The last time Tulane visited Memphis in the regular season, the Green Wave was ranked No. 10 in the nation and beat Memphis 37-14.
Tulane went on to win the Conference USA championship and blew out BYU in the Liberty Bowl to finish the season 12-0.
As Tulane (2-1, 1-1 in C-USA) journeys to Memphis for the first time since 1998, the team brings an offense averaging 31.6 points per game and a defense giving up only 17.3 points a game.
Head coach Tommy West said the Tigers have to get Tulane’s balance attack on their mind and put the past two weeks behind them.
“We have to play each game one at a time,” West said. “When (a game) is done, it is done. We have move on to the next game.
“I have to make sure we don’t spend too much time feeling bad about the past game,” he added.
Moving on means bouncing back from two losses to Ole Miss and Southern Miss at a combined score of 71-30.
The Green Wave is also trying to bounce back from two key losses in one week.
Tulane picked up its first loss of the season against East Carolina 24-20 last week and lost leading receiver Roydell Williams for the season because of a severe ankle injury.
The 6-2 junior caught 15 passes for 151 this season. Williams had 87 yards on 10 receptions in the loss to East Carolina.
Green Wave quarterback J.P. Losman will have to find other targets to keep his solid numbers up.
Losman has thrown four touchdowns while completing more than 60 percent of his passes for 627 yards this season.
Junior Mewelde Moore has been pulling double duty in the Green Wave offensive attack.
He’s the second leading receiver coming into the game and the team’s leading rusher.
The 6-1, 203-pound running back has 351 yards on 78 carries with two touchdowns on the year. He has caught for 144 yards on 14 catches.
The All-American candidate has rushed for 2,311 and 10 touchdowns in his first two seasons and compiled 3,499 all-purpose yards.
The Green Wave has another All-American that it can depend on to put points on the board-Seth Marler.
He was the Lou Groza Award winner for best kicker in the nation and leads C-USA in points with 31.
Memphis’ defense has the challenge of keeping Tulane’s offense out of Marler’s range. It also has to match Tulane’s defensive effort.
Tulane only gives up 5.1 yards per pass, lowest in C-USA, and 4.5 yards a carry.
The Tigers’ rush defense has not had similar success. The defensive line has given up an average of 285 a game on the ground.
Tiger sophomore defensive back Jason Brown said it will take a strong team effort to shut down the Tulane offense.
“We have to do what we are supposed to do on every snap,” Brown said. “(Everybody) has to know their responsibilities. All 11 guys have to work together on the cause. When everybody comes together—that is when the defense works.”
Memphis also needs a team effort on offense to score more than the 15-point average it has had in the last two games.
Despite the low production of late, quarterback Danny Wimprine and his receiving corps has shown they can put up the big numbers.
Wimprine has passed for 669 yards and eight touchdowns with only one interception this season.
Wimprine has three receivers with at least one touchdown and more than one hundred yards receiving this season.
Antoine Harden has 198 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 33 yards a catch. Travis Anglin is on the board with 194 yards and two touchdowns. Darron White has one touchdown on 118 receiving.
The dual backfield is also producing when they touch the ball. DeAngelo Williams is averaging 9.4 yards a carry this season. Dante Brown eats up 6.2 yards per rush.
Wimprine said the team has to have a good performance against Tulane to get back on track and gain momentum for the rest of the season.
“This is going to be a big game for us, especially being back at home,” Wimprine said. “We want to step up our play and get a win at home.”
