Tulane football (2-7, 2-4 American Athletic Conference) hosted its first Homecoming game on campus in over 40 years when they hosted AAC leader Memphis (7-3, 5-1 AAC) Saturday. The Green Wave had its backs against the wall coming into the game, needing to win the remaining three games in order to stay bowl eligible. However, all bowl aspirations head coach Curtis Johnson and his team had coming into the season came to a screeching halt after falling to the Tigers 38-7. 

Green Wave redshirt freshman quarterback Tanner Lee struggled throughout the game, completing 26 of 48 passes for 196 yards and 3 interceptions. However, despite Lee’s struggles, Johnson says the program is committed to him going forward.  

“I got a lot of confidence in him and I think he’ll learn from this,” Johnson said. “I think he’s going to be outstanding in the future.”  

Though the Wave rushed for 155 yards and controlled the time of possession for 33:35 compared to the Tigers’ 26:25, the game was lost due to Tulane’s inability to limit turnovers. The Green Wave turned the ball over 5 times Saturday, including 3 interceptions from Lee, 2 of which were returned for touchdowns. 

“[Memphis has] a good defense and they had a really good game plan for us,” Lee said. “It was hard to decipher where guys were coming from. They did a good job of disguising. They kept us off balance and were blitzing from different spots. There’s a reason why they’re in first place in the conference right now” 

The Green Wave’s defense kept Tulane in the game early, limiting Memphis to just 2 of 14 third down attempts. Junior safety Darion Monroe and freshman cornerback Parry Nickerson tied for a team high in tackles with 7 each. Sophomore defensive tackle Tanzel Smart also played exceptional, racking up 4 tackles, including 2 sacks for 18 yards. 

“You’re encouraged by [the defense’s] play and fight,” said Johnson. “They kept us in it.” 

The Green Wave travel to East Carolina next week to take on the Pirates. ECU leads the all time series 10-3. However, when the two teams met up last year, it was one of the most dramatic games of the season, with the Wave coming out victorious 36-33 in overtime.