Countdown to Kickoff – Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia is about to reach its 41st^St bowl performance in school history tonight when it faces Memphis in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl in Frisco, Texas.

The game is played at Frisco Stadium with 20,500 seats.

Tonight’s contest marks the earliest date the Mountaineers have ever played in a bowl game, the previous being December 19, 1964 when WVU faced Utah in the Liberty Bowl in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

It will also be the first ever meeting against Memphis, members of the American Athletic Conference.

The 10-2 Tigers were preseason favorites to win the American and finished the year tied for third with Navy, one game behind Tulane and two games behind 19^th-ranked army.

Memphis, ranked 25th^th in the final regular season Associated Press Top 25 Poll, has wins over North Alabama, Troy, Florida State, Middle Tennessee State, South Florida, North Texas, Charlotte, Rice, Alabama-Birmingham and Tulane, and losses to Navy and UTSA.

Senior quarterback Seth Henigan became the AAC’s all-time passing leader with 13,984 yards. He has thrown for more than 3,000 yards every season he has played for the Tigers, including a 3,883-yard effort in 2023.

That stacks up favorably against a West Virginia pass defense that ranks 124th^th in the country and is giving up 268.9 yards per battle and 124^th in pass efficiency defense with a 158.13 rating.

Henigan has thrown 102 career touchdown passes and is just three short of breaking Holton Ahlers’ AAC record of 104.

Henigan’s favorite target is Roc Taylor, a 6-foot-3, 224-pound senior who has 61 catches for 834 yards and two touchdowns.

DeMeer Blankumsee, a Toledo transfer, has 412 catches for 557 yards and a team-best five touchdowns.

Running back Mario Anderson Jr., a transfer from South Carolina, is a dual threat who leads the team in rushing with 1,292 yards and 17 touchdowns while ranking second in receptions with 46 for 290 yards and two touchdowns.

He is averaging 133 all-purpose yards per game. match.

The Tigers are 19^th by scoring an average of 35.2 points per match, 21^St total offense averaged 442.1 yards and 24^th in passing offense averaged 268.5 yards per competition.

Defensively, the Tigers have the 10th^th-best run defense in the nation, allowing just 103.9 yards per carry. match. Navy gained 361 against Memphis and North Texas ran for 208, but everyone else has struggled to move the ball on the ground against the Tigers.

Florida State managed just 37 yards rushing – one of six times Memphis held its opponent to less than 100 yards in a game. In their last two outings, the Tigers surrendered just 28 yards to UAB and 57 to Tulane, both Memphis victories.

Middle linebacker Chandler Martin, a transfer from East Tennessee State, leads the Memphis defense in several categories. The 6-foot, 230-pound junior tallies 94 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hurries, seven sacks, four pass breakups, four fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one interception.

Senior cornerback Davion Ross leads the team with three interceptions.

West Virginia (6-6) lost its regular-season finale at Texas Tech, 52-15, prompting a leadership change as coach Neal Brown was relieved of his duties on Sunday, Dec. 1.

Chad Scott has been named interim coach for the game while he assumes Brown’s play-calling responsibilities.

“We want to be simple with what we do,” Scott said last Thursday before the team left for Texas. “We’re going to go down there with a good attitude and a simple game plan. Our guys are excited to play in this bowl game.”

Interim defensive coordinator Jeff Koonz has been in this role since the Cincinnati game after Jordan Lesley was released in late October.

Koonz’s defense has allowed 24 points in a win at Cincinnati, 49 in a loss to Baylor, 21 in a win against UCF and 52 most recently at Texas Tech.

“Nobody wants to go out like that performance against Texas Tech,” Koonz said. “I can’t speak for the players, but it has been a motivating factor for me personally.”

The Mountaineers rank in the 100s in 11 different defensive categories and have struggled all season to stop the passing game and cause turnovers.

West Virginia will also be without its second-leading tackler, Josiah Trotterwho has entered his name on the transfer portal.

Senior quarterback Garrett Greene has completed 58.2% of his passes for 1,972 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing 126 times for 638 yards and five touchdowns.

Greene ranks 11th^th in school history in passing yards (5,042), touchdowns (34) and completions (369) and is 19^th in rushing yards (2,041).

He is ninth with 27 career rushing touchdowns.

Only two WVU quarterbacks, Pat White (4,480) and Major Harris (2,161), have rushed for more yards than Greene.

Sophomore Jahiem White is the team’s leading rusher with 817 yards, including a season-high 158 against Oklahoma State.

White has topped 100 yards in a game three times this year, Greene once and CJ Donaldson Jr. once.

Sophomore Hudson Clement is the team’s leading receiver with 40 catches for 575 yards and three touchdowns. He is the only player to eclipse 100 yards in a game against Kansas as he caught seven passes for 150 yards.

Close end Cole Taylor is one catch behind Clement on the squad with 39 catches for 404 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior security Anthony Wilson Jr. leads the defense with 94 tackles and has two of the team’s five interceptions.

“I want to win this last game for the players,” Scott said.

Here is tonight’s countdown to Kickoff:

10 – The Mountaineers have scored TEN touchdowns on third down this season – three rushing and seven passing.

9 – Quarterback Garrett Greene is tied for NINTH with Leddie Brown in school history with 27 career rushing touchdowns.

8 – West Virginia ranks eighth nationally in fewest penalties with just 52 through 12 games.

7 – Run back CJ Donaldson Jr. caught a career-high SEVEN passes in the regular season finale against Texas Tech.

6 – The Mountaineer defense has recorded multiple sacks in all but SIX of their last 17 games dating back to last season.

5 – Senior security Anthony Wilson Jr. ranks FIFTH in the Big 12, averaging 7.9 tackles per match.

4 – Tonight’s match against 25^th-ranked Memphis will be the FOURTH Top 25 opponent West Virginia has faced this year, joining No. 8 at Penn State, no. 11 at Iowa State and no. 17 at Kansas State.

3 – WVU is one of two FBS teams to have THREE players rush for more than 600 yards this year – Jahiem White (817), CJ Donaldson Jr. (651) and Garrett Greene (638).

2 – West Virginia has won 11 Big 12 Conference games over the last TWO seasons.

1 – The Frisco Bowl represents the FIRST ever meeting between West Virginia and Memphis on the gridiron.

Tonight’s match starts at 9:00 PM ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN (Mike Monaco, Kirk Morrison and Dawn Davenport).

Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning will get things started at 8 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.