Memphis vs West Virginia Prediction College Football Picks 12/17/24

The Memphis Tigers and the West Virginia Mountaineers will meet Tuesday in Frisco Bowl college football action from Toyota Stadium. Here’s a Memphis vs West Virginia prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Memphis vs West Virginia pick. We will examine:

The Memphis Tigers recent form and player performance

The West Virginia Mountaineers recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Memphis Tigers

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the West Virginia Mountaineers

Recent betting trends in games played between Memphis and West Virginia

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Memphis vs West Virginia game

Memphis Tigers Betting Preview

Memphis hit a nice 7-1 run to start this season, taking out North Alabama, Troy, Florida State, Middle Tennessee, South Florida, North Texas and Charlotte along the way. After a loss to UTSA, the Tigers came back with wins over Rice, UAB and Tulane in their final regular-season trio.

In the Tulane matchup back on November 28, the Tigers held a 24-10 edge going into the final quarter. After a wild fourth, Memphis emerged with a 34-24 win. QB Seth Henigan logged 218 yards and two scores, while Mario Anderson rushed 24 times for 177 yards and a TD of his own.

West Virginia Mountaineers Betting Preview

Over on the Mountaineers’ side, they started on a shaky 3-4 run with losses to Penn State, Pittsburgh, Iowa State and Kansas State. West Virginia went 3-2 in the next five with wins over Arizona, Cincinnati and UCF alongside losses to Baylor and Texas Tech.

In that Red Raiders game on November 30, the Mountaineers gave up 29 points in the second quarter alone, eventually losing big 52-15. Garrett Greene threw for 265 yards, one score and two picks. Jahiem White was the leading rusher in the losing effort with 14 carries for 124 yards and one touchdown.

Why the West Virginia Mountaineers will win

• Memphis has failed to cover the spread in four of its last five games as a favorite.

Why the Memphis Tigers will win

• West Virginia has lost 28 of its last 29 games as an underdog against AP-ranked teams.
• Memphis has won each of its last six games against non-conference opponents.
• West Virginia has failed to cover the spread in each of its last seven games as an underdog against AP-ranked teams.
• Memphis has covered the spread in each of its last four games in December.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Memphis’ last four games against non-conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.
• Each of West Virginia’s last four Bowl games as an underdog have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• West Virginia ranks T121st among FBS teams for Q4 opponent points per game this season (9.8).
• West Virginia ranks T117th among FBS teams for interceptions this season (5).
• Memphis ranks 10th among FBS teams for rushing yards allowed per game this season (103.9).
• Memphis ranks T10th among FBS teams for 1st downs against this season (201).

Memphis vs West Virginia Prediction

I’ll take a stab on West Virginia. The Mountaineers didn’t look great versus Texas Tech in their last outing though, so they’ll need a good bounce-back. WVU gave up three turnovers, 359 yards and 31 first downs to the Red Raiders in that defeat, but it seemed an out-of-character offensive performance. The only other times this year that the Mountaineers had finished below 31 points were in losses to ranked teams: 12 versus Penn State, 16 versus Iowa State and 18 versus Kansas State.

As for Memphis, they did a pretty good job against a talented Tulane team in their last game, collecting 454 yards, 26 first downs and a 10-of-16 success rate on third-down tries. Memphis is averaging 35.2 points per game this year along with 268.5 pass yards per game and 173.6 rush yards per game. The Tigers have scored 33 or more points in five of the last six games (27 in the outlier), and they’ll be trying to establish the run early in order to keep WVU off the field. The Mountaineers defense has a big job ahead of them, but I think they’re up for it. Should be a fun matchup.