Frisco, TX – West Virginia trailed by 18 early in the second half and got within five in the fourth quarter but the Mountaineers (6-7) could not contain the Memphis offense and dropped the Frisco Bowl to the 25th-ranked Tigers (11-2) Tuesday night 42-37.

West Virginia senior quarterback Garrett Greene finished his final game as a Mountaineer with 423 total yards and three touchdowns, while redshirt sophomore receiver Hudson Clement finished with a career-high 11 receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

West Virginia went three and out on its first two possessions of the game, losing the field position battle and Memphis started its second drive inside WVU territory at the 45.

Senior running back Mario Anderson started the drive with a 12-yard run, setting up a keeper from quarterback Seth Henigan on a third and four to keep the drive alive before delivering a shovel pass to Anderson for the touchdown and the 7-0 lead.

Junior running back CJ Donaldson fumbled the ball and was recovered by defensive lineman Mond Cole at the WVU 41.

Memphis kept the drive alive with a dump pass to redshirt junior running back Greg Desrosiers Jr for 20 yards, but the Mountaineer defense held the Tigers to a field goal to begin the second quarter and WVU trailed 10-0.

The Tigers momentum continued to build after the Mountaineers failed on a fourth and one near midfield, giving Memphis the ball inside WVU territory for the third consecutive possession. On the first play of the drive, Desrosiers busted through the right side for a 465-yard touchdown run and Memphis went up 17-0 at the 10:46 mark of the second quarter.

West Virgina answered with its first touchdown drive of the game, driving 75 yards on six plays Clement picking up the yards in chunks, hauling in his first pass for 13 yards, then corralled a 33-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to ten, 17-7 with 7:28 remaining in the half.

Memphis appeared poised to build its lead back to 17 after Henigan dropped a 25-yard pass to Roc Taylor on third and nine to the WVU 37, but the defense held the Tigers for their second field goal of the night.

Greene got the Mountaineers within six after scrambling 56 yards for the touchdown with 1:44 left in the first half.

The Tigers quickly responded. On third and six, Henigan connected with Taylor for 35 yards. Two plays later, Henigan threw his second touchdown pass from 18 yards out to redshirt senior receiver Demeer Blankumsee. The Tigers opted to go for two and converted for the 28-14 lead with less than a minute remaining in the half.  

West Virginia was able to get within field goal range before the half and senior kicker Michael Hayes nailed the 46-yarder to cut the deficit to eleven, 28-17.

The Henigan, Taylor connection continued the first play of the second half for a 48-yard pass and catch to begin the 75-yard touchdown drive, and Anderson finished it with a three-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion extended the Tigers lead 35-17.

The Mountaineers responded on their opening drive of the second half. Junior running back CJ Donaldson had five tough carries for 27 yards while a 20-yard pass to sophomore Rodney Gallagher put the Memphis defense on its heels with a 20-yard reception and Clement snagged a pair of passes for 22 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown reception. The snap was mishandled on the extra point and WVU trailed 35-23 midway through the third quarter.

The West Virginia defense ended Memphis’ streak of six consecutive scoring drives and the Mountaineer offense took over at its own 10. The Mountaineers methodically moved the ball down the field until Clement snagged a 37-yard pass to get to the Memphis 15-yard line. Then, on fourth and goal from just inside the one, Donaldson punched it into the endzone to get WVU within five, 35-30 at the 12:02 mark of the fourth quarter.

Memphis struck right back after an 89-yard pass to Blankumsee, and redshirt senior running Brandon Rush followed with a one-yard touchdown run to go back up twelve, 42-30.

West Virginia responded with a 12-play 75-yard drive. Greene was 7-8 for 70 yards and three consecutive runs from Donaldson put the Mountaineers in the endzone to trim the Memphis lead to five, 42-37 with 4:17 left in the game.

Memphis picked up a pair of first downs and ran the clock to 56 seconds before senior kicker Tristian Vandenberg missed wide right and West Virginia took over at it own 31 yard line with 51 seconds remaining in the game.

On the first play the Mountaineers, Greene found Clement for 23 yards just over midfield into Memphis territory. Greene threw an interception, but redshirt senior receiver Preston Fox punched the ball away from junior linebacker Elijah Herring. However, after an replay review, the officials determined Herring gave himself up on the slide and awarded Memphis the ball as the Tigers held on 42-37.

The Power 4 is represented in its first game of the 2024-’25 college football bowl season, as the West Virginia Mountaineers battle the No. 25 Memphis Tigers in the 2024 Frisco Bowl. The game is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT) with TV coverage on ESPN and streaming on-demand.

