A lethargic West Virginia team came to life midway through the second quarter of Tuesday’s Frisco Bowl against 25th-ranked Memphis at Toyota Stadium.

At that point, the Mountaineers were playing catch up as a result of a 17-point deficit, and though they pulled to within one possession on separate occasions in the second half, WVU was unable to get over the hump in a 42-37 loss to the Tigers that ends brings an end to a disappointing 2024 season.

West Virginia (6-7) played under the watch of interim head coach Chad Scott, who was elevated to that role from offensive coordinator/running backs coach one day after former head coach Neal Brown was fired in the aftermath of a 52-15 loss at Texas Tech in the regular season finale.

“We didn’t start out how fast we wanted to, but the guys were resilient and responded,” Scott said.

After battling back to within the final margin, the Mountaineers got the ball back with a chance to win when Memphis (11-2) curiously elected for a 50-yard field goal on fourth-and-2, and Tristian Vandenberg pushed it wide after making his previous two tries.

“Analytics said we should’ve gone for it and I thought about that,” Tigers’ head coach Ryan Silverfield said. “If we had gotten the first down, we’d have taken a knee and game over. There’s a lot of thought in that. But I have great faith that we’ll figure out a way.”

The Mountaineers took over at their 31-yard line with 51 seconds remaining and no timeouts. Garrett Greene threw passes of 23 and 5 yards to wideout Hudson Clement, who had 11 receptions for 166 yards — a career high against FBS competition.

Greene then ran for 4 yards on second-and-5, but the senior signal-caller made an ill-advised decision to slide short of the first down, which prevented the clock from momentarily stopping and forced WVU to hurry.

On the next play, Greene was intercepted by Elijah Herring at the Memphis’ 16-yard line. Herring returned the pick and had the ball punched out by WVU wideout Preston Fox, with Mountaineer offensive lineman Johnny Williams IV recovering the loose ball to give it back to West Virginia near the Memphis 30 with about 10 seconds to play. However, on review, Herring was ruled to be down as he had started to slide, and although his knee hadn’t touched the grass, the defender had already given himself up. 

“It’s a verse call. It had been successful for us the last five or six drives,” Scott said. “It’s what we’re best at. We just fell a little short, but that was the same play we hit several times throughout the game. The guys felt comfortable with it.”

That was the only series among WVU’s last seven that the Mountaineers did not produce points on after they put themselves in a hole by going scoreless with 49 yards on four straight possessions to start.

“If I could go back, I would have been more aggressive at the beginning of the game,” Scott said. “I was too conservative trying to figure them out and I should’ve shoot my shot. [Greene] had nothing to do with losing this game. That’s not on him at all.”

The Tigers got a 4-yard touchdown pass from Seth Hengian to Mario Anderson Jr. for a 7-0 lead that marked the first of six straight Memphis series with points.

Vandenberg’s 34-yard field goal on the first play made it 10-0 and allowed the Tigers to at least somewhat capitalize on a CJ Donaldson lost fumble that Mond Cole recovered at the WVU 41.

Following an incomplete pass from Greene on fourth-and-1 from just shy of midfield, Memphis made it 17-0 courtesy of a 46-yard touchdown run from Greg Desrosiers Jr.

The Mountaineers then opened up their offense more and cut their deficit to 10 courtesy of Greene’s 33-yard touchdown pass to Clement.

“Early on, we wanted to try to establish the run and control the clock,” Scott said. “They muddied up the box a lot and we were probably too stubborn trying to run the ball.”

Vandenberg’s 42-yard field goal upped the Tiger lead to 20-7, though Greene countered with a 56-yard TD run to make it 20-14 with 1:44 to play in the opening half.

Henigan’s 18-yard touchdown pass to DeMerr Blankumsee, along with a connection between that duo on a two-point pass play, upped the Memphis lead to 28-14, before Michael Hayes’ 46-yard field goal on the final play of the half brought the Mountaineers to within 11.

The Mountaineers allowed a 48-yard pass from Henigan to Roc Taylor on the first play of the second half, and that drive ended with Anderson rushing for a 3-yard touchdown to make it 35-17.

Greene’s 10-yard TD toss to Clement cut the Memphis lead to 12, and it stayed at that margin when Leighton Bechdel dropped the snap on the point-after play, preventing Hayes from trying the kick.

The Mountaineers then forced a punt and followed it up putting together a 90-yard drive over 16 plays that culminated with an exhausted Donaldson willing his way into the end zone from 1 yard on fourth-and-goal. It was the second fourth-down conversion of the series, which saw Greene throw an 8-yard pass to Clement on fourth-and-5 from the WVU 39 with just outside 1 minute to play in the third quarter.

Momentum was gone on Memphis’ first play of its ensuing drive as Henigan found Blankumsee behind the secondary for an 89-yard pass to the WVU 1. Tailback Brandon Thomas worked his way into the end zone on the next play, leaving the Tigers with a 42-30 lead and 10:49 remaining.

Donaldson’s second 1-yard touchdown run with 4:17 left helped WVU get to within five, but the Mountaineers were unable to get over the hump and finish with a losing record for the fourth time in the last six seasons.

Left tackle Wyatt Milum played only the first series and was then replaced by Williams. Milum is a projected first or second day selection in the upcoming NFL Draft.

“That was planned,” Scott said.

Running back Jahiem White did not play in the second half after injuring his hamstring on a pass play late in the second quarter.

In his final college game, Greene completed 29-of-40 passes for 328 yards — the second time in his career he’s surpassed 300 passing yards. He was also the game’s leading rusher with 95 yards on seven carries.

“West Virginia means a lot to me and it’s been such a great honor to wear the uniform,” Greene said. “I wish I could’ve gotten it done tonight, but I wasn’t good enough at the end of the game. Still super happy 17-year-old me made the decision to come up to the mountains.”

He went to Clement early and often, and those decisions mostly paid off throughout the contest.

“We were both on the same page with the game plan,” Clement said. “If he’s giving me a chance, I’m going to try to make it count for him.” 

Donaldson rushed 22 times for 83 yards.

Henigan, a four-year starter for the Tigers, completed 18-of-26 passes for 294 yards.

“I’m going to enjoy these last few minutes with him,” Silverfield said. “He’s meant everything.”

Taylor had five catches for 116 yards and Blankumsee caught four passes for 120 yards.

Anderson rushed for 70 yards on 17 carries and Henigan added 61 yards on eight attempts.

WVU finished with 534 total yards to Memphis’ 474, though the Tigers averaged 8.5 yards per play to the Mountaineers’ seven.

“These guys had every reason to quit, fold and turn it in,” Scott said. “The guys refused to do that. Everything I’ve asked them to do, they’ve done. They’ve gone above and beyond.”