Memphis @ Tulane Week 14 Review

Patrick Harkness • November 29, 2024

Memphis Tigers-34

@

Tulane Green Wave-24


By: Patrick Harkness



Spread: Tulane -13

Total: 56.5


Turnovers and bad tackling are a recipe for disaster and that's what happened Thursday night for the Green Wave. Unfortunately, the Wave just couldn't get anything going offensively on the ground which is their bread and butter and usually allows them to have a good passing game with the defense creeping up to stop the run, but the Tigers forced them to become one dimensional. Memphis already had a good run stopping defense to begin with, but you could tell their main goal was to stop the run and have the young freshman QB Mensah beat them and it worked. Defensively it was just a disaster from the start, they simply just got out coached and they did nothing to try and stop the running back for Memphis Greg Desrosiers who totaled 125 yards and 3 touchdowns (more on that later). But this is football, and Memphis is a good team, time to regroup and move onto the next. WIN the AAC CHAMPIONSHIP that's all that matters now.    



Offense


Quarterback- Mensah


On the night Mensah was 21/33 with 317 yards passing, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The first half was a struggle to get things going with key dropped passes, but he showed all game long how good he can be at escaping the pocket and creating plays with his legs and trying to buy time for his receivers. One thing Mensah must work on this offseason is his deep ball accuracy. Sometimes they are right on the money and others are either overthrown or underthrown which you saw late in the game when he forced it to Mario for an interception. If he can locate his deep ball better, he could’ve hit Mario on his outside shoulder towards the sideline where he has a better shot of catching that. I think he was trying to play hero ball, not a smart decision but he's young and will learn from this game. But not all the blame goes on Mensah; there were two very costly fumbles within 10 yards of scoring.     


Ty Thompson


Did not play



Running Back


It was not a good day for the running game. They only amassed 57 yards on 18 carries for an average of 3.2 and one score. Memphis had a very good defensive game plan to shut down the running game of Makhi and force Tulane to throw the ball and it worked. I felt Shadie Clayton could've been used more in the passing game. He had 3 catches for 21 yards while also getting 2 carries for 29 yards. Arnold Barnes was the lone back who got the score.     


       



Receiving Game


Mario Williams had a good game but that all got negated when he fumbled the ball on the 9-yard line when Tulane looked like they were going to make an impressive comeback. He finished with 7 catches for 130 yards and a score. Yulkeith was having a decent game as well, but he also had a very costly fumble at the five-yard line that allowed Memphis to take over and score later that drive. Yulkieth finished with 4 catches for 93 yards. Drops and fumbles killed/stalled the offense all game long.   



Offensive Line


The pass blocking of Tulane was holding up all game besides the 2 sacks but in the run game it was more of a struggle with the running backs not being able to find any lanes. Memphis' game plan was actually really smart by blitzing the first half to shut down the run game. Then in the second half they disguised their coverage by looking like they would blitz then dropping back into coverage. 





Defense


Defensive Line 


It wasn't the greatest night for the defensive line allowing the running backs of Memphis to get 242 yards rushing on 46 carries and 2 touchdowns. They were able to get some key 3rd down stops during the game and allow the offense to get the ball back. On the night they totaled 2.5 sacks on the defensive line. Kam Hamilton had another sack putting his total up to 5 while Terrel Allen, Patrick Jenkins, and Parker Peterson both received half a sack. 




Linebackers


Poor tackling and allowing soft coverage in the middle of the field to be open allowed Memphis to create plays all game long. The Tigers running back Greg Desrosiers was killing Tulane all game long. I was hoping the coaches of Tulane would make the adjustment by putting Chris Rodgers on him after the half. He is the better coverage and faster linebacker out of the bunch. On the night Tyler Grubbs led the team in tackles with 8 with Sam Howard assisting with 6 and 1 sack. 



