In what was a whacky Friday night game for the ages, the Tulane Green Wave (3-3, 1-1) pulled off a massive takedown of the Memphis Tigers (5-2, 2-1), using a big second quarter and a late, gutsy touchdown to secure the 31-17 win.
True freshman Trace Johnson made his first start in front of a rowdy Yulman Stadium crowd, and though he had an up-and-down performance, he led the team to a defining victory that nobody will forget.
As has been the case in most games played this year, the Green Wave had a slow start to the first quarter. After a three-and-out to open the game, the Tigers roared downfield, but Tulane's defense managed to limit the visiting squad to just a field goal. A forced fumble and subsequent recovery would give the Green Wave defense some life in the frame, and the home team would cling to just a 3-0 deficit by the end of the first quarter.
From there, things got... interesting.
It all started on a 56-yard field goal by Cooper Helmke just seconds into the second quarter, which knotted the game at three points apiece. Memphis tacked on its first touchdown of the night less than a minute later to take a 10-3 lead.
After a few back-and-forth possessions that included a fumble by the Tigers, Helmke added a 40-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 10-6. Memphis fumbled for a third time on the following possession, and the Green Wave would go on to take its first lead of the night on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Destyn Hill.
A quick three-and-out gave the ball right back to the home team, and Helmke drilled his third kick of the night from 29-yards out to give his squad a 16-10 lead.
Tulane had one more chance with the ball as the minutes ticked down to halftime, but an interception by Johnson seemed like the end of what had been a promising quarter. However, the Green Wave defense wasn't ready to be done with turnovers. TJ Smith hauled in an interception in the final seconds of the frame and took the ball 76 yards downfield for the touchdown, and the Uptown squad rolled into the locker room up 23-10.
Tulane's defense came out of the locker room just as strong as it had been in the first half. The group bent some, but it refused to break, making a massive red-zone stop near the goal line on fourth down to stop Memphis' opening drive of the half.
The Green Wave offense hit a bit of a dry spell at that point, punting away on its first possession of the frame. Kevin Adams III hauled in the second interception -- and fifth turnover on the night -- for the Tulane defense, but once again, the offense was unable to capitalize thanks to a rare missed field goal.
Memphis' start to the fourth quarter included another turnover on downs, but much like in the third quarter, the Olive Green and Sky Blue offense was unable to capitalize. The Tigers would ultimately break the stagnant frame with their second touchdown of the night, cutting the home team's lead to just 23-17 with 3:33 remaining in the game.
It was do or die for the Green Wave offense... and at that point, that group chose to have arguably its best drive of the night. Dagan Bruno showed why he was inserted at times as a rushing quarterback. Johnson completed a gutsy pass to keep the drive alive. The team kept pushing forward, forcing Memphis to use its timeouts.
It came down to a fourth-and-one play at the Tigers 48-yard line with a little less than two minutes remaining. Head coach Will Hall placed his trust in the offense, knowing that a conversion would end the game. Not only did his team capitalize on the opportunity, but Johnnie Daniels took his rush all the way to the house for the game-sealing touchdown. A successful two-point conversion pass from Johnson to Hill would push Tulane's lead to 31-17.
Memphis gave it one last try, but Tulane came through with one more interception in the end zone by Adams to end the game.
In his first start at quarterback, Johnson went 11-for-21 for 156 yards, one touchdown and one interception while adding 13 rushing yards. Bruno completed his lone pass attempt for 10 yards and totaled three carries for 14 yards.
Daniels' late touchdown run gave him a team-high 55 rushing yards on seven carries, but Jamauri McClure earned the brunt of the action with 11 carries for 38 yards. Hill led all wideouts with four catches for 61 yards and one score. Anthony Brown-Stephens added 41 yards on three receptions, while Garrett Mmahat had two catches for 28 yards.
Defensively, Dickson Agu led all players with 10 tackles and one pass breakup, while Adams had nine tackles to go along with his two interceptions. Ed Smith IV had two forced fumbles, while Warren Roberts Jr. and Geordan Guidry each added one. Makai Williams had seven tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss. Jah'rie Garner did a bit of everything with three tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hurry and one pass breakup. As a whole, the group had nine tackles-for-loss, seven sacks and six pass breakups.
Tulane will look to keep this momentum going into its next American Conference matchup, as it takes on the UTSA Roadrunners at Yulman Stadium on October 24th. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT.