MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis will not be in fourth-straight conference championship game. The Tigers slim hopes ended with a 35-21 loss at Tulane Saturday.
The Tigers hung around in striking distance until a nine-yard rush from Green Wave sophomore Cameron Carroll put yet another Memphis second half comeback out of reach.
"We didn't find a way to execute at the level that we expect ourselves to in all three phases," Head coach Ryan Silverfield said. "Didn't play a complete game, and that continues to haunt us. For four quarters, execute at a high level. Right now, we're playing like an average football team to below average. It's my job to get us to playing at a higher level and we're not there right now."
"I feel bad when I don't have answers for you guys all the time, and I don't right now," Brady White said. "Because I'm one person and I am a quarterback. And so, I am not getting every perspective like a coach or from a press box or what not. So, I don't know."
One of the most glaring issues Saturday was the run game, which had another ineffective day, managing just 45 yards of offense in the loss.
"It seems like we sit here week in and week out and say, 'How can we get the run game going?' And you guys are exactly right," Silverfield said. "I think why we have some of these conversations after losses is because we're not able to execute that at a high level."
The Tigers have one more regular season game ahead against Houston, plus whatever may come from bowl season. That was what White pointed to, when asked to evaluate the 2020 campaign.
"It's not over, so I'm not going to answer that," he said. "But I'm proud of my team, proud of myself, proud of our coaches, proud of this program, and we're going to bounce back, for sure."