Tulane hosts Memphis under the lights at Yulman on Friday night
The Green Wave, 2-3 and still looking for a first American Conference win, host a 5-1 Memphis team on Friday, Oct. 16, at Yulman Stadium, with kickoff at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN and the program’s first drone show on the night’s schedule.
NEW ORLEANS: Tulane gets the Friday night stage this week, hosting Memphis at Yulman Stadium on Friday, Oct. 16, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. Central on ESPN, according to the game listings published by SportsbookWire, SI and Bleacher Nation.
The matchup pairs two teams going in different directions. Memphis arrives at 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the American Conference, while Tulane is 2-3 and 0-1 in league play after losing its conference opener at Army, 20-17, on a late field goal last Saturday. SportsbookWire, College Sports Wire and Bleacher Nation all carried the same records in their Friday previews.
Tulane’s two wins have both come in Uptown, a 28-24 win over South Alabama and a 24-21 win over Southern Miss, wrapped around road losses at Duke, Kansas State and Army on the schedule table published by SI. First year head coach Will Hall’s team has alternated losses and wins through its first five games, the sequence shown in those SI schedule results.
A Memphis ground game against a thin run defense
The statistical mismatch sits on the ground. Memphis averages 247.0 rushing yards per game, seventh in the FBS, while Tulane has allowed 218.6 rushing yards per game, among the highest totals in the country, according to the team figures published by Bleacher Nation and SportsBook Review.
Running back Jaylin Carter leads the Tigers with 645 yards and eight rushing touchdowns on 89 carries, and quarterback Marcus Stokes has thrown for 1,535 yards with 16 touchdowns against three interceptions, according to the player figures in Bleacher Nation, with Carter’s rushing line also carried by SportsBook Review. Memphis averages 38.5 points per game. The Tigers’ only loss was a 38-20 defeat at Boise State on Sept. 12.
Recent history offers Tulane some comfort. The Green Wave won last season’s meeting 38-32 at Memphis, and have won three of the past four meetings outright, according to SportsbookWire, a series note Covers also carried in its Friday preview.
A home underdog, and a first drone show
Oddsmakers have installed Memphis as a favorite of about a touchdown on the road. According to SI, it has been more than two years since Tulane was an underdog at home, dating to the Kansas State visit on Sept. 7, 2024, which the Wildcats won 34-27.
The night also carries a first for the stadium. SI reported that Tulane will hold its first ever drone show as part of a Light it Uptown theme, with shows at halftime and during the game, plus light-up glasses for the first 1,500 students. For a 2-3 team facing the conference favorite, the setting is the easy part. The test is whether the home form that carried Tulane past South Alabama and Southern Miss can hold up against that Memphis ground game.
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