2025 Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl Preview

Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl (8th Edition)
UNLV (10-2) vs. Ohio (8-4)
December 23, 2025
8 p.m. CT, Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, TX

By Troy Phillips

It’s been seven years since the Ohio Bobcats rolled into North Texas and left town with a shutout victory and the Frisco Bowl trophy.

Ohio blanked San Diego State that night, 27-0, in chilly, soaked conditions. Fast-forward about a decade, and the Bobcats might have a new challenge: That great equalizer known as climate control.

Ohio (8-4) and UNLV (10-3) will take the 8th Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl indoors, with kickoff set for December 23 at the cozy, 12,000-seat Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

With regular venue Toyota Stadium under renovation, the Frisco Bowl and the new Xbox Bowl (scheduled for December 18) have moved to the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters this bowl season.

“The one thing that makes bowl games really unique is the opportunity to travel and learn something new about a city,” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said. “Frisco is a great location to go to for a bowl game. A lot of guys on our team have never gotten to experience that part of the country.”

UNLV, the Mountain West Conference runner-up to Boise State, reached double-digit victories in Mullen’s first season as head coach. The former Mississippi State and Florida boss was named UNLV’s coach a little more than a year ago. He’s helped the Rebels extend a run of success after a 19-8 mark in two years under Barry Odom (now at Purdue).

“Nobody knew each other last January, and this team came together to compete for a championship,” said Mullen, who went a combined 103-61 at Florida and MSU from 2009 to ‘21. I’m proud of the effort our guys gave since last January in what we’ve tried to do, what we’ve tried to build and how we’ve played together.”

For Ohio, could playing indoors be any advantage? The Bobcats are well-accustomed to the chill of outdoor football in December in the Mid-American Conference. The 2024 MAC champions gutted out a 31-26 victory against Buffalo on November 28 to finish the regular season. Low temperature in Athens, Ohio, that day: 21.

“Honestly, it’s just how you grew up,” Ohio safety Jalen Thomeson said of playing in the bitter Midwest cold after the Buffalo win. “It’s that toughness and mental warfare. Either you take over the cold, or it takes you over.”

Calm conditions inside The Star, at least, shouldn’t hinder Ohio’s passing game. All-MAC quarterback Parker Navarro finished the regular season with 2,232 yards and 14 touchdowns passing. He ran for eight more scores.

UNLV should have a full plate defending Navarro and All-MAC running back Sieh Bangura (1,243 yards, 14 TDs rushing), who became Ohio’s fifth 3,000-yard career rusher.

Ohio’s secondary, led by cornerback Tank Pearson (11 pass breakups, two interceptions), is tasked with trying to solve UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea, the MWC Offensive Player of the Year. Colandrea threw for 3,275 yards and 23 TDs for a .662 completion percentage.

The last UNLV passer named to a conference first team and as offensive MVP? Randall Cunningham in 1983 and ‘84 in the Big West. UNLV appears poised for more future success after signing the program’s highest-rated (No. 56 by 247Sports) recruiting class to date.

“It’s a great time to be a Rebel as we compete for Mountain West championships now and continue building a foundation for future championships,” Mullen said.

Conference titles and making the College Football Playoff are ultimate prizes for Ohio and UNLV. Until then, both have a chance to add more bowl hardware, enjoy Texas hospitality, and play some winter football indoors. Not a bad little vacation.

“I think our guys are going to be excited because they want to get back out there and play again after (the Boise State loss),” Mullen said. “The opportunity to get out there and play in the next few weeks will be pretty exciting for us.”

Freelance writer and online marketing professional Troy Phillips is a former reporter and copy editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.