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At the half, Tulane leads Memphis 23-10. The Green Wave defense has been the story here, keeping Memphis is check for most of the game, forcing four turnovers by the Tigers and claiming their first defensive score of the season. Here's a wrap up of the first thirty minutes with analysis.
First Half
After Memphis won the toss and deferred, freshman quarterback Trace Johnson starts his first game for Tulane with three straight runs into the teeth of the Memphis defense, leading to a three-and-out.
Right out the gate, Memphis attacks with a 48-yard completion on its first play to the Tulane 22, E'zaiah Shine lost coverage on the deep pass, but the Wave D held with bandit Jah'rie Garner getting the first sack of the game. A 44-yard field goal gives Memphis the lead. with10:20 to go in the 1st quarter.
Memphis 3 - Tulane 0
On his second drive, a false start penalty puts the Wave behind the 8-ball, but Johnson completes an 8-yard roll out to Fat Hill. The drive stalled forcing another three an out. On 2nd down, Dagan Bruno came into the game to hand the ball off, then came out to give way to Johnson, who's 3rd down pass was incomplete as his receiver Oliver Mitchell Jr fell down on the route.
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Memphis begins their second drive at their own 32, gaining a 1st down near midfield, but bandit Warren Roberts Jr had a strip sack of the Memphis quarterback and recovered the loose ball at the Memphis 46, giving the Wave only their second defensive turnover of the year, both attributed to Roberts.
Johnson relied on Jamauri McClure's legs to get four yards, but two incomplete passes brings on William Hudlow for his second punt of the night that takes a Tulane bounce and the three before being downed by deep snapper Jason Arredondo.
A penalty backed up the Tigers further, as they start at their own 2. A sprint draw gets them to their 20, then a pass interference against Shine pushes it 15-yards more. The Memphis running game continued to show power, picking up chunks. The Tigers kept throwing for big plays downfield, but keep coming up empty, leading to a missed 54-yard field goal with the wind at back that sails wide left with 4:26 to go in the first half.
Johnson starts at his 36. McClure starts it with a short gain, then a 17-yard deep out to Zycarl Lewis Jr and a 10 yard out to Anthony Brown-Stephens gains two straight first downs to the Memphis 36. A Johnnie Daniels run picks up four, but another false start against the offensive line, sets the team back to a 3-and-13 as the first quarter comes to an end.
End of the 1st Quarter: Memphis 3 - Tulane 0
On SI Tulane 1st Quarter Analysis
Though the running game has not produced what it should, Johnson has been given the opportunity to perform, and the freshman has done well: 3-for-6 for 36 yards. His incompletions would have been caught by his own players or no one at all.
The second quarter begins with an incomplete pass as Johnson was under pressure, leading to a 56-yard field goal by Cooper Helmke with the wind at his back that cleared the crossbar by about 5-feet to tie the game.
Tulane 3 - Memphis 3
Memphis begins at its 25. On a quarterback keeper, Makai Williams stops him for a yard loss, but on the very next play, the Tigers continued to pick on E'zaiah Shine, completing a deep post that went the distance, 76-yards for the touchdown. with 14:08 to go in the 2nd quarter.
Memphis 10 - Tulane 3
KIcking into the wind, the ball died quickly, ending up in no Tulane player's arms and fell to the Tulane 25 where Memphis recovered the loose ball.
First play was a deep post. The Memphis receiver got his hands on the ball, but safety Jack Tchienchou separated him from it, sending him to the sidelines rubbing his ribs. On the next play, Ed Smith IV forced the second sack fumble of the game, recovered by Josh Lewis at the Wave 23.
Two straight Jaylin Lucas runs gain. A pass to Jaylin Lucas was complete, but a hold by a Tulane offensive line pushes the ball back to the Tulane 15 for a 3rd-and-17. Lucas runs for six forcing Hudlow into a punting situation with the wind at his back. Hudlow launced a 72-yard punt to the Memphis 6 with 11:06 to go in the 1st half.
Three runs gain little, and a punt into the wind gives the Green Wave their best field position of the game, the Tigers' 44.
The offensive line is guilty of another penalty, this time a hold, pushing the ball into Tulane territory and negating a 15-yard pass from Johnson to Fat Hill. On a 1st and 20 from their own 46 and a zinger of a pass from Johnson to tight end Cameron Roberts gains 18. A back and forth run by Mo Turner picked his way forward 15-yards. Then another holding penalty backs up the ball again. Johnson scrambles for eight then throw incomplete behind his intended receiver. A pass for the end zone for Garrett Mmahat was too long, as the wind carried it out of the end zone, leading to another Helmke field goal, this one from 40-yards out that was good again with 6:42 to go in the 1st half.
Memphis 10 - Tulane 6
Memphis starts at their own 25, but the Tulane defense does it job again, as Smith strips the ball at the midfield where Kevin Adams III recovers.
Three plays later, Johnson claims his first collegiate touchdown pass, as he find Hill on a curl at the Memphis 32. Hill did the rest himself, splitting two defenders and getting blocking help downfield from fellow receiver Mmahat to go the distance, 38-yards for a TD with 4:18 to go in the second quarter.
Tulane 13 - Memphis 10
The ensuing drive saw the Tulane defense bearing its collective teeth with a Makai Williams sack and another strip sack, this time by Geordan Guidry, but this one was recovered by the Tigers, leading to a 36-yard punt and the Wave getting the ball at the Memphis 45 with 2:46 to go in the first half.
As the second quarter is winding down, Johnson got the time he needed and there weren't any holds, as the Wave drove down field. The frosh found Brown-Stephens twice, once on a 17-yarder, then on a scrambling 14-yarder that somehow found AB's hands to the Memphis 14 as the two-minute timeout sounds. A Turner rush picks up seven, then a sack of Johnson backs it up to the Tiger 12. On a 3rd-and-7, throws for the end zone incomplete to Mmahat on a pass that was thrown a little behind him. A 29-yard field goal by Helmke increased the Tulane lead with exactly one minute remaining.
Tulane 16 - Memphis 10
Memphis goes three and out again and is forced to punt giving Tulane another chance with the ball and one timeout remaining and 31-seconds on the clock.
The Wave start at their own 47. Johnson scrambles for five calling the final Tulane timeout with 21-seconds to go. The youngster made a freshman mistake throwing into triple coverage giving Memphis the ball after the return at the Tulane 32.
The Green Wave defense came to the rescue again, this time with its first defensive touchdown of the year, as TJ Smith picked off a Memphis pass and sprints 76-yards up field for a pick six as the clock expires to end the 1st half.
End of the 1st Half: Tulane 23 - Memphis 10
On Si Tulane Analysis
Except for one big play for a touchdown, the Tulane defense has done its job, forcing four turnovers and hitting really hard, the way we requested. Thank you. The pick-six by TJ Smith to end the first half was the cherry on the sundae for what is, by far, the best performance by this group this year.
Offensively, the Green Wave has yet to find a rhythm, mostly because of penalties on the offensive line. However, this group has improved as the half wore on, giving Johnson protection for most of the half. Except for his first collegiate interception, Johnson has played within himself, something we are sure his coaches encouraged him to do.
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