FACTS & STATS: Site: Yulman Stadium (30,000) — New Orleans, Louisiana.
Television: ESPNU.Home Record: Memphis 3-1, Tulane 2-2. Away Record: Memphis
3-2, Tulane 1-4. Neutral Record: Memphis 0-0, Tulane 0-0. Conference Record:
Memphis 4-1, Tulane 2-3. Series Record: Memphis leads, 18-11-1.
GAME NOTES: The Memphis Tigers look to continue their winning ways this
Saturday when they travel to take on the Tulane Green Wave in an American
Athletic Conference affair at Yulman Stadium.
The Tigers are coming off a 16-13 win against Temple in Philadelphia last
weekend. Jake Elliott nailed a 31-yard field goal as time expired to lift
Memphis to its third straight win.
Paxton Lynch completed 21-of-28 pass attempts for 230 yards and a touchdown to
lead the Tigers, who improved to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play.
Brandon Hayes fought his way to 75 yards on 26 carries and Mose Frazier
tallied career-highs of 110 yards on eight receptions, as Memphis has won four
of five overall to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2008.
The Tigers are atop the AAC standings, one-half game better than East
Carolina, Cincinnati and UCF heading into Week 12 play.
Lynch carries the Memphis offense. The signal-caller has completed 65 percent
of his passes for 2,121 yards with 11 touchdowns and six picks. He’s added
seven more scores on the ground, accounting for 18 of Memphis’ 35 total
offensive touchdowns. He is just the third Memphis quarterback to pass
for over 2,000 yards in multiple seasons, surpassing the 4,000-yard passing
mark for a career and moving past Steve Mathews for fifth all-time.
Hayes adds an average of 76 yards per game on the ground with five touchdowns,
while Frazier has a team-best 30 catches for 318 yards with one TD. Tevin
Jones 374 yards receiving leads the team.
As a unit, the Tigers offense averages 433 yards and 34 points per game, while
the defense yields 344 total yards and just under 19 points per game.
Tulane enters Saturdays game with a mirror record of Memphis, but is coming
off an impressive road victory against Houston.
Dontrell Hilliard tallied 107 receiving yards and a touchdown and rushed for
another 85 yards and a score, as the Green Wave held on for a 31-24 win.
Hilliard caught five passes and rushed the ball 25 times for Tulane, which
snapped a two-game losing streak. Tanner Lee completed 24-of-35 passes for 237
yards, three touchdowns and an interception, as the Green Wave improved to 3-6
on the season and 2-3 in the AAC.
Lee will be trying to lead the Green Wave to consecutive wins for the first
time this season. The signal-caller has completed 55.7 percent of his passes
for 1,356 yards with 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, as the offense
averages nearly 20 points per game on 358 yards of offense per contest.
He has spread the wealth evenly, as eight receivers have at least one
touchdown catch led by three TD catches each for Xavier Rush and Charles
Jones. Justyn Shackleford’s 29 catches for 382 yards leads the team in both
categories.
The ground game averages 161 yards per contest for the Green Wave. Leading the
way is Sherman Badies’ 598 yards and three scores. Lazedrick Thompson has a
team high four rushing TDs.
Defensively, the Green Wave yield an average of 28.8 points and 387 yards per
game.
This will mark the 31st all-time gridiron meeting between Memphis and
Tulane with the Tigers holding an 18-11-1 series advantage. Memphis has won
seven straight and eight of the last nine encounters against the Green Wave,
but the two programs haven’t met since a 37-23 Memphis win on Jan. 10, 2012.
Tulane’s last win in the series came during the 2000 season, a 37-14 Green
Wave victory in New Orleans.
Expect the same in this matchup. While Tulane has gotten better, Memphis has
too much talent and should come away with a win. It’s hard to see Memphis
looking past this game, but crazier things have happened, especially in the
AAC this season.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Memphis 35, Tulane 17
