Tulane vs Memphis Preview: Will Memphis Crowd Impact Friday Night?
Memphis Head Coach Gave Away 2,500 Tickets to Memphis Faithful for Friday's Game
The Tulane Green Wave will visit the Memphis Tigers for an intriguing college football matchup on Friday under the lights.
Tulane and Memphis had bye weeks last weekend to prepare for this game. The Green Wave’s only loss was to Ole Miss without their starting quarterback under center.
On the other hand, Memphis’ only loss was to a quality Missouri team by one score.
Both teams have just one loss against an SEC opponent.
Who will be handed their second loss of the NCAAF season on Friday night?
Take a look at our Tulane vs Memphis preview for Friday’s AAC matchup.
Tulane Green Wave vs Memphis Tigers 
Day/Time:
Location: Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium
Streaming: ESPN
Tulane’s Athletic Director Moving On
Tulane athletics has made a drastic jump over the last few years. It was such an incredible jump that the University of Washington poached away Troy Dannen to be its next Athletic Director.
Dannen had worked with Tulane since December 2015, where he helped put together one of the best Group of 5 NCAAF teams in the country.
The Green Wave earned an American Athletic Conference Championship and won the Cotton Bowl against USC last season.
Dannen is expected to lead Washington into its first season in the Big Ten. With how well the football program has done, the Athletic Director job for Washington was attractive.
He’s taking over for Jen Cohen, who left Washington for USC in August. Washington hasn’t made a non-internal move for Athletic Director since 2004.
His first mission will be to keep Washington’s Football staff intact. They’re currently a top-ten team in college football.
While this news isn’t good for Tulane, hopefully, Dannen did enough for the next athletic director to come in and keep the spark rolling in Tulane.
Memphis Has Given Away 2,500 Tickets for Game Against Tulane
The Memphis Tigers want to be a top-tier program in college football. In the AAC, that likely won’t happen. But they want to make some noise and believe they have a program that can compete with the best.
Therefore, the Tigers’ head coach, Ryan Silverfield, purchased 2,500 tickets for their game against Tulane.
Those tickets have all been claimed by Memphis faithful. Additional tickets are a reasonable $20.
Fans are expected to receive a Memphis football jersey koozie and will be able to earn some autographs from different professional wrestlers before the game.
This isn’t something that Alabama or Ohio State would ever do. But as a non-Power Five team, sometimes this stuff is necessary.
You need extracurricular things to do to help bring in an audience. Memphis is thinking of every way to get more fans into the stadium. So far, it’s working.
Take a look at our Tulane vs Memphis preview for Friday night’s matchup.
Tulane vs Memphis Preview
The Memphis Tigers are +3 against the spread at home. Meanwhile, the total is sitting at 57 for their game against Tulane.
Tulane and Memphis aren’t ranked. But with a Friday night win, we could see one of these teams in the Top 25 NCAAF rankings.
Tulane has started the season 4-1. They’ve also won eight of their last ten games from last season. However, the Green Wave hasn’t covered since September 16. They’re just 2-3 against the spread this season.
Meanwhile, the Over has only hit in one of their first five games this season.
On the other hand, Memphis is just 1-3-1 against the spread. The Tigers pushed against Boise State as a 3-point favorite with a 35-32 win. The Tigers haven’t covered a spread since September 9.
Still, the Tigers have watched the Over hit in four of five games. That’s the exact opposite of Tulane.
Tulane has defeated Memphis in two of its last three games. However, Tulane has covered in each of those three games. The total has also gone over in two of those three.
Memphis used to be a powerhouse against Tulane. But Tulane has now won three of its last five against Memphis.
Tulane’s Run Game Should Shine
The Tulane Green Wave has averaged nearly 390 yards per game on offense. They’re led by Michael Pratt, who has a QBR of 82.4, with eight touchdowns and one interception. Pratt was injured earlier this season but returned against Nicholls and UAB in his last two games.
He added four touchdowns and one interception in those two games and threw for under 400 yards. But he’s also a capable runner. Tulane should have more success on the ground.
Memphis has held teams to 210 yards in the air but has given up over 150 yards rushing. They’ve missed tackles and haven’t been great on the line of scrimmage.
Tulane’s freshman running back, Makhi Hughes, earned 72 carries for 368 yards, with three touchdowns. He’s averaged over five yards a carry for the Green Wave.
Look for his workload to be significant again this weekend.
While Tulane’s offense has been great throwing the football, don’t underestimate Memphis’ secondary. They’ve been tremendous and are the only position group that has played at a high level this season.
Michael Pratt typically makes good decisions, but the run game will be very helpful throughout this game for Memphis.
Memphis Can Be Stopped
The Memphis Tigers have been an incredible offense this season. They’ve averaged nearly 440 yards per game, including 277 in the air and another 162 yards on the ground.
But Tulane will be one of the more difficult defenses to figure out.
The Green Wave have held teams to 321.8 yards per game, including only 86.2 yards on the ground.
Memphis has featured Blake Watson 77 times for 455 yards. He’s got six touchdowns and is averaging nearly six yards per carry. But Watson will likely cool off against Tulane.
Tulane has been dominant against the run and way above average in the secondary. The Green Wave also has a much better pass rush and continues to tackle at a slightly above-average rate.
Tulane and Memphis both have quality quarterbacks. Seth Henigan of Memphis has thrown for nearly 1400 yards and ten touchdowns.
But the Memphis defense against the run is what will sting them in the long run.
We are backing Tulane at -3 on the NCAA football line on the road. Memphis will have a loud, excited crowd, but Tulane will have the more efficient offense. Just look at the previous NCAAF scores and odds.
For NCAAF betting news, college football odds and predictions, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
