TCU
8-4 , 5-4
Cincinnati
7-5 , 5-4
Offensive Explosion Leads TCU to 45-23 Victory over Cincinnati
11/29/2025 8:34:00 PM | Football
Horned Frogs put up 544 yards in regular season finale
Payne also added 44 receiving yards, bringing his all-purpose number up to 218.
Quarterback Josh Hoover was uber efficient, passing for 306 yards on a 19-22 night with four touchdowns. His top target was Eric McAlister, who had eight receptions on eight targets for 101 yards.
The Horned Frogs played defense by committee, with five recording four or more tackles. Jordan Lester led the way for the group with six.
TCU (8-4, 5-4 Big 12) was rolling early, forcing a fourth-down stop in plus territory that led to a score to take an early lead. However, after another defensive stop, the game entered a 90-minute-plus lightning delay, the second game of the season plagued by such a delay.
Right after the delay, the Frogs did not waste much time by marching right down the field to take an early 14-0 lead for the second straight week.
A flurry of chunk plays for the Bearcats allowed them to stay within striking distance throughout the first half, but a late touchdown for TCU extended the lead back up to 14 going into the locker room.
The Horned Frogs didn't waste much time, scoring just over four minutes into the second half to push the advantage up to 21. Cincinnati was not able to do much from there to close the gap and TCU salted away the victory.
NOTING THE FROGS
TCU scored 21 first-quarter points, their most in any first quarter since the 24 scored against Iowa State on November 26, 2022 ... The 31 first-half points were also the most since the Frogs scored as many against BYU on October 14, 2023 ... The 544 yards of total offense was a season high, surpassing the 542 yards tallied in the season opener at North Carolina ... Eric McAlister finished the day with 101 receiving yards, moving him into second place on the single-season charts with 1,121 yards on the year ... Jeremy Payne's 218 yards from scrimmage (174 rush; 44 rec) were the most by a TCU running back since Robert Merrill tallied 231 at Houston on October 25, 2003.
UP NEXT
TCU will learn its bowl destination on Sunday, December 7.
Team Stats
CIN 0, TCU 7
TCU - Manjack IV,Joseph 3 yd pass from Hoover,Josh (McCashland,Nate kick) 8 plays, 34 yards, TOP 03:23
CIN 0, TCU 14
TCU - McAlister,Eric 17 yd pass from Hoover,Josh (McCashland,Nate kick) 5 plays, 81 yards, TOP 02:15
CIN 7, TCU 14
CIN - Pryor,Evan 26 yd pass from Sorsby,Brendan (Rusnak,Stephen kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:51
CIN 7, TCU 21
TCU - Dwyer,Jordan 69 yd pass from Hoover,Josh (McCashland,Nate kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:08
CIN 14, TCU 21
CIN - Caldwell,Jeff 14 yd pass from Sorsby,Brendan (Rusnak,Stephen kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:18
CIN 14, TCU 24
TCU - McCashland,Nate 32 yd field goal 10 plays, 17 yards, TOP 04:51
CIN 17, TCU 24
CIN - Rusnak,Stephen 26 yd field goal 6 plays, 67 yards, TOP 02:08
CIN 17, TCU 31
TCU - Payne,Jeremy 9 yd run (McCashland,Nate kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:50
CIN 17, TCU 38
TCU - Dwyer,Jordan 0 yd pass from Hoover,Josh (McCashland,Nate kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:10
CIN 23, TCU 38
CIN - Allen,Cyrus 35 yd pass from Sorsby,Brendan () 6 plays, 94 yards, TOP 02:05
CIN 23, TCU 45
TCU - Payne,Jeremy 51 yd run (McCashland,Nate kick), 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:19
