Memphis vs West Virginia Frisco Bowl Odds & Picks: Tigers To Maul Mountaineers

On Tuesday night, West Virginia (6-6) faces Memphis (10-2) in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl. The Mountaineers are 4.5-point underdogs at Sportsbook as head coach Neal Brown has been dismissed, leaving offensive coordinator Chad Scott to serve as the interim head coach with Rich Rodriguez set to take over next year.

Memphis had a strong finish to the season, winning three straight games including an upset over Tulane. Can the Tigers maintain that momentum in this bowl game? Let’s dive into the matchup and find out.

Frisco Bowl: Memphis vs West Virginia Odds

Memphis vs West Virginia, Dec. 17, 9:00 pm ET

Odds as of Dec. 17 at Sportsbook

Frisco Bowl - Memphis vs. West Virginia Picks

Memphis ML (-200) at FanDuel

The Memphis Tigers enter this game winners of three straight, and they’ll look to put a finishing stamp on what has been a successful season. While they fell short of their ultimate goal of winning the AAC and reaching the College Football Playoff, Ryan Silverfield’s team won ten games for the second straight year. He’ll look to build on an impressive 3-1 bowl game record.

West Virginia enters this contest with tons of question marks stemming from the dismissal of head coach Neal Brown after a disappointing 6-6 season. The Mountaineers ended their season with a 52-15 drubbing at the hands of Texas Tech, and it’s fair to wonder about motivation levels entering this game with a handful of potential opt-outs looming large for a roster that will be orchestrated by interim head coach Chad Scott. 

Memphis’ Seth Henigan and West Virginia’s Garrett Greene will both play their final game for their respective schools. Henigan had an excellent season with 23 touchdowns to six interceptions, and he’ll have the opportunity to shred a Mountaineers defense that ranked as one of the worst in the country against the pass this season.

Meanwhile, West Virginia’s offense is reliant on the run game, and it will be running into an excellent Memphis defense. The Tigers ranked 27th in rushing success rate allowed and 34th in EPA/rush allowed. If the Mountaineers are forced to rely on the drop-back passing game more often, it’s difficult to project much success - Greene has logged more turnover-worthy plays (13) than big-time throws (11) this season.

The line in this game has seen significant steam, moving from an opener of West Virginia -4.5 all the way to the current line of Memphis -4.5. I’m hesitant to lay that price with the Tigers, but I would back them on the moneyline. My preferred approach is to play a moneyline parlay with Memphis and UTSA, another favorite I’m interested in backing.

Memphis vs West Virginia Frisco Bowl Prop Pick

Seth Henigan OVER 257.5 Passing Yards (-125) at Caesars

In the final game of his career at Memphis, expect Seth Henigan to shred this West Virginia defense. The Mountaineers ranked 133rd in defensive EPA/play this season and were especially bad against the pass, ranking 129th in defensive pass success rate.

They also ranked 131st in PFF’s coverage grades. Eight of twelve opposing quarterbacks went over this passing yardage line against West Virginia, and Henigan should have one final excellent outing in store as the career leader in passing yards for Memphis.

Memphis vs West Virginia Betting Trends