• How to watch: Live streams of the 2024 Frisco Bowl are available with offers from FuboTV (free trial), SlingTV (low intro rate) and DirecTV Stream (free trial).
• SlingTV is currently offering a 50% discount for the first month, with a starting price of $20 for a full month of live TV.
• For a limited time, FuboTV is offering $30 off the first month after the free trial period. With the $30 offer, plans start at $49.99 per month.

#25 Memphis Tigers (10-2) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (6-6)

Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl

When: Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT)

Where: Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas

TV channel: ESPN

Live streams: FuboTV (free trial) | SlingTV (low intro rate) | DirecTV Stream (free trial)

Power 4 program or not coming out of the Big 12 Conference, West Virginia is still a 4.5-point underdog to the Tigers in the Frisco Bowl. The Tigers have thrived with the little things, building a stout rushing defense that ranks No. 10 nationally while posting the second-best turnover margin in the country (+1.33) and the third-highest average time of possession (33:48). Memphis scored arguably its best win of the season late over the Tulane Green Wave (34-24) to wrap its regular season on a four-game winning streak.

The ‘24 season was full of ups and downs for the Mountaineers, whose boldest headlines perhaps came earlier this month when they announced former WVU coach Rich Rodriguez will return to the sideline as head coach in 2025. At their best, the Mountaineers can unleash explosive running backs Jahiem White (817 yards, 7 TDs) and C.J. Donaldson (651 yards, 9 TDs) along with dual-threat quarterback Garrett Greene (656 yards, 5 TDs). Defense has been a glaring concern, though, ranking among the worst in the nation against the pass, allowing 268.9 yards per game.

2024 Frisco Bowl: Know your live streaming options

• FuboTV (free trial) – excellent viewer experience with huge library of live sports content; free trial lengths vary; monthly rate after free trial starts at $59.99 after current $20 discount offer.
• SlingTV (low intro rate) – discounted first month is best if you’ve run out of free trials or you’re in the market for 1+ month of TV
• DirecTV Stream (free trial) – not the same level of viewer experience as FuboTV, but the standard 7-day free trial is still the longest in streaming.

The Tigers and Mountaineers are set for a 9 p.m. ET start on ESPN. Live streams are available from FuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and SlingTV (low intro rate).

Before you get upset that I’m even listing transfer quarterback options, it’s part of the process, folks. Just about every coach that gets a new job will portal in a quarterback, regardless of the overall shape of the room. It doesn’t mean the guy Rich Rodriguez brings in will start, but he will look for someone he believes fits his offense to a T.

As I mentioned in an article yesterday, Nicco Marchiol can operate Rich Rod’s offense and potentially do well in it. Is he a perfect fit, though? Probably not. If you’re Rodriguez, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket in your first year on the job with a quarterback who hasn’t been a full-time starter. You have to add competition.

There are several quarterbacks in the portal, but if WVU wants to swing for the fences, there are some intriguing options.

Mateer is the top quarterback in the portal, and while he may come with a big price tag, it’d be silly not to at least consider him and see what he’s looking for. Oklahoma is probably the favorite to land him, given his offensive coordinator at Wazzu, Ben Arbuckle, recently took the OC job there. This season, Mateer completed 64.6% of his pass attempts for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He also rushed for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns. Whoever lands this kid is getting a program changer.

Noland did not see any action in his true freshman season in Columbus but is going to be a popular target for QB-needy teams. The former four-star recruit held offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Colorado, Louisville, Miami, NC State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Texas A&M, WVU, and several others. For his high school career, Noland threw for 10,164 yards and 126 touchdowns to 25 interceptions while adding 334 yards and six touchdowns with his legs.

Salter seems to be leaning toward Colorado, with Syracuse still in the mix as well. It might be a bit late in the process for West Virginia to get involved, but it’s worth a shot. He’s thrown for nearly 6,000 yards in his career, along with 56 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Salter didn’t run the ball nearly as much this season but still posted 579 yards and seven scores. The year prior, he rushed for 1,089 yards and 12 scores. A true dual-threat option.

Pribula was in line to be the starter in State College next season until Drew Allar announced his intentions of returning for his senior year a few days ago. Pribula does have some experience under his belt, seeing action in mop-up duty and in situations where James Franklin wanted a more mobile option on the field. For his career, Pribula has connected on 66% of his passes for six touchdowns, throwing just one interception. He’s rushed for 571 yards and ten touchdowns, going for 6.1 yards per carry.

The former five-star recruit left USC after sitting behind Caleb Williams for a year and then lost out on the starting job to Maddux Madsen at Boise State this season. The talent is there; he just needs to find an offense that fits him. West Virginia, or anyone for that matter, won’t have to put together some massive NIL deal to land him either.

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