WVU Football
Chaotic Frisco Bowl Results in Losing Season for West Virginia

West Virginia had one more game left before officially closing the book on the Neal Brown era – the Frisco Bowl against Memphis. And with new head coach Rich Rodriguez in attendance, the Mountaineers tried to impress the man in charge of the future while also honoring their former coach.
Unfortunately for WVU, that effort proved to be unsuccessful and resulted in finishing the season with a losing record.
After several WVU players showed up to the field wearing “Neal Breezy” shirts to show respect for Neal Brown, it was time for Garrett Greene to lead his team one final time. However, success didn’t come easy for West Virginia early on.
The only win of WVU’s first offensive possession was avoiding a turnover – CJ Donaldson recovered his own fumble and Greene threw an errant pass near the sideline. But the Mountaineer pass rush brought the heat to Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan, forcing him into short completions.
With Greene misfiring and the WVU offense struggling in the first quarter, it was only a matter of time until the Tigers took advantage. On Memphis’ second drive, Henigan used both his arm and his legs to get the Tigers into the end zone.
Then, Memphis was able to maintain momentum after forcing another Donaldson fumble, and this time recovering it for the turnover. The Tigers made West Virginia pay for by gashing the defense and eventually tacking on a field goal to go up 10-0.
While Greene was finally able to push the offense down the field on West Virginia’s attempt to answer, a failed fourth down attempt ruined the drive and handed the ball back to Memphis.
Once again, the Tigers made the turnover a costly one. And Memphis only needed one play to extend their lead as Greg Desrosiers sprinted 46 yards for the touchdown, making the score 17-0 with 10:46 left in the first half.
Unlike how the regular season finale unfolded, West Virginia was not dead yet. Greene connected with Hudson Clement on two deep passes, highlighted by hanging a ball for a 33-yard touchdown. The quick scoring drive kept the Mountaineers alive at 17-7.
Even when the West Virginia defense stepped up, Memphis still added points, kicking as Tristian Vandenberg drilled a 42-yard field goal.
Before the first half came to a close, Greene made Rodriguez wish he still had eligibility left. Greene took off for a 56 yards all the way to the house. Greene’s heroics swung momentum firmly to West Virginia and made the score 20-14.
Watch: Garrett Greene Runs 56 Yards for West Virginia Touchdown
Henigan refused to let the Mountaineers feel too confident as they head into the locker room for halftime. He led the Tigers back into the end zone and even placed an exclamation point on it with a successful two-point try.
West Virginia did add a field goal thanks to a 46-yard kick by Michael Hayes in the final seconds of the first half.
The second half opened with bad news for WVU and another Memphis touchdown. Jahiem White was ruled out for the rest of the game due to a hamstring injury he suffered earlier in the game. Henigan also threw his second touchdown pass in the opening minutes to push the game to almost out of reach.
Incorporating his “refuse to ever give up” attitude that made him fun to watch throughout his college career, Greene made sure West Virginia responded with a score of their own. Greene found Clement for his second touchdown of the game, a play that gave the sophomore wide receiver 93 yards at the time.
More big plays from Clement followed WVU into the fourth quarter as he approached 140 yards. And West Virginia makes them count eventually. Donaldson powered his way into the end zone on fourth down to cement a 16-play drive with a touchdown.
A game that felt like it was going Memphis’ way most of the night was up in the air with 11:54 remaining. Before WVU fans could get too excited, Henigan connected on a short pass to DeMeer Blankumsee that saw him go 89 yards to set up a Memphis score.
WVU wasn’t about to be denied when they got the ball back. Donaldson ended the possession by muscling his way in for second score of the game as the scoreboard read 42-37 in favor of Memphis.
The Tigers looked to seal the win, but instead, watched a field goal miss the uprights. Greene and the Mountaineers had the ball down by five with 51 seconds on the clock.
Things only got crazier from there. A Greene interception ruined WVU’s chance and won the game for the Tigers. At first, it appeared as if Memphis fumbled and WVU recovered. That call was soon overruled and the game was over.
The bowl loss solidifies the disappointment of the 2024 season. West Virginia ends the year with a final record of 6-7.
It’s now all about a blast from the past for WVU with the Rodriguez’s second tenure now fully underway.
For a related story, WVU fans are asked how they feel about West Virginia bringing back Rich Rodriguez.