A lethargic West Virginia team came to life midway through the second quarter of Tuesday’s Frisco Bowl against No. 25 Memphis at Toyota Stadium.

At that point, the Mountaineers had to come back from a 17-point deficit, and although they came within one possession several times in the second half, WVU was unable to overcome the deficit in a 42-37 loss, ending a disappointing one for the Tigers 2024 season.

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

“We didn’t start as quickly as we wanted, but the guys were resilient and responded,” Scott said.

After fighting back to the last margin, the Mountaineers got the ball back and had a chance to win when Memphis (11-2) strangely opted for a 50-yard field goal on fourth-and-2 and Tristian Vandenberg then pushed the ball past the goal and made his last two attempts.

“The analysis said we should have done it, and I thought about it,” Tigers head coach Ryan Silverfield said. “If we had gotten the first down, we would have gone down and the game would have been over. There’s a lot of thought involved. But I have great confidence that we will find a way.”

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

Greene then ran for 4 yards on second-and-5, but the lead signal-caller made the ill-advised decision to slide just before first down, preventing the clock from being temporarily stopped and forcing WVU to rush.

On the next play, Greene was intercepted by Elijah Herring at the Memphis 16-yard line. Herring returned the pick and had the ball knocked out by WVU wideout Preston Fox, while Mountaineer offensive lineman Johnny Williams IV recovered the loose ball and returned it to West Virginia near the Memphis 30 with about 10 seconds left in the game. However, upon review, it was determined that Herring was on the ground having slipped, and although his knee had not yet touched the grass, the defender had already given up.

“It’s a verse call. “The last five or six drives have been successful for us,” Scott said. “That’s what we do best. We were just a little behind, but that was the same play we hit several times throughout the game. The boys felt comfortable with it.”

That was the only series in WVU’s last seven games in which the Mountaineers didn’t score any points after getting themselves cornered early with 49 yards on four straight possessions.

“If I could go back, I would have been more aggressive early in the game,” Scott said. “I was too conservative trying to figure them out and I should have shot my shot. (Greene) had nothing to do with losing that game. It’s not his fault at all.”

The Tigers got a 4-yard touchdown pass from Seth Hengian to Mario Anderson Jr. for a 7-0 lead, marking the first of six consecutive Memphis scoring series.

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

After an incomplete pass from Greene on fourth-and-1 just short of midfield, Memphis increased the lead to 17-0 thanks to a 46-yard touchdown run from Greg Desrosiers Jr.

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

“Early on we wanted to try to set the run and control the clock,” Scott said. “They littered the penalty area a lot and we were probably too persistent in trying to run the ball.”

Vandenberg’s 42-yard field goal extended the Tigers lead to 20-7, although Greene countered with a 56-yard TD run to increase the score to 20-14 with 1:44 left in the first half.

Henigan’s 18-yard touchdown pass to DeMerr Blankumsee, as well as a connection between that duo on a two-point passing play, increased the Memphis lead to 28-14 before Michael Hayes hit a 46-yard field goal on the final play of the half scoring put the Mountaineers up 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 throw to Clement cut Memphis’ lead to 12, and it remained that lead when Leighton Bechdel dropped the snap on the point-after-play, preventing Hayes from attempting the kick.

The Mountaineers then forced a punt and then went on a 16-play, 90-yard drive that culminated with an exhausted Donaldson forcing his way into the end zone from a yard out on fourth-and-goal. It was the second four-down conversion of the series, with Greene throwing an 8-yard pass to Clement on fourth-and-5 from the WVU 39 with just under a minute to play in the third quarter.

On Memphis’ first play of the ensuing drive, momentum was lost when 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 with 10:49 remaining.

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

Left tackle Wyatt Milum only played the first series and was then replaced by Williams. Milum is expected to be selected on day one or two in the upcoming NFL Draft.

“It 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 surpassed 300 yards. He was also the game’s leading rusher with 95 yards on seven carries.

“West Virginia means a lot to me and it was a great honor to wear the uniform,” Greene said. “I wish I could have done it tonight but at the end of the game I wasn’t good enough. I’m still super happy when I made the decision to go to the mountains as a 17-year-old.”

He went to Clement early and often, and those decisions largely paid off as the contest progressed.

“We both agreed with the game plan,” Clement said. “If he gives me a chance, I’ll 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 the last few minutes with him,” Silverfield said. “He 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 the game with 534 total yards to Memphis’ 474, although the Tigers averaged 8.5 yards per play and the Mountaineers only seven.

“These guys had every reason to stop, get out and give up,” Scott said. “The boys refused to do that. Everything I asked them to do, they did. They did their best.”