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Bowl season officially began last week, but a week packed with postseason college football kicks off Tuesday night with Memphis and West Virginia squaring off in the Frisco Bowl.
The Tigers enter the game riding high after ending the season on a three-game win streak, including an upset win over Tulane that ended the Green Wave’s hopes of crashing the College Football Playoff. Memphis achieved back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in team history, and has the chance to reach 11 wins for the first time since 2019 with its high-scoring offense leading the charge.
West Virginia’s season didn’t go as hoped and Neal Brown was fired. However, hope is renewed in Morgantown with Rich Rodriguez set to come back to lead the Mountaineers next season. The bowl game will serve as a great chance for Rodriguez to see who he wants to bring back in 2025, although there are plenty of players that have opted out of playing.
Tuesday’s game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas will be the first meeting between the two schools.
It remains a double-digit lead for Memphis heading into the final quarter.
West Virginia has had to play catch-up for much 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 claw back in this one.
The West Virginia offense is doing all it can to stay in the game with its own touchdown on its first possession of the second half. It was a methodical drive down the field with Garrett Greene finding Hudson Clement in the end zone for the receiver’s second touchdown on the night. The extra point was no good after the Mountaineers kicking unit couldn’t get the snap down.
The offense has picked up right where it left off with Memphis getting right back in the end zone to start the third quarter. The Tigers went 75 yards on eight plays to extend the lead, punctuated with a 3-yard run by Mario Anderson.
It was all offense in the second quarter for both sides with 35 combined points scored in the frame and Memphis holding an 11-point lead.
The Tigers got out 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 the deficit. West Virginia kicker Michael Hayes made an 46-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Both teams combined for 503 total yards in the first half and Memphis will get the ball out of halftime.
Offense can’t be stopped in Frisco. Memphis responded with a quick touchdown before halftime to give it a two-touchdown lead just before the break.
The Tigers moved 75 yards in five plays and 47 seconds to add its second touchdown of the second quarter. Seth Henigan found Demeer Blankumsee in the corner of the endzone for an 18-yard touchdown pass, and the two Tigers connected again on the two-point conversion.
When no one was open, Garrett Greene decided to take it to the house.
The Mountaineers quarterback scrambled to the right and turned on the jets on the way to the endzone 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 extended as far as he could to haul in a spectacular catch in the endzone and get West Virginia back in the game. The sophomore receiver was able to haul the catch and get a leg in bounds before stepping out.
All Memphis needed was one play on the drive to strengthen 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 to open the second quarter with a 34-yard field goal from Tristian Vandenberg. The score came off 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 C.J. 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 in the end zone for the first score of the game.
It was a mixture of the run and the pass that helped Memphis go 45 yards down the field, with quarterback Seth Henigan coming up big on a third down play 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 across the goal line for a 4-yard touchdown pass.
When is the Frisco Bowl between Memphis and West Virginia?
The kickoff for the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl game between the No. 23 Memphis Tigers and the West Virginia Mountaineers at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, is Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.
How to watch Memphis and West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl
The Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl game between the No. 23 Memphis Tigers and the West Virginia Mountaineers will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Live streaming is available on Fubo, which has a free trial.
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 the BetMGM college football odds on Tuesday afternoon.
- Spread: Memphis (-5)
- Moneyline: Memphis (-210); West Virginia (+170)
- Over/under: 59.5
USA TODAY: Memphis a heavy favorite
- Scooby Axon: Memphis
- Jordan Mendoza: Memphis
- Paul Myerberg: West Virgina
- Erick Smith: Memphis
- Eddie Timanus: Memphis
- Dan Wolken: Memphis
Reed Wallach, Sports Illustrated: Memphis to win
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 feast on Greene’s shaky decision making. In a game that is being lined as a coin flip, there are plenty of reasons to side with the small favorite to cap its 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 tempo or the potency of an AAC offense. QB Garrett Greene had a 13/11 TD/INT ratio and the Tigers were tied for ninth with 24 takeaways. They are also an opportunistic defense with 14 fumble recoveries. WVU only lost four fumbles during the season. But, as a defense, they only had 11 takeaways, so Memphis may very well carry the edge in the turnover margin department.”
The Athletic: Memphis to win
The Athletic’s team unanimously picked Memphis to win, one of only six unanimous predictions, alongside Notre Dame to beat Indiana, James Madison to beat Western Kentucky, Pitt to beat Toledo, Kansas State to beat Rutgers, and Syracuse to beat Washington State.
Clutch 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 victory, which they have been doing all season.”
There are 46 games on the college football postseason schedule 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 coming up on the calendar. — Mark Giannotto
USA Today college football bowl schedule
Tuesday’s Frisco Bowl marks the first time that the Memphis Tigers and the West Virginia Mountaineers have faced off in their respective programs’ histories.
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