Memphis vs West Virginia highlights: Frisco Bowl scores, results

On By Littum

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Scores were scored left and right, but that was it Memphis who emerged as the winners of 2024 Frisco Bowland beat West Virginia 42-37 in a game full of highlights.

Memphis started the game hot with 17 straight points to start the night and that paved the way for the win as West Virginia was forced to play catch up. While the Mountaineers were able to pick it up, the Tigers made sure to respond every time and kept West Virginia from pulling away. West Virginia had a chance to take the lead late, but a Memphis interception sealed it.

Both sides combined for 1,008 total yards.

Quarterback Seth Henigan has been in Memphis the past four seasons, breaking plenty of school records and helping the Tigers become an American Athletic Conference contender. He finished his college career in fine fashion with 294 yards on 18-for-26 passing and 54 yards on the ground in his 50th start.

There were hopes of being the Group of Five representative in the College Football Playoff, and while that didn’t happen, Memphis still finished with 11 wins — its most since 2019 — and has back-to-back 10-win seasons for first. time in the school’s history.

On the other hand, West Virginia finishes the season 6-7 and will begin its preparations for Rich Rodriguez’s second stint in Morgantown.

Memphis almost gave West Virginia a last-second chance, but video review seals it for the Tigers.

With 17 seconds left and at the Memphis 37-yard line, West Virginia’s Garrett Greene threw a pass that was intercepted by Memphis’ Elijah Herring. But instead of immediately going down, Herring ran around a bit, and just as he was about to go down, the ball was knocked out of his hands and recovered by the Mountaineers.

The play went to video review and the officials ruled that Herring slipped and gave himself up before the ball came out, meaning Memphis held on to the ball. The Tigers then took a knee to end the match.

With under five minutes left, West Virginia isn’t done yet.

Needing a touchdown, West Virginia went 75 yards on 12 plays in six and a half minutes to make it a one-score game again. CJ Donaldson Jr. had another 1-yard run to punch it in for the touchdown, his second score of the day. The running back has 22 carries for 83 yards and two catches for 11 yards. Now the Mountaineers must get a stop to keep the chance of winning alive.

A long pass helped set up a Memphis touchdown and pushed the lead back to two scores.

On the first play after West Virginia’s touchdown, Seth Henigan found Demeer Blankumsee on the move and he tripped just short of the goal line for an 89-yard strike. On the next play, Brandon Thomas punched it in for the touchdown.

West Virginia needed to convert a fourth down and it resulted in six points.

After starting at their own 10-yard line, the Mountaineers drove down the field and got all the way inside the Memphis 5-yard line. On third-and-goal, a completed pass ended up just short of the 1-yard line, and the Mountaineers faced a decision. The offense stayed on the field, and it was a success, with CJ Donaldson Jr. just crossed the finish line. It’s now a one-score game in Frisco.

It remains a double-digit lead for Memphis heading into the final quarter.

West Virginia has had to catch up most of the game, and the defense finally made a stop in the third quarter to force a punt. The Mountaineers will start the fourth quarter with the ball and will try to fight back in this one.

The West Virginia offense does everything it can to stay in the game with a touchdown of its own on its first possession of the second half. It was a methodical drive down the field where Garrett Greene found Hudson Clement in the end zone for the receiver’s second touchdown of the night. The extra point was no good after the Mountaineers’ kicking unit couldn’t get the snap down.

The offense picked up right where it left off and Memphis got right back into the end zone to start the third quarter. The Tigers went 75 yards in eight plays to extend the lead, capped by a 3-yard run by Mario Anderson.

It was all offensive in the second quarter for both sides with 35 combined points scored in the frame and Memphis taking an 11-point lead.

The Tigers got off to a fast start with a 17-0 lead, but West Virginia’s offense woke up midway through the second quarter and wasted no time cutting into the deficit. West Virginia kicker Michael Hayes made a 46-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

Both teams combined for 503 yards in the first half, and Memphis will get the ball out of halftime.

Attacks can’t be stopped in Frisco. Memphis answered with a rushing touchdown before halftime to give it a two-touchdown lead just before halftime.

The Tigers moved 75 yards in five plays and 47 seconds to add its second touchdown in the second quarter. Seth Henigan found Demeer Blankumsee in the corner of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown pass, and the two Tigers connected again on the two-point conversion.

When none were open, Garrett Greene decided to take it to the house.

