All photos by Renegade Sports Editor Keith Higgs
This was the warmest temperature at kickoff in the seven Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowls at 69 degrees (F). Previous kickoff temps have ranged from the 30-s-50s.
Tonight’s opponents entered the contest with a combined mark of 16-8. Memphis’ 10-2 worksheet marks the second 10-win season in succession for the Tigers after going 10-3 overall in ’23. The Tigers school record for wins is 12-2 in 2019 when UM met Big Ten power Penn State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. Memphis also playing in its 10th bowl bash in the last 12 seasons. West Virginia is competing in its fourth postseason clash in the last six years and 41st bowl tussle overall – second among current Big 12 Conference teams to Texas Tech with 42 bowls (including post-2024).
The Tigers entered the SCFB with one of the top records of any team to compete here and a No. 25 national ranking by Associated Press. San Diego State’s 38-24 win over then-No. 24 nationally UTSA (12-1 entering the bowl) in 2021 vaulted the Aztecs to a final AP rating of No. 25 and post-bowl mark of 12-2 overall along with the Roadrunners. Memphis is the fourth Top 25 nationally opponent for the Mountaineers, who are now 1-3 in such matchups beginning with a opening game setback to current No. 4 in CFP ratings Penn State this year.
Memphis and WVU are the 12th and 13th different schools in Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl annals as San Diego State is the only repeat performer in the first seven games here in 2018 and ’21. SMU and UTSA (last year’s winner over Marshall for its first bowl victory in FBS) were scheduled to face one another in December 2020, but the game was cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols and availability of student-athletes to play for both squads.
Memphis finishes with an 11-2 overall mark for the second-most victories in a single season behind the ’19 team. The Tigers closed in a third-place tie with Navy at 6-2 in the American Athletic Conference.
West Virginia ends its season at 6-7) and 15 victories over the last two seasons and one bowl win in 2023. The Mountaineers also are now 0-2 in bowl games played in the Metroplex after falling to Utah in the 2017 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl at historic Cotton Bowl Stadium,
This was the first meeting of Memphis and WVU in football, and the Tigers are now 45-50-0 against current members of the Big 12 Conference with a 40-game all-time series against Big 12 member Cincinnati. The Mountaineers are 56-30-0 against 2024 members of the American Athletics Conference with the most games played against AAC member Temple with 36 and a 24-12 all-time mark vs. the Owls.
Tonight’s competitors have been to a combined 58 bowl games. Memphis holds a 9-8 all-time postseason mark while West Virginia is 17-24 in all bowls. Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield has guided the Tigers to three bowl games in Texas – 2020 Goodyear Cotton, 2022 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl in Dallas and now the SCFB with a 2-1 mark in the Lone Star State.
Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield is 42-21 overall in five-plus seasons (including serving as head coach in the 2020 Goodyear Cotton Bowl after Mike Norvell accepted the head coach job at Florida State prior to the bowl bout. He is 4-1 in bowl skirmishes. WVU interim head coach Chad Scott is 0-1 in his first contest as a college head coach. Scott had been offensive coordinator under previous Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown and has been an assistant coach in Morgantown for the last six seasons.
Scott was a running back at Kentucky and North Carolina during his playing career. Interestingly, Silverfield came out of the famed Bolles School high school program in Jacksonville, Fla., but was a student assistant coach for four seasons at his alma mater Hampden-Sydney. Scott is a fellow Florida native from Plant City outside Tampa. At one time recently Silverfield and the late Mike Leach of Mississippi State were the only two head coaches in FBS who did not play college football before taking top FBS positions.
West Virginia is 15th all-time in overall wins among FBS members with a 789-531-45 record over 134 seasons and has the 29th-best winning percentage at .594. The Tigers are 97th in overall FBS victories with 544-538-33 record over 113 seasons and a later start in football than many FBS members. Memphis’ .506 winning percentage ranks 97th among the current 134 FBS schools.
Quarterbacks played a major role for both teams this evening as Memphis standout and All-American Athletic Conference (two seasons) Seth Henigan entered the clash with Tigers career record for 1,148-of-1,792 passing, 64 percent completion rate, 14,278 passing yards, 104 TDs, and 31 interceptions. Henigan is the son of highly-successful Denton Ryan (Texas) HS head coach Dave Henigan and brother of nominated All-State junior QB Quin Henigan who paced Ryan to a 12-1 start and advancement to the Texas Class 6A semifinals last week.
Seth Henigan’s 104 career touchdown passes (he needed three to top Clayton Tune (Houston, 2018-22, and nearby Carrollton, Texas, Hebron HS) with an American record of 104 with East Carolina from 2018-22 and tied that standard. Henigan also joins Dillon Gabriel of Oregon and Will Rogers of Washington as the only three active FBS passers with 100-plua touchdown tosses. Henigan had 355 yards pf total offense on 34 plays (8 rushing, 26 pass attempts) in this game.
WVU standout QB Garrett Green (423 yards of total offense vs. UM, 328 passing, 95 rushing with a 61-yard TD carry)has started for two Mountaineers teams in 2023 and ’24 with a combined record of 15-11 while going during his career 398-of-701 passing for 56 percent, 5,370 yards, 36 TDs, and 19 interceptions..
