College Football Rankings: Projected Top 25, Week 10 – Big 12 gets wild

Memphis built up a 14-0 lead after one quarter and 28-17 at the half against Tulsa. Then the Tigers held on for dear life as the Golden Hurricane surged back in the second half in front of their home crowd hoping to finally pull off an upset of a good opponent in conference play. The Tigers gave up nearly 600 yards of offense but survived for a 42-41 victory on the road as Tulsa missed a 29-yard field goal on the final play of the game that would have completed the upset.

Mike Norvell’s team survived thanks to their offense, which managed to keep pace against that prolific Golden Hurricanes unit. Brady White threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-25 passing, while Kenneth Gainwell busted off two dozen carries for 149 yards and three touchdowns. Memphis lost the turnover battle, held the ball for 12 fewer minutes, and still prevailed.

The lucky break at Chapman Stadium ended with Memphis barely surviving their way right into the AP Top 25 this week. The Tigers will be ranked when they square off against undefeated SMU with a shot to get back in the AAC West race. If they beat the Mustangs, Memphis will return to prominence in the Group of Five race for a New Year’s Six bid to the Cotton Bowl.