Tulane Players Discuss Coming Up Short of Their 'Big Expectations'
Once the game on Thanksgiving ended and Tulane was the losing team, that likely ended their slim chances of getting into the College Football Playoff.
It already would have been an uphill battle for the Green Wave since they were the second-highest-ranked Group of 5 team behind Boise State entering Thursday's matchup against Memphis, so they would have needed some more chaos at the Power 4 level and for the Broncos to lose for them to get in.
Now, with a 2.2% chance to make the CFP per ESPN's FPI formula, head coach Jon Sumrall and his team will almost assuredly have to wait until next year to compete for a national championship.
That disappointment is not lost on Tulane's players.
Per Guerry Smith of Nola.com, offensive lineman Shadre Hurst said the loss "hurts because we had big expectations," which was something echoed by Sam Howard when he added, "this one stinks."
The Green Wave were building real momentum at the right time, dominating their American Athletic Conference opponents to the point where some analysts were beginning to call them the best Group of 5 team despite Boise State only having their one loss come against the No. 1-ranked Oregon Ducks.
"But the momentum we had, we had expectations along with that, and the chances (of reaching the playoffs) are slight now," Hurst said.
A major reason why Memphis was able to go into New Orleans and upset Tulane was because of all the self-inflicted wounds they had with three turnovers all coming at costly times.
"You don't beat very many teams being minus-3 in the turnover margin. If those three turnovers don't happen, we're probably talking about a final play to figure out who the winner is," Sumrall stated.
He's probably right.
Tulane's first turnover came right out of the locker room when they had the opportunity to get back into the ballgame when the deficit was still 17-10, but by fumbling the football after a 40-yard pickup, that allowed Memphis to score a touchdown on their next possession.
The second turnover came in similar fashion.
After forcing a three-and-out after having just got into the end zone, the Green Wave connected on a huge passing play that would have set them up to make things a one-score game, however, when Mario Williams was going to ground, the ball was jarred loose and the Tigers to took over unscathed again.
The third was just an aggressive throw by a young quarterback which resulted in an interception.
Still, Tulane was pushed around in this one, something that had rarely been seen throughout the season with Memphis dominating on the ground and stopping the rushing attack of the Green Wave.
It's a disappointing way for Tulane's CFP dreams to end, but they still have two more contests left before this campaign is over.
