NEWS
By Kim M. Braud | October 17, 2026
NEW ORLEANS - The lights above Yulman Stadium provided the spectacle Friday night, but Tulane's defense delivered the turning points as the Green Wave forced six turnovers and recorded seven sacks in a 31–17 victory over Memphis.
Tulane entered as a seven-point underdog against a Memphis team that had won its first two conference games. On an evening billed as "Light It Uptown," Tulane scored 23 second-quarter points and then answered a late Memphis challenge with a decisive touchdown run. The win moved the Green Wave to 3–3 overall and 1–1 in the American. Memphis fell to 5–2 and 2–1.
Memphis took a 3–0 lead in the first quarter on a 44-yard field goal by P. Laforge. Carter Helmke tied the score with a 56-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter. Forty seconds later, Marcus Stokes found S. Burnside for a 76-yard touchdown, and Memphis led 10–3.
Then Tulane began its surge. Helmke's 40-yard field goal narrowed the deficit, and Trace Johnson connected with Destyn Hill for a 38-yard touchdown that put the Green Wave ahead 13–10 with 4:18 left in the half.
Helmke added a 29-yard field goal with one minute remaining. Then came one of the night's biggest plays: TJ Smith intercepted Stokes and returned it 76 yards for a touchdown with five seconds left, sending Tulane into the break with a 23–10 lead.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. Memphis threatened late, cutting the margin to 23–17 on a six-yard touchdown pass from Stokes to Jamari Davis with 3:34 remaining.
Tulane responded with a seven-play, 80-yard drive capped by Johnnie Daniels' 48-yard touchdown run with 1:34 left. Johnson then hit Hill for the two-point conversion that set the final margin.
Johnson completed 11 of 21 passes for 165 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Hill led Tulane's receivers with 62 yards. Daniels finished with 55 rushing yards. Helmke made three of four field-goal attempts, including the 56-yarder, and Tulane's punter averaged 48 yards on six punts, with a long of 72.
A defense that kept getting the ball back
Memphis outgained Tulane 438–321, ran 81 plays to Tulane's 60, and held a 27–12 edge in first downs. The Green Wave's defense kept turning that volume into empty possessions. Tulane intercepted three passes and recovered three fumbles, forced five fumbles in all, and stopped Memphis twice on fourth down.
Kevin Adams III intercepted two passes, joining Smith in accounting for Tulane's three interceptions. Stokes finished with 306 passing yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted three times and sacked seven times. Laforge made one of two field-goal attempts for Memphis.
Tulane overcame its own mistakes to win. The Green Wave was penalized nine times for 80 yards, compared with three for 12 for Memphis, and committed two turnovers.
The show overhead
The night marked Tulane's first drone show, part of a "Light It Uptown" theme that included light-up glasses for the first 1,500 students. One formation spelled out "Welcome to Uptown," while another appeared to depict a steamboat. As the night went on, noticeably cooler weather settled over the stadium.
The win was Tulane's second straight over Memphis, following a 38–32 victory in Memphis last season. Tulane returns to Yulman Stadium next Saturday, October 24, to host UTSA at 7 p.m.
Between the illuminated sky and the decisive plays below it, Tulane gave its Uptown crowd an evening to remember.
Kim M. Braud is the Founder & Editor of Evans Cutchmore Press, an independent newsroom covering Louisiana and the Gulf South, and the author of Financial Power for Life™, a financial literacy framework that helps people earn, protect, grow, leverage, and transfer wealth. Her reporting focuses on government, infrastructure, business, culture, and the public policies that shape communities, with a commitment to highlighting progress and the people doing meaningful work in a news landscape often dominated by conflict and crisis.
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