Secondary


Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan was able to pick apart the secondary of Tulane in the first half and finished the game going 22 for 29 with 218 yards and 2 touchdowns. The secondary has struggled this season when they play a good Quarterback. You saw this against Louisiana and North Texas. Jack Tchienchou led the secondary with 6 tackles followed by Caleb Ransaw with 5 tackles. Ransaw had a costly pass interference on a 3rd down that later led to a Memphis touchdown. 




In the grand scheme of things this was a bad loss, but this is a very good football team with a very bright future. They still have a chance to bring home the AAC championship trophy and very good coaching staff with an up-and-coming freshman Quarterback. Tulane football is here to stay! Move on to the next game and get the conference championship at all costs. ROLL WAVE!





Special Teams



Kicker/Punter/Return Game


K- Patrick Durkin went 3 for 3 on extra points and hit a 44 yarder 


P-Will Karrol had 3 punts for 100 yards averaging 33.3 with a long of 37


For more Tulane Football news, check out Wave Watch on YouTube at The Kneaux!


Roll Wave!!


This is Patrick Harkness and you can follow me on X @RollDatWave and @BeInTheKneaux everywhere.

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Tight End Room Outlook: Revamped and Ready To Roll

By Kaden Arkeder • July 4, 2026
The tight end room has some fresh blood and they look poised to be more impactful heading into next season. With the new arrivals of Noah Fant and third round draft pick Oscar Delp the offense will have the ability to play more in multiple tight end sets to create mismatches for the defense. Multiple tight end sets should allow the Saints to improve the run game and conversely the play action game. Playing in tight end heavy sets was something they were unable to do more of last year due to injuries and lack of talent at the tight end position. Mainstay and the only returning starting caliber player is Juwan Johnson. Johnson had a good year last year as one of the few reliable targets in the passing game aside from Chris Olave. Johnson is looking to build on a solid year where he had 77 receptions for 889 receiving yards with 3 touchdowns. He was a security blanket when Rattler was starting and had quite a few big plays when Shough took over as the starting quarterback. With Shough coming into the season as the presumed starter I expect their connection to be even better next season. Someone hoping to have a better connection with a new QB is Noah Fant. Fant was a first round pick back in 2019 with the Broncos but has never quite lived up to his draft status. Fant will be playing on his third team in three years as he seeks to be a quality rotational piece in the offense and find stability for his career here in New Orleans. Fant should be utilized more in the passing game than in the running game but should be able to hold his own when called upon to do his part on run downs. Fant has been on a statistical decline since his time with Denver as his best receiving season came in at 68/670/4 back in 2021. Although his stats have been declining Fant still has plenty to offer with his athleticism and should produce more given a better opportunity. After Fant in the depth chart should be Oscar Delp who could be the x-factor of the tight end room after being selected in the third round of the draft this year. Delp brings a versatile option to the offense as he can lineup in various spots and handle the rigors of blocking in the run game. Delp’s calling card in college was his elite athleticism which jumps off the screen when you watch his tape. He has the ability to turn a five yard catch into an explosive play with how quickly he can get to top speed. Delp is an adequate, willing blocker where like most new tight ends in the league has room to improve in the blocking area of his game. With his versatility and athleticism I believe Delp will play a pivotal role in the offense this upcoming season. With Delp presumed to round out the depth chart at tight end the remaining tight ends will be competing for spots on the practice squad or spots on another team. This group includes Cody Hardy, Treyton Welch, Moliki Matavao, and Zaire Mitchell-Paden. We’ve seen Welch and Matavao from last season fill in admirably after some injuries but are best served as bench options at this point in time in their development. This group of roster hopefuls should hopefully provide some good competition from one another as we progress through training camp and preseason here shortly. Overall this group has a lot more promise heading into this season as it did last year. By getting younger and more athletic the tight ends will play a more prominent role in Kellen Moore’s offense. Whether it’s Juwan building on last season or Fant having a bounce back year or Delp proving to be revelation, the team is going to have plenty of options to choose from to attack the defense. Exactly what this team needed after not having enough last season.

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