TicketsFORT WORTH, Texas – The Cincinnati football team fell to TCU, 45-23, on Saturday at Amos G. Carter Stadium.
The Bearcats finish the regular season with a 7-5 record and a 5-4 mark in Big 12 Conference play. TCU improved to 8-4 and 5-4 in the league.
TCU redshirt junior quarterback Josh Hoover came out the victor in the battle with Cincinnati redshirt junior Brendan Sorsby among the Big 12’s top signal callers.
Hoover finished 19-of-22 for 306 yards and four touchdowns. Sorsby, who completed his first 14 pass attempts, totaled 282 and three touchdowns on 23-of-33 passing, but was sacked a season-high three times.
TCU running back Jeremy Payne rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.
Sorsby’s 27 touchdown passes are the fifth-most in a single-season in school history and his 36 total touchdowns are one off of Desmond Ridder’s school-record 37-total-touchdown mark record set in 2021.
The game featured a 93-minute weather delay due to lightning in the area in the first quarter and 35 mph wind gusts in the second half.
Still, the 37,259 in attendance witnessed exciting offensive play from both teams.
Cincinnati trailed 31-17 at halftime following a first-half shootout that featured Sorsby completing 16 of 20 passes for 188 yards and two scores, while Hoover connected on 12 of 14 attempts for 216 yards and three scores. Both teams combined for 561 yards and 26 first downs before the break.
Trailing by three scores in the fourth quarter, Sorsby connected on his third touchdown pass of the night to senior receiver Cyrus Allen with 12:47 left to make the score 38-23 after the two-point pass attempt was dropped.
TCU answered with a 51-yard touchdown rush from Payne to extend the lead to 45-23 with 10:28 remaining.
The Horned Frogs finished with 544 total yards, while the Bearcats totaled 397.
First Quarter
Cincinnati won the toss and received the opening kick.
The Bearcats were stuffed on a fourth-and-1 attempt on the opening drive from their own 34-yard line with Sorsby keeping on an option play and hit behind the line by TCU’s Jamel Johnson and Zach Chapman.
TCU converted a fourth-and-1 of its own on their first possession before Hoover lofted a 3-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Manjack IV to give TCU a 7-0 lead at 9:51 in the first quarter.
After a three-and-out and a 47-yard Max Fletcher punt to the TCU 19, the game was delayed for 30 minutes at 3:01 p.m. CT due to lightning.
Following the 93-minute delay, running back Jeremy Payne broke a tackle after receiving a short pass from Hoover and sprinted 44 yards. Hoover found star receiver Eric McAlister for a 17-yard touchdown on the next play and TCU took a 14-0 lead.
The Bearcats answered with a seven-play, 75-yard drive. Sorsby rushed for 16 yards and completed all five passes on the drive, including a 26-yard touchdown to redshirt junior running back Evan Pryor, who leaked out of the backfield untouched to cut the deficit to one score.
Hoover fired right back with a 69-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jordan Dwyer with 45 seconds in the first quarter. The Horned Frogs led 21-7 at the start of the second quarter.
Second Quarter
Sorsby engineered an eight-play, 75-yard drive, completing all six passes, including a 14-yard touchdown reception by senior receiver Jeff Caldwell that made the score 21-14 at the 11:27 mark in the second quarter.
After Manny Covey dropped a punt, TCU got the ball right back at the Cincinnati 33-yard line and drove all the way to the 1.
However, the Bearcats’ defense made three consecutive stops at the goal line. After Hoover’s QB sneak was stuffed, he received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for shoving Cincinnati safety Antwan Peek Jr. in the facemask. TCU was forced to kick a 32-yard field goal and held a 24-14 lead with 5:21 remaining the in the first half.
Cincinnati answered with a 26-yard field goal attempt from kicker Stephen Rusnak after Sorsby completed passes of 24 yards and 40 yards.
TCU took a 31-17 lead at halftime when. Hoover engineered a nine-play, 75-yard drive at the end of the half with Payne scoring on a 9-yard rush with 23 seconds left before the break.
Third Quarter
Bad luck struck the Bearcats on the opening drive of the second half. Sophomore safety Jiquan Sanks forced a fumble when Manjack caught a 44-yard pass. The ball rolled into the end zone, but no Bearcat was able to recover it and Dwyer pounced on it to give the Frogs the touchdown to extend the home team’s lead to 38-17 four minutes into the third quarter.
After forcing a punt, Cincinnati marched to the TCU 25-yard line, but Sorsby’s fourth down pass to Pryor was incomplete at the 5:23 mark in the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Sorsby found senior receiver Cyrus Allen for his third touchdown pass of the night to cap a 94-yard drive to bring UC within two scores. Cincinnati trailed 38-23 after the failed two-point conversion.
On TCU’s next drive, Payne broke free down the home sideline for a 51-yard touchdown rush with 10:28 to essentially ice it for the Frogs.
Up Next
The Bearcats will wait until Sunday, Dec. 7, to find out their bowl game destination.
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