On a nearly perfect fall Friday night, the Memphis Tigers would welcome the Tulane Green Wave to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium for a rivalry that dates back to 1954. Whenever Memphis and Tulane meet on the gridiron, fireworks are likely not far away, and as kickoff of the 2025 chapter of the longstanding feud, with the usual championship implications on the line. 

This year’s matchup between the Tigers and Green Wave was a de facto College Football Playoff elimination game and likely an elimination from hopes of playing for the American Championship. Both teams entered the game on Friday night with one loss each in conference play, maintaining the same hope of reaching the College Football Playoff. The lone losses for Tulane and Memphis came in the form of UTSA for the Green Wave and the UAB for the Tigers, both of which were road games, so something had to give on Friday night. 

After winning the coin toss, Memphis elected to receive the opening kickoff, aiming to set the tone early. However, a quick three-and-out would give Tulane the ball, where the Green Wave quarterback connected with Shazz Preston on a 65-yard touchdown pass on play number one. Memphis would find an answer with Brendon Lewis finding Jamari Hawkins for a 55-yard touchdown reception to make it 7-7. From there, Tulane would hold Memphis to one more touchdown before extending the lead to 28-14 with a little over nine minutes remaining on the game clock in the first half. Memphis would cut into the lead with a Gianni Spetic 49-yard field goal to make it 28-17 with 4:18 remaining in the first half. Tulane would add another touchdown right before half, scoring with 43 seconds in the first half to extend the Green Wave lead to 35-17. 

Tulane would open the second half with a scoring drive that was capped off by a 30-yard field goal to extend the lead to 38-17 over Memphis. Tulane held on to the 38-17 lead over the Tigers at the end of the third, but Memphis ended the quarter facing a 2nd and goal. 

Frank Peasant would open the fourth quarter with a Memphis touchdown before a successful two-point conversion cut the Tulane lead to 38-25 with 14:51 remaining in the game. Memphis would add another touchdown to the board with 8:00 remaining to cut the lead to 38-32 off a Brendon Lewis pass to Brady Kluse. Comeback efforts were short-lived as Memphis had dug too big a hole to overcome as Tulane escaped Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium with a massive win over the Tigers. 

With the loss, all hopes Memphis had of reaching the College Football Playoff are now over. 

Memphis will return to action on the 15th following a bye on the 8th as they travel to East Carolina to take on the Pirates. 

Photo Credits: Memphis Football on X