FRISCO, Texas — The Memphis Tigers (10-2) had their sights set on the College Football Playoff, but they will instead end their season in Frisco, Texas, against West Virginia (6-6) in the Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl.
Memphis finished the season with three consecutive wins including a 10-point win over Tulane, where the Tigers were double-digit underdogs. Now they get a chance to beat a Big 12 opponent in a bowl game for the second time in as many seasons.
A win would also be third straight win over a power conference opponent, after beating Iowa State in AutoZone Liberty Bowl last season and Florida State in Tallahassee.
"It means a lot because all it means is we belong. If we handle our business, we should be able to finish as maybe a Top 20 team in the country," Ryan Silverfield said. "We don’t think about those other than it’s a faceless, nameless opponent and we’ve got to go out there and do our job."
Sticking together is becoming harder to do, the more NIL and the transfer portal become larger parts of roster dynamics. The Tigers largely have little opt outs and a senior class willing and ready to finish a season strong.
"I'd probably say this is one of my favorite teams I've ever been on in my career," said linebacker Chandler Martin. "And I've been on a lot of great teams. Guys just really love each other in the locker room. We're really playing for each other."
It’ll also be the last game for Seth Henigan, the only quarterback in the country to start all four years at the same school. He’s the all-time leading passer at Memphis and the AAC. He'll finish his career just 21 miles from where he played high school football in Denton, Texas.
Choosing to stay loyal made him the flag bearer for what it means to be a Memphis Tiger.
"In this era of transfer portal people, the people who stay at the program have to be the ones who set the culture and set the tone for the people who don’t know how you do things," Henigan said. "Hopefully, I was just one of those guys who took people under their wing, taught them how we do things and tried to continue to build our culture and our standard."
In a season of ups and downs, ending on a hot note, much like last year, can go a long way in the continued success of a rising program.
"The local media is gonna expect 12 wins next year, which is the nature of it. We’re focused on it—this is the next game, and it’s the most important one of the year and obviously a tremendous opportunity for our program to continue to sustain success," Silverfield said.
Tuesday's game is set for 8 p.m. at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
