MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- To hear coach Justin Fuente tell it, Memphis' latest win boiled down to one thing.

"We just settled down and played," he said.

After a shaky start put them in a double-digit hole, the 16th-ranked Tigers gradually reeled in Tulane and eventually blew the game open early in the fourth quarter, taking a 41-13 American Athletic Conference verdict at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

In improving to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the AAC, Memphis outgained the Green Wave (2-6, 1-4) 581-270, getting 343 passing yards and a touchdown from quarterback Paxton Lynch.

But the Tigers gave the sparse crowd of 30,381 plenty of reasons to worry during a first half rife with errors and solid play from the well-prepared visitors. Memphis dropped at least four passes in the first 20 minutes and handed Tulane two first downs on a game-opening 17-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that lasted an astounding 11 minutes and 13 seconds.

When Green Wave running back Dontrell Hilliard bolted 43 yards on the second quarter's second play, the Tigers trailed 13-0 and the half-full stadium was library quiet.

"We weren't doing what we were supposed to do," linebacker Genard Avery said. "Coach (Galen) Scott, our defensive coordinator, got us together and said we've got to play our game. We got after it after that."

After allowing 155 yards on the first two drives, mostly on runs between the tackles, Memphis gave up only 115 for the game's remainder, creating four 3-and-outs in the middle two quarters. The defense also came up with a safety, forcing quarterback Jordy Joseph to intentionally ground the ball in the end zone late in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the high-powered offense finally overcame its mistakes as Lynch spread the ball around to seven receivers while completing 26 of 42 passes and accounting for 386 all-purpose yards.

"I know they feel bad when they drop passes," Lynch said. "I know I threw them some bad passes. We just needed to go out there and make some plays. We work all week to do one thing and then we shoot ourselves in the foot."

But the Tigers spared enough toes to make the necessary plays that allowed them to gain traction. Running back Doroland Dorceus got them on the board with a 2-yard run at 10:38 of the second quarter, finishing a 76-yard drive.

Kicker Jake Elliott sandwiched 24 and 40-yard field goals around a safety -- punter Peter Picerelli fell on a high snap in the end zone -- and Memphis squeaked out a 15-13 lead at halftime.

After winning a field position battle during the first half of the third quarter, the Tigers finally put Tulane away. Elliott's 34-yard field goal, a 43-yard screen pass from Lynch to running back Jamarius Henderson and the game's second safety made it 27-13.

Touchdown runs of 15 yards by wide receiver Anthony Miller and 1 yard by running back Jarvis Cooper in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter concluded the game's competitive phase.

"Our defense played pretty decent, especially early in the game, but (Lynch) is a special player," Green Wave coach Curtis Johnson said. "We had some struggles with our backup quarterback in the second half. We kept getting into third-and-long."

Joseph, a redshirt senior making his first career start in place of Tanner Lee (finger), completed 10-of-24 passes for 131 yards.

It was Memphis' fifth win after trailing by at least 10 points, but the upcoming schedule might not be as forgiving. It starts November with a visit from 7-1 Navy, followed by trips to fellow unbeaten Houston and Temple, who lost to Notre Dame 24-20 on Saturday night.

"You kind of worry about it, because playing from behind every week isn't good," Lynch said.

NOTES: Tulane LT Arturo Uzdavinis (concussion) missed the game, ending a streak of 32 straight starts. ... Memphis hasn't returned a kickoff for a TD in 223 games, dating back to Kevin Cobb's 95-yard return on Nov. 9, 1996, in an upset of Tennessee. That's the longest current streak of its kind in FBS. ... Tigers PK Jake Elliott entered the game with 124 consecutive point-after attempts, ranked fourth among current FBS kickers.