Greg Desrosiers Jr. caught two touchdown passes and ran for another score as Memphis defeated No. 17 Tulane 34-24 on Thursday night in New Orleans.
Desrosiers — who had two touchdown receptions and one rushing touchdown for the season entering the game — finished with eight catches for 84 yards and rushed six times for 41 yards as the Tigers (10-2, 6-2 American Athletic Conference) won 10 games in two consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.
Seth Henigan completed 22 of 29 passes for 218 yards and became the American’s all-time leader in career passing yards. Mario Anderson Jr. added 177 yards and a touchdown on 24 rushes.
Memphis held Makhi Hughes, who was eighth in the country with 1,291 rushing yards, to 15 yards on nine rushes and the Green Wave (9-3, 7-1) saw their eight-game winning streak end. They will face Army in the American title game Dec. 6.
Darian Mensah completed 21 of 33 throws for 317 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. That was one of three turnovers for Tulane, which didn’t take the ball away.
Desrosiers ran 29 yards for a touchdown on Memphis’ first possession of the second half, increasing the Tigers’ lead to 24-10. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Tristian Vandenberg’s 23-yard field goal increased the lead to 27-10.
Arnold Barnes III’s 2-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 27-17, but Anderson had a 47-yard touchdown sprint before Mensah threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Shazz Preston with 1:08 to go.
Tulane had allowed a total of nine points in its last three games, but on this game’s first possession Henigan threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Desrosiers.
Patrick Durkin kicked a 44-yard field goal and Mensah threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Mario Williams, who finished with 130 yards on seven catches, to give Tulane a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
On the first possession of the second quarter, Desrosiers caught a short pass from Henigan and turned it into a 25-yard touchdown. Vandenberg’s 28-yard field goal increased the lead to 17-10 at halftime.
