Tulane beats No. 22 Memphis 38-32 to stay in contention for the Group of Five’s spot in CFP

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Jake Retzlaff threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns and Tulane held off No. 22 Memphis 38-32 on Friday night to stay in contention for the Group of Five’s spot in the College Football Playoff and dash the Tigers’ hopes.

Tulane (7-2, 4-1 American Athletic Conference) survived a furious fourth-quarter comeback attempt as the Tigers fought back from a 21-point third-quarter deficit.

Memphis (8-2, 4-2) was unable to convert on fourth-and-8 from the Tulane 35 with two minutes remaining, ending its chances along with its 11-game home winning streak.

Brendon Lewis passed for 317 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers. Cortez Braham Jr. caught 11 passes for 113 yards.

The Green Wave scored on their first play from scrimmage – a 65-yard pass from Retzlaff to Shazz Preston – and found the end zone on four of their next five possessions in the opening half. At the half, Retzlaff had completed 14 of 15 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns. Preston had three catches for 85 yards and two scores.

The Green Wave had 364 yards at the half, but were held to 93 in the second half.

Memphis: The Tigers entered the game as the leader from the Group of Five to make the College Football Playoff. The Tigers were the highest ranked among the non-Power 4 programs following the Tuesday release of the CFP rankings, but saw those playoff hopes dashed in an overwhelming offensive display by the Green Wave from the outset.

Tulane: The Green Wave bounced back from a 48-26 loss last week at Texas-San Antonio to jump back into the running for a CFP spot. Tulane has an accommodating schedule – Florida Atlantic, at Temple, Charlotte – to finish the regular season. Those three teams are 9-16 overall.