No. 24 Memphis beats Tulane, 56-26
MEMPHIS, Tenn.—Riley Ferguson passed for 298 yards and three touchdowns and Darrell Henderson rushed for 112 yards and another score to lead No. 24 Memphis to a 56-26 victory over Tulane on Friday night.
The win was the fourth straight for Memphis (7-1, 4-1) and kept the Tigers atop the American Athletic Conference's West Division.
Memphis will be awaiting the first College Football Playoff rankings, which will be released Tuesday. The Tigers have wins over two Top 25 programs.
"To be honest, I think we've done a good job with the opportunities we've had," Memphis coach Mike Norvell said.
Tulane (3-5, 1-3) dropped its third consecutive game and lost its 11th straight in the series.
Ferguson entered having thrown for 1,181 yards and 11 touchdowns—with one interception—in the team's previous three games. He continued his solid play by throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns in the opening half. The Tigers led 35-12 at halftime.
Ferguson added two rushing touchdowns, including an 11-yard run with 2 minutes left to cap Memphis' scoring.
Tulane, which ranked 12th nationally in rushing at 266 yards per game, managed only 16 yards rushing in the first quarter and 95 in the opening half.
"Seeing them with 52 carries and (only) 122 yards, that's pretty special," Norvell said.
Despite the sluggish start, the Green Wave scored 19 straight points after falling behind 35-0.
Tulane scored twice in the final 3:44 of the first half—including a touchdown on the final play of the half—and added a third-quarter touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Jonathan Banks to Charles Jones to trim the deficit to 35-19.
Although Memphis averaged 12 yards per play in the opening half, it was unable to sustain its first-half production. Memphis gained only 20 yards on its first three second-half possessions and needed a defensive score to create some separation. Linebacker Austin Hall recovered a bad Tulane snap in the end zone to give the Tigers a 42-19 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Ferguson added his two rushing touchdowns in the closing 8 minutes.
"We're just not to the point where we can miss assignments," Tulane coach Willie Fritz said. "They have great skilled guys, an excellent quarterback, good backs, good receivers."
Hall finished with 11 tackles, including two for lost yardage. Memphis linebacker/defensive end Genard Avery had 5.5 tackles for loss, including 3.5 sacks.
THE TAKEAWAY
Tulane: Much like it did in last week's 34-28 loss to South Florida, another nationally ranked opponent, Tulane battled back from a huge deficit. Against South Florida, the Green Wave rallied from being down 34-7. Against Memphis, the Green Wave trimmed what was a 35-point deficit to 16 points on two occasions.
Memphis: The Tigers continued on their trek to the AAC West Division title. Memphis has games left against Tulsa, SMU and East Carolina. Only SMU has a winning record.
UP NEXT
Tulane: The Green Wave returns home to play struggling Cincinnati. The Bearcats have dropped five straight, are 0-4 in league play and 2-6 overall.
Memphis: The Tigers, who played one Saturday game in October, continue their non- Saturday stretch. Memphis travels to Tulsa on Friday to play another struggling conference team. Tulsa lost 62-28 earlier this month to Tulane.