The Mountaineers quarterback rattled to the right and ignited the Jets en route to the end zone to close the deficit to six points. It’s the 28th career touchdown for Greene, and the longest rushing touchdown for West Virginia this season.

Kicker Tristian Vandenberg knocked in his second field goal of the night with a 42-yard kick through the uprights.

Hudson Clement stretched as far as he could to make a spectacular catch in the end zone to get West Virginia back in the game. The sophomore receiver was able to haul in the catch and get a leg in bounds before stepping out.

All Memphis needed was one play on the drive to extend its lead as Greg Desrosiers Jr. took it 46 yards to the house to make it a three-score game.

Memphis made it a two-score lead and opened the second quarter with a 34-yard field goal by Tristian Vandenberg. The score came after a West Virginia fumble.

So far, it’s been all Memphis after 15 minutes as the West Virginia offense has struggled to do much early.

The Mountaineers have generated just 28 yards of offense and just one first down in three drives. They gave Memphis good field position midway through the first frame that led to a Tigers touchdown. On the following drive, West Virginia’s CJ Donaldson Jr. fumbled. the ball that set Memphis up on the Mountaineers’ side of the field.

Memphis took advantage of good field position to get into the end zone for the game’s first score.

It was a mix of the run and the pass that helped Memphis go 45 yards down the field, with quarterback Seth Henigan coming up big on third down with a 23-yard scramble to get inside the 5. On the next play, Henigan dumped it off to Mario Anderson Jr. and the running back leaped over the goal line for a 4-yard touchdown pass.

When is the Frisco Bowl between Memphis and West Virginia?

The start of the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl game between No. 23 Memphis Tigers and West Virginia Mountaineers at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, are Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.

How to watch Memphis and West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl

Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl game between the Memphis Tigers no. 23 and the West Virginia Mountaineers will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Live streaming is available on Fubo, which has a free trial period.

Catch Memphis and West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl with Fubo

Memphis vs. West Virginia odds, line

The Memphis Tigers are the favorites to defeat the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Frisco Bowl, according to BetMGM college football odds Tuesday afternoon.

  • Spread: Memphis (-5)
  • Money line: Memphis (-210); West Virginia (+170)
  • Above/below: 59.5

USA TODAY: Memphis a heavy favorite

  • Scooby Axon: Memphis
  • Jordan Mendoza: Memphis
  • Paul Myerberg: West Virginia
  • Eric Smith: Memphis
  • Eddie Timanus: Memphis
  • Dan Wolken: Memphis

Reed Wallach, Sports Illustrated: Memphis wins

Wallach writes, “The Tigers defense has been vulnerable at times, especially against big plays with an explosive rush and pass rate outside the top 100, but the team can enjoy Greene’s shaky decision-making. In a game lined up like a coin flip, there plenty of reasons to side with the slight favorite to end his season with a win.”

Adam Burke, VSiN: Memphis (-5)

Burke writes, “The Tigers defense has given up a lot of points this season, but West Virginia doesn’t have the pace or power of an AAC offense. QB Garrett Greene had a 13/11 TD/INT ratio and the Tigers were even ninth with 24 takeaways They are also an opportunistic defense with 14 fumbles that only lost four fumbles on the season defense they had just 11 takeaways so Memphis may very well carry the edge in the revenue margin department.”

Athletics: Memphis wins

The Athletics team unanimously picked Memphis to win, one of only six unanimous predictions, along with Notre Dame to beat Indiana, James Madison to beat Western Kentucky, Pitt to beat Toledo, Kansas State to beat Rutgers and Syracuse to to beat Washington State.

Connection points: Memphis

Nate Duffett writes: “Memphis’ explosive offense should be too much for West Virginia in this game. We mentioned that when the Mountaineers lost, they lost big, which could be bad news when facing the Tigers’ offense. Take Memphis to blow this game open with their passing game and hold on for a convincing win as they have done all season.”

There are 46 games on the college football postseason schedule for this season, with the expansion of the College Football Playoff adding to the intrigue of bowl season. The Salute to Veterans Bowl between South Alabama and Western Michigan kicked off the action on Dec. 14, and it all comes to a conclusion 37 days later at the CFP national championship game. USA TODAY Sports has you covered with a complete schedule for every bowl game hitting the calendar. — Mark Giannotto

USA Today college football bowl schedule

Tuesday’s Frisco Bowl marks the first time the Memphis Tigers and West Virginia Mountaineers have met in the history of their respective programs.

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