The Memphis Tigers lost to the Tulane Green Wave 40-24 on Friday in New Orleans, bringing the Tigers to a 3-2 record and a 0-2 record in American Athletic Conference play.
Quarterbacks: C+
Brady White did the best he could with little to no offensive line protecting him and finished the game completing 14 of his 30 passing attempts for 246 yards and two touchdowns. Though on some plays, it was evident that he was rattled by seeing the urgency in some of his throws. He was able to find the open man when needed and put them in favorable positions to catch the ball.
White also tested his luck rushing the ball with 11 attempts for the game that resulted in him losing 26 yards. Luckily for his team, he did have a 12-yard run that helped keep a drive alive toward the end of the game.
Running backs: B-
Running back Darrell Henderson entered the game with growing national buzz because of his spectacular performances earlier this season. However, against Tulane, he only got 7 carries that went for 51 yards and a touchdown. This performance was a far cry from what Memphis fans were used to, but he was still productive and responsible for two of the team’s touchdowns (one on the ground and one receiving).
Patrick Taylor Jr. and Tony Pollard also combined for three carries, but their touches only added six combined yards to an abysmal rushing total. Things were only made worse when Memphis seemingly abandoned the run after halftime when they were down 7-21.
Wide receivers and tight ends: C
Damonte Coxie led all Memphis pass catchers with five catches and 67 receiving yards, but his number really didn’t start getting called until the second half. Plagued by drops and tough defense, no receiver or tight end was able to truly have a game-changing play, which stalled Memphis’ offense.
Offensive Line: D
A large part of why Memphis’ usually potent offense was rendered so ineffective was because their offensive line couldn’t create solid rushing lanes and allowed too much pressure on White. Solid rushing attempts were few and far between for the offense, as the line allowed nine tackles for loss in the game.
The usually impressive unit also couldn’t contain Tulane’s pass rush that allowed an eye-popping seven sacks, including a sack-fumble that resulted in a safety.
Defensive line: C
Joseph Dorceus was the sole bright spot of the defensive line. The young upstart made the most of his playing time by accounting for six tackles and a sack. Everything else was difficult to watch.
Tulane was unafraid to run the ball in between the tackles because defensive linemen were either unable to shed their blockers, or when they did, they couldn’t complete their tackles. For the game, Tulane had 56 rushing attempts, which they used to gain 316 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Linebackers: B-
Linebacker Bryce Huff was the star of a quiet linebacking group. In the game, he had nine tackles (including five for loss) and two sacks. On a defense where it seemed that no one could tackle, Huff was always near the ball and making plays when possible.
Fellow linebackers Austin Hall and Curtis Akins combined for 15 total tackles but weren’t able to make any game changing plays.
Defensive backs: C+
Compared to last week, the secondary played exceedingly better by only allowing 178 total passing yards and a single passing touchdown. The touchdown though was terribly defended as receiver Darnell Mooney took a 51-yard pass to the house without a defender anywhere in sight.
They were also at fault for Tulane’s rushers taking runs for long distances for their inability to make open field tackles. The team’s leading tackler was safety Tyrez Lindsey, who had 13 on the day, a season high.
Special teams: B-
Kicker Riley Patterson made his only field goal attempt in garbage time that pulled the Tigers within 16 points but had been previously silent for the game. Punter Adam Williams saw the field much more than expected, having five punts go for 193 yards total.
Coaching: C-
In a game that was supposed to be an easy win, head coach Mike Norvell and company just couldn’t seem to get the right plays called offensively or defensively, which made it hard for the team to have any success. Being down by such a large margin at halftime affected their typically-run-heavy offense and caused them to only have five rushing attempts in the second half with all but two being scrambles from White. As a team, you can’t just abandon your strongest asset, especially when you have that much time to mount a comeback.
Brady White (3) clutches onto the ball after being sacked. White was sacked a total of seven times against Tulane.
