I looked at the debacle in the first 20 minutes, when Tulane fell behind 35-0, and some of what I saw was surprising. In the first quarter, I don't think the defense played that poorly, with the offense's ineptitude the greater concern.
But the first four minutes of the second quarter were an abject disaster defensively, turning a 14-0 game into a 35-0 hole while the offense continued to stink.
Here's my possession-by-possession analysis:
Memphis series No. 1
--Quinlan Carroll missed a tackle on the opening play, setting the tone for the rest of the game, but the defense bowed up to stop Memphis on fourth down a little later. Jarrod Franklin, who played a strong first quarter, pressured Riley Ferguson into an incomplete pass on third down, and Zach Harris had good enough coverage on the sideline to force an errant throw on fourth down. If the pass had been on the money, it was a first down, but Harris showed good instincts to get out there and force Ferguson to throw into a tight window, which he failed to do.
Tulane series No. 1
--Three Hilliard runs, not much going on. Not having Junior Diaz, which I'm not sure the TV crew every noted, hurt on the first two plays, when the line got zero push. Hilliard tried to bounce outside on third down and had no chance. Again, the tone was set early.
--Tulane, by the way, has run 32 times and passed four times on its opening series this year. That sounds like terrible balance, but keep in mind the Wave scored TDs on its opening series in four of its first five games before coming up empty in the last three.
Memphis series No. 2
--P.J. Hall, who had a rough night, was beaten easily for a first down.
--The reverse to Pollard for a touchdown was a combination of bad defense and excellent execution by Memphis to get an incredible open-field playmaker into the open field. Carroll had a chance to get him at the line of scrimmage but took a poor angle and let him get around him without even being blocked, a no-no. Chase Kuerschen did a bad job, too, and Parry Nickerson did not fight hard enough to get off a downfield block or make a strong enough effort to get Pollard out of bounds and he scooted by him for a score. The entire defense appeared to be running in slow motion on the play, starting another trend. Tulane just doesn't play as hard on the road as it does at home.
Tulane series No. 2
--Memphis' first of seven sacks came off of very poor line play that resembled some of the CJ era stuff. Tyler Johnson was beaten easily on the edge, and no one accounted for a blitzing middle linebacker who came in untouched. Banks had no chance.
--Banks threw a poor pass low for Kendall Ardoin on a third down play that would not have picked up the first down anyway. Banks threw very poorly in the first quarter but picked it up from there.
Memphis series No. 3
--I credit Memphis for this drive more than blaming Tulane. On third-and-7, Ferguson scrambled to avoid pressure and hit Anthony Miller for a first down. That execution would have been hard for any defense to defend, although Cameron Sample was held as he tried to get to Ferguson.
--Memphis converted a third-and-6 by getting Darrell Henderson isolated on Rae Juan Marbley. He beat him down the middle, and with the plethora of playmakers the Tigers have at the skill positions, it is hard to avoid bad matchups at times.
--The touchdown was an outrageously good play. Hall had good coverage on Miller, but Ferguson threw a perfect pass and Miller leaped to catch it. I'm not sure any team defends that play.
Tulane series No. 3
The receivers appeared to be running in slow motion on the third down sack. No one was open or had even finished their route when Banks got sacked. Bad execution all around. Again, they just didn't seem to be playing hard enough.
Memphis series No. 4
--Tulane came up with its second stop. Sean Wilson blew up a running play for a loss as the defense continued to get good early penetration, and Kuerschen made an outstanding play, getting to the sideline to deflect another beautiful throw by Ferguson on third down. It was time for the offense to do something, anything.
Tulane series No. 4
--Nope. Brantley came in, executed the option flawlessly on the first play and then screwed up the drive on the next one by trying to reverse field with nowhere to go, losing a chunk of yards and fumbling, although he caught his own fumble. That type of decision is a killer in a 14-0 game. It was not desperation time yet.
Memphis series No. 5
--Kuerschen had a chance for a momentum-changing play, getting both hands on a Ferguson overthrow but failing to bring it in when the receiver knocked the ball away from him. It was an outstanding play by the receiver, but Kuerschen should have brought the ball in sooner and been stronger. He's still learning as a freshman. Instead of Tulane having the ball in Memphis territory, the Tigers scored another TD.
