On Thanksgiving night, the Tulane Green Wave lost in an upset at home to the Memphis Tigers. Memphis won the game 34-24, giving the Green Wave their third loss of the season. This will effectively eliminate them from College Football Playoff contention. #17 Tulane had a shot at making the playoff as the highest ranked group of five conference champion, but this loss will make them fall in the rankings. While they can still win the American Athletic Conference Championship, the chances of them getting into the playoff are now highly unlikely.
Memphis Defeats Tulane
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This game was simply one that got away from Tulane. They got off to a solid start after surrendering an opening drive touchdown. The Green Wave scored ten unanswered points to take a 10-7 lead off a seven-yard touchdown pass from Darian Mensah to Mario Williams. But, after that drive, Memphis shut them out the entire second and third quarter. Tulane punted on their remaining first half drives, while Memphis drove for a touchdown and a field goal, taking a 17-10 lead into halftime.
The second half was not much better for the Green Wave. They lost two fumbles and threw an interception, killing three drives while the Tigers continued to build their lead. Tulane’s offense struggled to move the ball and Memphis took a 27-10 lead, which soon became a 34-17 lead.
From there, anything Tulane did was too little too late. Memphis dominated on the ground, rushing for 242 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per rush, compared to Tulane’s 57 rushing yards, averaging 3.2 yards per rush. The Tigers’ running back, Mario Anderson Jr., rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown, averaging a whopping 7.4 yards per carry. This rushing attack and timely turnovers helped Memphis pull off the 34-24 victory on the road. Tulane, who entered ranked #17, will drop after this loss, and with three losses on the season, a path to the College Football Playoff is nearly impossible.
How This Affects the College Football Playoff
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Tulane’s three losses to Memphis, Kansas State, and Oklahoma effectively eliminate them from playoff contention. Before the Thanksgiving loss to Memphis, the Green Wave had an outside shot at a playoff bid. If they won out and won the American Athletic Conference Championship, and #11 ranked Boise State lost in the Mountain West Championship game, Tulane could have snuck into the playoff. But now that the Green Wave have taken their third loss of the season, they’ve all but eliminated themselves, meaning the group of five playoff spot will likely come down to the Mountain West Championship game.
The Mountain West Championship Game is currently projected to be #11 Boise State vs #22 UNLV. Boise State has been ranked for most of the season, with their only loss coming to the #1 team in the country, Oregon. They’ve been led by their Heisman candidate running back, Ashton Jeanty, who has rushed for over 2000 yards this season. The Broncos finished the regular season with an 11-1 record, punching their ticket to the Mountain West Championship. Meanwhile, UNLV still needs to win their final game against Nevada to get to the conference title game. If these two teams face off, with Tulane out of the picture, it will be a win-and-in scenario.
So, Tulane’s 34-24 loss to the Memphis Tigers essentially made a College Football Playoff appearance from them impossible. However, it did open up a pathway for a team like UNLV, if they are able to defeat Boise State in the Mountain West Championship. This victory by Memphis all but ensures a Mountain West appearance in the College Football Playoff. Boise State likely would have made it in even if Tulane won out, but now UNLV has just as much of a chance. This upset has made the Mountain West Championship game even more interesting.
