Tito and Emmanuel) come with a lot of juice for the team. We just feed off that and we needed it out there,” Huff said.
Best sequence: Start of the third quarter
Memphis needed a jump to start the second half and it came on its opening drive. Brady White converted a thirddown pass to Damonte Coxie and then Darrell Henderson turned a tough throw from White into a magnificent 43-yard touchdown catch.
Things should have looked up for the Tigers at that point. However, that proved to be their best drive of the night.
Worst sequence: End of the third quarter
Memphis had momentum on its side with seconds remaining in the third period. Tulane quarterback Jonathan Banks came up hobbling after taking a hit before going out of bounds.
Backup quarterback Justin McMillan came in on a 3rd-and-7 and Memphis immediately blitzed. McMillan, however, found a wide open Darnell Mooney who raced to the end zone for a 51-yard touchdown.
It turned a 17-14 game into a 24-14 game that got even worse in the fourth.
Best streak continued: Henderson’s touchdowns
Although Henderson ran for a season-low 57 yards and only had seven carries, he scored a touchdown in his eighth straight game. His receiving touchdown means he also scored two or more touchdowns in all five games this season
Worst streak ended: Take your pick
Besides losing their first game to Tulane since 2000 – a streak of 11 games the Tigers lost their first regular season, non-Saturday game since 2014 after winning their previous 15. They also saw their streak of 20 consecutive games with a turnover end.
Worst uniform mojo: The gray
Memphis might want to hide the gray uniforms for a while since they have yet to win a game this season wearing those.
Considering the Tigers need any type of good vibes, perhaps a different uniform will work for their next road game at Missouri.