--Jarrod Franklin made a heck of a play to stop a run coming in from the outside, although he got dinged up and had to miss a coupe of downs. But on third down, Pollard made an outstanding leaping catch on Harris to convert when Tulane defended the play pretty well.
--Sean Wilson got good pressure to force a throwaway and another third down. At that point, Tulane's defense was handling itself pretty well against an explosive offense, but it all went bad from there. Really, really bad. Nickerson lined up 8 yards off a receiver on third-and-3 and Ferguson hit him with a pop pass for an easy first down. Terrible alignment. Then Tulane had the blown coverage when Memphis stacked Miller behind another receiver. Donnie Lewis checked Miller and let the other guy run by him while Hall came up and ignored the guy, too. Kuerschen had no chance to get over to prevent the easy touchdown lob.
Tulane series No. 5
--Jabril Clewis dropped a low pass on third down that would have gone for a first down. Poor throw by Banks, and a poor job by Clewis to give Tulane any kind of life.
Memphis series No. 6
Henderson scored on an 80-plus TD run. Tulane's line was blocked completely, with Ade Aruna getting handled easily. Kuershen needed to bring Henderson down at midfield but missed the tackle and did not get in great position, again appearing to run not at quite full speed. Henderson was gone after that. Lewis had a shot at him, but not a good one. The defense had fallen apart by this point.
Tulane series No. 6
Banks missed Darnell Mooney for what would have been a first down, then made an insanely good throw to Clewis while being sacked. Yes, it was a desperation pass thrown up for grabs, but by now, desperation was the right mode to be in. Both of Banks' knees were down, so it went as a sack, but he showed amazing strength to get the ball as far as he did, and he started playing well from that point.
Block's punt was deflected and it was on him for a slow delivery. A team finally took advantage of the way he walks into his rugby style punts.
Memphis series No. 7
The Tigers scored immediately on a slow-developing, elaborate fake. Nickerson was fooled by a receiver who barely moved at the start of the play and then took off after the fake to run by him easily. Hall should have been over to defend a balloon of a pass but wasn't close. Bad defense, and Memphis had scored three touchdowns in the span of about three minutes.
But the first four minutes of the second quarter were an abject disaster defensively, turning a 14-0 game into a 35-0 hole while the offense continued to stink.
Here's my possession-by-possession analysis:
Memphis series No. 1
--Quinlan Carroll missed a tackle on the opening play, setting the tone for the rest of the game, but the defense bowed up to stop Memphis on fourth down a little later. Jarrod Franklin, who played a strong first quarter, pressured Riley Ferguson into an incomplete pass on third down, and Zach Harris had good enough coverage on the sideline to force an errant throw on fourth down. If the pass had been on the money, it was a first down, but Harris showed good instincts to get out there and force Ferguson to throw into a tight window, which he failed to do.
Tulane series No. 1
--Three Hilliard runs, not much going on. Not having Junior Diaz, which I'm not sure the TV crew every noted, hurt on the first two plays, when the line got zero push. Hilliard tried to bounce outside on third down and had no chance. Again, the tone was set early.
--Tulane, by the way, has run 32 times and passed four times on its opening series this year. That sounds like terrible balance, but keep in mind the Wave scored TDs on its opening series in four of its first five games before coming up empty in the last three.
Memphis series No. 2
--P.J. Hall, who had a rough night, was beaten easily for a first down.
--The reverse to Pollard for a touchdown was a combination of bad defense and excellent execution by Memphis to get an incredible open-field playmaker into the open field. Carroll had a chance to get him at the line of scrimmage but took a poor angle and let him get around him without even being blocked, a no-no. Chase Kuerschen did a bad job, too, and Parry Nickerson did not fight hard enough to get off a downfield block or make a strong enough effort to get Pollard out of bounds and he scooted by him for a score. The entire defense appeared to be running in slow motion on the play, starting another trend. Tulane just doesn't play as hard on the road as it does at home.
Tulane series No. 2
--Memphis' first of seven sacks came off of very poor line play that resembled some of the CJ era stuff. Tyler Johnson was beaten easily on the edge, and no one accounted for a blitzing middle linebacker who came in untouched. Banks had no chance.
