MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Junior quarterback Jonathan Banks accounted for four touchdowns, but Tulane football could not overcome an early 35-point deficit in a 56-26 defeat at No. 24 Memphis Friday evening in front of a crowd of 17,989 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
Banks passed for 203 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 19 yards and a score. It was the second straight game he passed for more than 200 yards, and the second time this season he accounted for four touchdowns. Junior tight end Charles Jones II caught two of those touchdown passes, and sophomore wide receiver Darnell Mooney had a 41-yard touchdown reception.
The Green Wave (3-5, 1-3 American Athletic Conference | West) totaled 325 yards of offense, while the Tigers (7-1, 4-1 American Athletic Conference | West) finished with 557 total yards, including 298 passing yards.
“They did a great job early in the ballgame. They really did a nice job of manufacturing offense with formations, sets and a few different things,” head coach Willie Fritz said. “A couple of them are disappointing as we worked on them and just had some busts. We’re just not to the point where we can miss assignments. I think we continued to compete for the most part. I was excited about that. We didn’t tackle very good, and that was disappointing.”
After falling behind 35-0 and being outgained 418-20 in yardage by the 11:20 mark of the second quarter, the Tulane offense mounted a pair of scoring drives just before halftime.
Banks scored on a four-yard run to cap a 12-play, 62-yard drive that took 7:28. The drive tripled Tulane’s yardage to that point, and was fueled by a 16-yard completion to junior wide receiver Terren Encalade, a 22-yard, third-down run by Banks and a 12-yard run on third-and-10 by sophomore running back Darius Bradwell. On fourth-and-3 at the Memphis 15-yard line, Banks hit Encalade for a 13-yard gain, and ran into the end zone two plays later.
Redshirt senior nickelback Jarrod Franklin intercepted a Riley Ferguson pass on the ensuing drive, and the Green Wave took advantage, driving 77 yards in nine plays to score as time expired in the half. After an 18-yard scamper on third down, Banks found Jones on a seven-yard fade route. The Wave was unable to convert a two-point attempt, and trailed at the half, 35-12. In the final 11:20 of the half, Tulane held a 154-25 advantage in total yards.
After allowing touchdowns on five of Memphis’ first seven possessions, the Green Wave stymied the Tigers on the next four drives, beginning with the interception. The Wave forced three straight punts to begin the third quarter, including two three-and-outs. Meanwhile, the offense cut the deficit to 35-19 with a 12-play, 62-yard drive that ended in Jones’ second touchdown of the game.
Banks hit redshirt junior tight end Kendall Ardoin for a 28-yard completion on third-and-9 to keep the drive going, then found Jones wide open from six yards out to make the score 35-19 with 4:08 left in the third quarter.
After Memphis recovered a punt in the end zone off a bad snap to make it 42-19, the Green Wave responded with a quick five-play, 69-yard scoring drive that took just 1:09 off the clock. Banks hit Mooney for a 41-yard strike to cut the deficit to 42-26 with 11:16 remaining in the game.
The Tigers took a 35-0 lead early in the second quarter, scoring on five of their first seven possessions. The Tulane defense held on downs to open the game, but Memphis struck with long scoring plays to take the lead. A 58-yard run by Tony Pollard and a 16-yard pass from Ferguson to Anthony Miller made the score 14-0 at the end of the first period.
Memphis then scored on three quick-strike touchdowns in the first four minutes of the second quarter. Sean Dykes caught a 38-yard touchdown pass, Darrell Henderson scored on an 82-yard run, and Kedarian Jones caught a 37-yard touchdown pass. Ferguson finished with 298 passing yards and three passing touchdowns, while Henderson ran for 112 yards and a score.
After Tulane cut it to 42-26, the Tigers reached the 56-26 final score on a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs of one and 11 yards by Ferguson.
The Green Wave host Cincinnati for Homecoming on Nov. 4 at Yulman Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN3.
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TULANE FOOTBALL POSTGAME NOTES AT #24 MEMPHIS
Oct. 27, 2017
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