Greene has exceeded 2,000 passing this year with 2,300 yards and 15 touchdowns while being the second-leading team rusher now with 133 rushes for 733 yards and six touchdowns. He also is 11th in school history in passing yards (5,3702), touchdowns (36) and completions (398) is 19th in career rushing yards (2,136), and ninth with 28 career rushing touchdowns. Only two WVU quarterbacks, Pat White (4,180) and Major Harris (2,161) have rushed for more yards than Greene.
Memphis opened postseason play at No. 2 nationally in FBS turnover margin at plus-16 behind James Madison with plus-17 on miscues and had a fumble recovery end pass interception with no team turnovers tonight. UM now has 11 interceptions as a team and has forced 26 fumbles on with LB Chandler Martin leading the way with four fumbles forced and an interception. Martin, tonight’s defensive MVP, also set a SCFB record with 17 total tackles (seven solos).
The Tigers started the night No. 3 nationally in third down conversion rate at 45.2 percent and converted six of their first 9 third down opportunities. UM finished the game 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) on third down plays from scrimmage.
Henigan’s favorite target for UM is Roc Taylor who ended the year with 65 grabs for 878 yards and two touchdowns while fellow wideout Hudson Clement tied the SCFB individual record with 11 catches for 166 yards (second-most in this bowl’s annals). DeMeer Blankumsee ended the Tigers campaign with a team-high five touchdowns and just missed a sixth on an 89-yard pitch and catch from Henigan.
RB Mario Anderson Jr., paced UM with 1,362 yards rushing, 18 touchdowns (third-most current nationally Iin FBS) and 131 all-purpose yards each outing. Memphis is 19th in NCAA FBS with 35.2 points per game (scored 42 tonight) and is 10th with 103.9 rushing yards allowed. Senior CB Davion Ross paced the Tigers with three interceptions.
Tigers kicker Tristian Vandenburg attempted what would have been the longest field goal in SCFB history (current longest is 45 yards) but missed from 50 yards with 51 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
WVU was seeking its 22nd plus.-500 record in the last 25 seasons prior to the SCFB and is making its 19th bowl appearance in the last 25 years but fell just short at 6-7.
Jahiem White is WVU’s team’s leading rusher with 845 yards and a season-best 158 against Oklahoma State. White had a trio of 100-yard games. WR Hudson Clement is the team’s top pass catcher with 41 snares for 741 yards and five touchdowns. He is the only Mountaineer with a 100-yard receiving showing with 150 yards on seven receptions against Kansas and topped that with 11 catches for 166 yards against Memphis.
Eight different receivers had catches for the Mountaineers tonight. West Virginia was missing its second-leading tackler and 2025 transfer portal entry Josiah Trotter with 92 total tackles tonight.
Mountaineers interim defensive coordinator Jeff Koonz took over in late October and helped WVU hold Cincinnati to 24 points and UCF to 21 markers in two key Big 12 triumphs.
Esteemed Memphis radio play-by-play ace Dave Woloshin is competing its 50th season working Tigers football and basketball broadcasts. Longtime Memphis media maven and AutoZone Liberty Bowl executive Harold Graeter along with Goodyear Cotton Bowl vice president Scottie Rodgers were among the dignitaries working and attending the skirmish.
Records by conference in the SCFB are now Mid-American 2-0, American 2-1, Mountain West 2-2, Conference USA 1-2, Big 12 0-1, and Sun Belt 0-1. The Sun Belt, represented by Marshall in 2023, was the fifth different conference to compete in Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl and West Virginia is the first Big 12 member and sixth conference competing in this postseason test. The Big 12 is 4-1 vs. American opponents in 2024 while the American is now 1-4 against Big 12 foes in regular and postseason.
The Frisco Bowl also has featured some of the nation’s top coaching notables such as Frank Solich (retired NFF College Hall of Fame coach) of Ohio, Rocky Long of San Diego State, Sonny Dykes of SMU (now at TCU), Skip Holtz of Louisiana Tech, Sean Lewis (now head coach at San Diego State) of Kent State, Gary Andersen (retired) of Utah State, Brady Hoke of San Diego State, Marshall’s Charles Huff (now head coach at Southern Miss), and UTSA’s Jeff Traylor, among others.
New West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez who guided the Mountaineers from 2001-07 with a 60-26 overall mark and six consecutive bowl appearances from 2002-07 before moving to Michigan in 2008 is in attendance tonight. His overall college head coaching record is 190-129-2 over 27 seasons, and the 2024 Conference USA Coach of the Year and team title mentor at Jacksonville State was 27-10 over three consecutive nine-win seasons with the Gamecocks.
He is fifth among active NCAA FSB in coaching triumphs with the 190 number. After a brief interview with ESPN in the second quarter, the new WVU head coach spent part of the second half on the sidelines checking a playbook and encouraging the troops.
American Athletic Conference members were 28-28 against non-conference foes in ’24 regular-season clashes while Big 12 schools closed 36-14 (.720 winning percentage) for the third-highest victory rate among FBS circuits.
