Takeaways from Memphis’ 14-point loss against Tulane

Memphis suffered its second loss of the season Friday night in a 31-17 loss to Tulane. The Tigers struggled to capitalize on the offense side of the ball and turned the ball over six times. 

Charles Huff’s team started the game forcing a three-and-out and kicking a field goal, but it was a struggle on the offensive end after that. They moved the ball, racking up 482 yards of total offense, but they went 2-for-11 on third downs and 2-for-6 in the red zone.

Marcus Stokes finished the game 20-for-37 for 306 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions, while the Tigers ran for 176 yards. Jaylin Carter led the team with 135 yards on 23 carries.

Defensively, Huff said his team did enough to win the game, but they gave up some scored after being put in tough situations.

Here are three takeaways’ from Memphis’ loss to Tulane.

Turnovers:

Turnovers were the story of the game for the Tigers, and it was the biggest factor that led to Friday’s loss. Memphis turned the ball over six times, which is the most in a game since 2006.

The Green Wave applied the pressure on Stokes all night, and they sacked him seven times, including a pair of sacks from defensive lineman Jah’rie Gardner. That pressure led to two sacks from the starting quarterback.

Running back Manny Covey also fumbled the ball in the second quarter.

On the last play before the half, Stokes tried to throw an out route, but it was jumped by defensive back TJ Smith, who returned it for a pick-six.

In the second half, Stokes had a throw hit of his receivers chest and bounce into the hands of a Tulane defensive back. On the final drive, Stokes tried to find the end zone, but he threw his third interception of the year, ending the game.

Missed opportunities:

If it wasn’t turnovers, it was missed chanced for the Tigers’ offense. Memphis went 2-for-11 on third downs, 0-for-2 on fourth downs and 2-for-6 on red zone attempts.

Huff’s team put together two long drives in the second half, but both times they turned the ball over on downs in the red zone. On the first drive, Memphis got the ball down to the two-yard line, but Stokes couldn’t punch it in on fourth down.

Huff said after the game that the defense played well, but they missed a big opportunity and fourth-and-one to get the ball back late in the fourth quarter. Tulane running back Johnnie Daniels got loose for a 48-yard touchdown run to put the game away.

What does this mean for the rest of the season?

At the end of the day, it’s one loss, and the first loss in conference play. Memphis still has a lot in front of them, including an opportunity to appear in the conference championship game, but it became a lot harder after last night.

The Tigers will likely still be favored in most of their games, but they won’t be able to win many games with this many mistakes.

It was always going to be hard to ask a team with a brand new coaching staff and more than 80 new players to be perfect, and they’re clearly not going to be perfect. 

It will be interesting to see how Huff’s team responds next Thursday on ESPN against East Carolina.