No. 18 Tulane’s postseason hopes ride on the Wave’s ability to contain prolific Memphis

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tulane first-year coach Jon Sumrall has the 18th-ranked Green Wave on the cusp of a historic season.

If a few things go right over the next couple weeks, Tulane not only could host a third straight American Athletic Conference championship game, but also sneak into the new 12-team College Football Playoff.

The next hurdle comes Thursday night against Memphis (9-2, 5-2 American), a team that has arguably underachieved this season, but which still represents a considerable threat to extinguish any CFP hopes that endure for Tulane (9-2, 7-0, No. 17 CFP).

“They’ve lost a whopping two games,” Sumrall said of the Tigers, who were the preseason pick to win the AAC but have already been eliminated from the league title race. “They haven’t had a lot go wrong. ... They’ve got the best talent accumulation of anybody in our league.”

Tulane has won its past 17 AAC regular season games — a streak that dates back to 2022 and represents the longest active conference winning streak in the nation. This season’s losses came in September against power conference teams Kansas State of the Big 12 and Oklahoma of the SEC. In both losses, Tulane had the ball with a chance to take a fourth-quarter lead, only to be doomed by a momentum-changing turnover.

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Led by a stout defense, conference-leading production by running back Makhi Hughes and precocious play by freshman quarterback Dariam Mensah, the Green Wave has since won eight straight to climb into the AP Top 25.

Memphis fell out of contention by virtue of two, high-scoring conference road losses — 56-44 at Navy and 44-36 at UTSA.

“We didn’t put ourselves in position to go play in the championship, but we’re still playing for a lot,” Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield said, noting that the Tigers are still seeking back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in the program’s 108-year history.

“I do think there’s importance to that,” Silverfield said. ”I can’t say it was a failure of a season.”

A statement victory over surging Tulane would make it that much better.

“It’s never truly about the opponent, but we know what they are,” Silverfield said. “That is in the back of our mind.”

Defensive dominance

While the Memphis offense has averaged 441 yards and 35.3 points per game, it’ll face a tough test against a Tulane defense that has allowed only nine points in its past three games combined — a period during which the Green Wave has outscored opponents ( Charlotte, Temple and Navy ) 121-9.

“To be in a situation where you were on the brink of shutouts in three straight games is unbelievable,” Sumrall said, noting that improved chemistry on a defense that had seven new starters in Week 1 has a lot to do with its recent form.

“It took a little time for everybody to figure it out and trust each other,” Sumrall said. “You can have good individual talent, but if you don’t know how to play well with each other, it doesn’t matter.”

Prolific passer

While discussing the difficulty of defending Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan, Sumrall joked that the Tigers’ all-time leading passer has “19 years” of college football experience.

Henigan has in fact played four seasons, but has been a starter for all of them while completing 1,107 career passes for 13,754 yards and 100 touchdowns.

When he’s done after this season, he’ll be missed, Silverfield said.

“He’s meant everything and it’s been fun to watch his maturation and growth,” Silverfield said. “I think 10 years from now, Tiger fans will look back and be like, ’Man, he was one of the all-time greats.’”

Holiday spotlight

Sumrall isn’t sure what kind of environment to expect on Thanksgiving night, a time when many students leave town for holiday break.

So, he’s been imploring area fans to show up for the nationally televised contest that also will be the only college game played on Thursday.

“You can only eat so much turkey on Thanksgiving Day; at some point, you might as well drink a beer and watch football — or bourbon or whatever you like,” Sumrall said. ”There’s one college game going on in all of America. It’s here in New Orleans.

“I don’t care whom you’re a fan of. I don’t care what you wear,” Sumrall added. “These players deserve a phenomenal turnout.”

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