NEW ORLEANS (AP) — When three deep passes from Darian Mensah led to a turnover, Tulane’s hopes of sneaking into the College Football Playoff disappeared.

Greg Desrosiers Jr. caught two scoring passes and ran for a touchdown, and Memphis defeated No. 18 Tulane 34-24 on Thursday night to end the Green Wave’s eight-game winning streak.

“You can’t make the crucial mistakes that we had,” said Tulane coach Jon Sumrall, whose team needed to win the regular-season finale and the American Athletic Conference title game to have a realistic chance of achieving the new CFP with twelve teams.

“There are a lot of things that we haven’t executed to our standard that we have for several games in a row now,” he added. “It’s very frustrating. We’re all hurting, and it should hurt when you play a game like that.”

Two Tulane (9-3, 7-1 AAC, No. 17 CFP) turnovers came on fumbles after long receptions at or inside the Memphis 10-yard line. Another came on a long pass from Mensah that was intercepted at the 2-yard line by Davion Ross, and the Tigers responded with a game-sealing drive, capped by Mario Anderson Jr.’s 47-yard touchdown run.

“We could have easily kept our heads down,” Desrosiers said, referring to a pair of conference losses that knocked Memphis (10-2, 6-2) out of the AAC title. “Obviously the season didn’t go as planned, but we know what we deserve. We know what we are capable of. So we came here and we wanted to dominate.

Tigers defensive back Kourtlan Marsh caused both momentum-turning fumbles, the first when he tied Yulkeith Brown on the receiver’s 40-yard catch. AJ Watts recovered at the 10 and returned it 37 yards, initiating a drive that ended with Desrosiers’ 29-yard touchdown run on third-and-4, giving Memphis a 27-10 lead.

In the fourth quarter, with Tulane trailing 27-17, Mario Williams fumbled at the Tigers 9 after hauling in a 55-yard pass. Swamp recovered.

“If these three turnovers don’t happen, we’re probably talking about a final play to find out who the winner is,” Sumrall said.

Seth Henigan completed 22 of 29 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers for Memphis, totaling 454 yards against a Tulane defense that had allowed just nine points in the previous three games combined. Anderson rushed for 177 yards on 24 carries.

“If you can’t win the conference championship, the only way you can win is the game you’re in and the game you’re in,” Henigan said. “Our guys came together and played for each other.”

Mensah passed for 317 yards and two TDs, and Arnold Barnes ran for a 2-yard score — not enough for Tulane to extend its 17-game regular-season conference winning streak.

“I didn’t see that performance coming,” Sumrall said. “I thought we would play better than we did. Memphis played well, but we did not play to our level. We didn’t help ourselves much.”

Tulane gave up a touchdown on Memphis’ opening drive when Henigan hit Desrosiers for the first of his two touchdown catches — a 17-yard leap in tight coverage.

“To come out on the opening possession and score, that was important for our offense and maybe for our confidence, just to know we could execute on these guys,” Henigan said. “Playing against a great opponent is an opportunity. So we had to ensure that this opportunity was not missed.”

Tulane’s only lead came when Williams’ 7-yard TD catch made it 10-7 late in the first quarter. Desrosier’s 25-yard catch and run put the Tigers back ahead for good in the second.

The takeaway

Memphis: The Tigers played like a team that felt disrespected as two-touchdown underdogs. They converted 10 of 16 third downs to help them surpass 20 points for a 39th straight game. Their defense was disruptive and opportunistic. Now, for the first time in program history, they have back-to-back 10-win seasons. Henigan also became the AAC’s all-time leading passer, now with 13,972 career yards.

Tulane: The Green Wave looked tight early. Receivers dropped several passes and Tulane’s normally productive run scheme didn’t mesh well with a Memphis-run defense that ranked 18th nationally. Missed tackles on defense and trouble getting a third down stop made for a rough night.

Survey implications

Tulane could fall out of the AP Top 25, reducing the size of next week’s AAC championship game.

Next

Memphis: Wait for a bowl bid.

Tulane: Will play Army in the American Athletic Conference championship game on Dec. 6 at a location to be determined.

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