2024 Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl Preview

Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl (7th Edition)
#25 Memphis (10-2) vs. West Virginia (6-6)
December 17, 2024
8 p.m. CT, Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
TV: ESPN

By Troy Phillips

First, a little trivia. Spotify’s most-streamed vocalists in the U.S. for 2024 include – at No. 5 – a former Scooter’s Coffee employee from her pre-superstar days. Yes, it’s possible Chappell Roan once handed you a steaming Turtle Latte if you lived in Missouri.

As degrees of separation go, this pop music-to-college football one is loose at best. But, as one Chappell Roan mega-hit goes, this year’s Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl is “Hot To Go.”

No. 25 Memphis (10-2) and West Virginia (6-6) are set to kick off the 7^th Frisco Bowl on December 17 at 8 p.m. (CST) at Toyota Stadium. ESPN will have the call. Scooter’s Coffee is in its second year as the bowl’s title sponsor.

The Tigers and Mountaineers might serve up one of the hotter matchups in Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl history. West Virginia (Big 12) is the first Power 4 conference participant in the event, while Memphis is the second-ranked one, following UTSA (No. 24) in 2021.

Memphis is making its 11th straight bowl appearance and knocked off another Big 12 opponent, Iowa State, in last year’s AutoZone Liberty Bowl. West Virginia will make its 41st all-time bowl appearance and fourth in the past five years.

As college football moves into its postseason, a crowded calendar includes bowls, signing day and the opening of the transfer portal. Bowls now staged earlier on the schedule, such as the Frisco Bowl, can benefit from higher player participation with additional time before the portal closes on December 28. 

“We were hoping to play in an earlier bowl game,” West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker said. “With signing day and the portal open on the 9^th (of December), our players are excited to stay together and play again. With a later game, the portal becomes a bigger factor. We have a chance for better participation.”

Three Mountaineers were named to the All-Big 12 team, including senior offensive tackle Wyatt Milum, senior defensive end T.J. Jackson II, and freshman linebacker Josiah Trotter. The latter was named Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year.

Milum is an Outland Trophy (best interior lineman) semifinalist and hasn’t allowed a sack the past two seasons. He’s credited with helping WVU rank 9th in the FBS in rushing this season at 192.7 yards per game. Jackson has 38 tackles this season after transferring from Troy, including 20 solo tackles, 6 ½ sacks, and 13 ½ tackles for losses.

WVU’s defense, particularly in the secondary, should have its hands full with Memphis senior quarterback Seth Henigan. He’ll be almost home in Frisco with friends and family in attendance, having played high school ball at nearby Denton Ryan High School. Frisco straddles the line between Collin and Denton Counties.

Henigan is 16 yards shy of throwing for 14,000 career yards, and is the American Conference’s career passing yards leader. His 102 career touchdown passes make him one of three active FBS passers (Dillon Gabriel, Oregon; Will Rogers, Washington) with 100 career TDs. Memphis is 20-5 the past two seasons with Henigan taking snaps. 

To its credit, Memphis knocked off Tulane 34-24 to end the regular season. Going in, Tulane had a two-game lead in the American standings and still advanced to the conference championship game, which Army won 35-14. Still, Memphis can cap its 2024 season with four consecutive victories. 

“I’m very excited about the future of our program,” Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield said on December 4 after signing 22 new recruits to a class ranked as the AAC’s best.

“We’re excited to be in Frisco against a great West Virginia team. What an awesome opportunity to be able to play on a national spotlight against a Power 4 team and see if we can find a way to get our 11th win of the season.”

Losses to bowl teams Navy and UTSA kept Memphis from knocking at the College Football Playoff door this season and its new 12-team bracket.

“It’s a great day to be a Memphis Tiger,” Silverfield said. “I saw that we’ve been mentioned in the Top 25 for the College Football Playoff. That’s great. It just means our name continues to come across that bottom line on a national stage.”

Overcoming the physical, run-heavy Mountaineers would be a step in that direction for Memphis. As an early-winter chill sets in Texas, either team will gladly take a Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl victory, to go.

Hot, not iced, please.

Fort Worth-based digital marketing professional Troy Phillips is a former reporter and copy editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.