--Banks threw a poor pass low for Kendall Ardoin on a third down play that would not have picked up the first down anyway. Banks threw very poorly in the first quarter but picked it up from there.
Memphis series No. 3
--I credit Memphis for this drive more than blaming Tulane. On third-and-7, Ferguson scrambled to avoid pressure and hit Anthony Miller for a first down. That execution would have been hard for any defense to defend, although Cameron Sample was held as he tried to get to Ferguson.
--Memphis converted a third-and-6 by getting Darrell Henderson isolated on Rae Juan Marbley. He beat him down the middle, and with the plethora of playmakers the Tigers have at the skill positions, it is hard to avoid bad matchups at times.
--The touchdown was an outrageously good play. Hall had good coverage on Miller, but Ferguson threw a perfect pass and Miller leaped to catch it. I'm not sure any team defends that play.
Tulane series No. 3
The receivers appeared to be running in slow motion on the third down sack. No one was open or had even finished their route when Banks got sacked. Bad execution all around. Again, they just didn't seem to be playing hard enough.
Memphis series No. 4
--Tulane came up with its second stop. Sean Wilson blew up a running play for a loss as the defense continued to get good early penetration, and Kuerschen made an outstanding play, getting to the sideline to deflect another beautiful throw by Ferguson on third down. It was time for the offense to do something, anything.
Tulane series No. 4
--Nope. Brantley came in, executed the option flawlessly on the first play and then screwed up the drive on the next one by trying to reverse field with nowhere to go, losing a chunk of yards and fumbling, although he caught his own fumble. That type of decision is a killer in a 14-0 game. It was not desperation time yet.
Memphis series No. 5
--Kuerschen had a chance for a momentum-changing play, getting both hands on a Ferguson overthrow but failing to bring it in when the receiver knocked the ball away from him. It was an outstanding play by the receiver, but Kuerschen should have brought the ball in sooner and been stronger. He's still learning as a freshman. Instead of Tulane having the ball in Memphis territory, the Tigers scored another TD.
--Jarrod Franklin made a heck of a play to stop a run coming in from the outside, although he got dinged up and had to miss a coupe of downs. But on third down, Pollard made an outstanding leaping catch on Harris to convert when Tulane defended the play pretty well.
--Sean Wilson got good pressure to force a throwaway and another third down. At that point, Tulane's defense was handling itself pretty well against an explosive offense, but it all went bad from there. Really, really bad. Nickerson lined up 8 yards off a receiver on third-and-3 and Ferguson hit him with a pop pass for an easy first down. Terrible alignment. Then Tulane had the blown coverage when Memphis stacked Miller behind another receiver. Donnie Lewis checked Miller and let the other guy run by him while Hall came up and ignored the guy, too. Kuerschen had no chance to get over to prevent the easy touchdown lob.
Tulane series No. 5
--Jabril Clewis dropped a low pass on third down that would have gone for a first down. Poor throw by Banks, and a poor job by Clewis to give Tulane any kind of life.
Memphis series No. 6
Henderson scored on an 80-plus TD run. Tulane's line was blocked completely, with Ade Aruna getting handled easily. Kuershen needed to bring Henderson down at midfield but missed the tackle and did not get in great position, again appearing to run not at quite full speed. Henderson was gone after that. Lewis had a shot at him, but not a good one. The defense had fallen apart by this point.
Tulane series No. 6
Banks missed Darnell Mooney for what would have been a first down, then made an insanely good throw to Clewis while being sacked. Yes, it was a desperation pass thrown up for grabs, but by now, desperation was the right mode to be in. Both of Banks' knees were down, so it went as a sack, but he showed amazing strength to get the ball as far as he did, and he started playing well from that point.
Block's punt was deflected and it was on him for a slow delivery. A team finally took advantage of the way he walks into his rugby style punts.
Memphis series No. 7
The Tigers scored immediately on a slow-developing, elaborate fake. Nickerson was fooled by a receiver who barely moved at the start of the play and then took off after the fake to run by him easily. Hall should have been over to defend a balloon of a pass but wasn't close. Bad defense, and Memphis had scored three touchdowns in the span of about three minutes.
