The Sports Xchange
Oct 27, 2017
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Riley Ferguson threw three touchdown passes and ran for two scores Friday night as No. 24 Memphis cruised to a 56-26 victory over Tulane in an American Athletic Conference game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
Memphis (7-1, 4-1) extended its winning streak to four games and will remain alone in first-place in the AAC West Division. Ferguson, a senior, completed 18 of 31 passes for 298 yards and threw one interception. Darrell Henderson rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
The Green Wave (3-5, 1-3) lost their third straight. They gave up 557 yards of total offense to Memphis and gained 325 yards. Jonathan Banks completed 15 of 30 passes with three touchdowns and also rushed for a touchdown.
Tulane had scored 19 straight points when with 12:32 left in the fourth quarter a bad snap was recovered in the end zone by Memphis linebacker Austin Hall for a touchdown that boosted the Memphis lead to 42-19 and snuffed out any chance of a comeback.
Memphis owned a 35-12 lead at halftime and had amassed 443 yards of total offense to 174 total yards for Tulane.
With Tulane trailing 35-0, Banks' 4-yard touchdown run got the Green Wave on the scoreboard with 3:44 left in the first half, completing a 12-play, 62-yard drive. Banks then connected with Charles Jones for a 7-yard touchdown pass with a second left in the first half to cut the Memphis lead to 35-12.
Memphis got the scoring started with 10:42 remaining in the first quarter when Tony Pollard took a reverse 58 yards for a touchdown. The Tigers scored on their next possession, capping an eight-play, 88-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Ferguson to Anthony Miller and a 14-0 advantage.
The Tigers' third score came with 13:59 left in the second quarter as Ferguson hit Sean Dykes for a 38-yard scoring strike as the lead grew to 21-0.
An 82-yard run by Henderson stretched the lead to 28-0 and a 37-yard touchdown pass from Ferguson to wide receiver Kedarian Jones put the Tigers up 35-0 with 11:20 left in the second quarter.
NOTES: Tulane QB Jonathan Banks played despite a dislocated finger on his throwing hand. The junior suffered the injury last weekend in a loss to South Florida. ... Memphis leads the series 21-11-1 and entered the game having won 10 straight. Tulane last beat Memphis 37-14 in New Orleans on Nov. 18, 2000. ... Tigers senior WR Anthony Miller's 112 receiving yards per game ranked third in the nation and in the first quarter he became the program's career leader in receiving yards. ... The Green Wave ranked 12th in the FBS with 266 rushing yards per game.