Henigan leads Memphis to 42-37 win in Frisco Bowl

FRISCO, Texas — Seth Henigan had quite a homecoming for his final game as a four-year starter for Memphis, tying the American Athletic Conference career record with his 104th touchdown pass and leading the 25th-ranked Tigers to one more victory.

Henigan threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns, and was one yard short of another score, as the Tigers held on for a 42-37 win over West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl on Tuesday night. They got 11 wins for only the second time in 109 years of Memphis football.

“It’s meant the world to me, and just to be able to go out with the win, I feel like that’s a good way to cap off a pretty good career,” Henigan said. “And having stayed at the same university four years, I hope that’s a testament to who I am, and about the people around me.”

The only current four-year FBS starting quarterback to do that all with the same school, Henigan’s 50th game for the Tigers (11-2) came just over 20 miles from his hometown of Denton, Texas. He completed 18 of 26 passes, including an 89-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter when DeMeer Blankumsee was tripped up at the 1.

Even though Henigan knew that would have pushed him one past the 104 touchdowns that Clayton Tune had for Houston from 2018-22, he handed off to Brandon Thomas for a 1-yard touchdown on the next play. Even when he had a run-pass option.

“I’m just happy that we came out with a win,” Henigan said.

West Virginia (6-7) had scored on six consecutive possessions (four touchdowns) before one more chance in the final minute after the Tigers missed a 50-yard field goal. But the Mountaineers’ final push ended when Elijah Herring had an interception.

“The ebbs and flows of a football game. We did what we needed to, we found a way,” said fifth-year coach Ryan Silverfield, now 4-0 in the bowl games the Tigers have played. “That’s kind of the mantra all season. Just leave no doubt, find a way.”

Sitting at the podium afterward, Silverfield said he was savoring his final few minutes with Henigan as his quarterback.

“He’s meant everything,” Silverfield said. “For him to stay loyal to this place, he is a rare breed.”

Garrett Greene was 29-of-40 passing for 328 yards with two TD passes to Hudson Clement, and also ran for 95 yards and a score for West Virginia. Clement finished with 11 catches for 166 yards, and CJ Donaldson ran for 83 yards and two TDs.

The Mountaineers played five days after Rich Rodriguez was re-hired for a second stint as head coach at his alma mater 17 years after he left.