The Tigers didn’t just beat Tulane. They dominated, winning the turnover battle 3-0, running wild against Tulane’s defense and completely shutting down star running back Makhi Hughes, who entered Thursday as the nation’s No. 9 rusher but easily had the worst game of his career had (nine carries). , 15 meters).

Desrosiers was outstanding in a real breakout game. He started the season buried on the running back depth chart and then missed five games with a collarbone injury, but he was the best player on the field for most of Thursday. He soared over Tulane linebacker Tyler Grubbs for the first touchdown, ran past virtually the entire defense for the second and third, and then punctuated his performance with a ridiculous juke move that floored Grubbs in the fourth quarter.

“This was our championship game,” Desrosiers said, echoing a sentiment teams often use as motivation when playing Memphis.

But Memphis was the hunter, not the hunted, on this night in New Orleans. Tulane built momentum, but safety Kourtlan Marsh came up with two forced fumbles on long passing plays that halted any real attempt at a comeback in the second half. When Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah’s pass was intercepted by Davion Ross near the goal line midway through the fourth quarter, he knelt and put his head in his hands, staring at the grass as the Memphis sideline bounced with joy.