Something about TCU playing in the Alamo Bowl seems to create instant classics and Thursday’s matchup between the Horned Frogs and the Stanford Cardinal was no exception. TCU utilized record-breaking performances from senior quarterback Kenny Hill and senior wide receiver Desmon White to pull off an 18-point, come-from-behind victory in San Antonio, 39-37 “I just came out to this game and tried not to do too much at the beginning, and then everybody kind of got on me a little bit, and we just all calmed down as a team and buckled down and got a win,” Hill said “That’s what we needed to do. It’s what these seniors wanted to do. We didn’t want to go out like how it was headed, so we had to turn it around.”
The TCU defense stopped the volley of touchdowns after a critical third and six pass break-up by linebacker Travin Howard. Stanford settled for a 27-yard field goal to give the Cardinal an eight-point lead, 31-23.
Thr Frogs countered when first-year wide receiver Jalen Reagor ran free down the right sideline, and Hill hit him wideout in stride for the fourth-longest touchdown in program history, a 93-yard strike.
“His legs just go,” Hill said. “He’ll starting running off the line and all of the sudden he hits another gear.”
The score left the Horned Frogs trailing by two, 31-29, after they just missed the game-tying two-point conversion.
With just under 12 minutes to play Desmon White brought the house down in San Antonio. On a 60-yard punt that traveled to the TCU 24, White caught the ball and began to run left, cut back to his right, and after a couple blocks, he had a 76-yard punt return touchdown that gave TCU it’s first lead of the night, 36-31.
The score was his first ever collegiate punt returned for a touchdown and an Alamo Bowl record as the longest punt return for a touchdown in the game’s history. “We needed it,” White said. “The punter left it in the air hanging. I just got in there, I saw green, and I just took off running. It felt good because I just got done fumbling, so I wanted to make up for that fumble and help the team out, and that’s what I did.”
The Cardinal wouldn’t go away though, finding wide receiver JJ Acera-Whiteside for his third red zone touchdown of the night on a jump ball reception over TCU cornerback Ranthony Texada. The ensuing two-point conversion was broken up by in the back of the end zone, leaving Stanford with a one-point advantage, 37-36.
Hill proceeded to march the Horned Frogs down the field over the course of nine-plays to set-up a go-ahead field goal attempt that Bunce hit from 33 yards right up the middle. The sophomore kicker’s second make made him six-for-seven since taking over as the kicker in place of Jonathan Song in the Nov. 11 matchup with Oklahoma.
Patterson’s defense stepped up to seal the victory for the Horned Frogs, as safety Innis Gaines intercepted Stanford quarterback KJ Costello with 2:01 left to play.

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With the victory, TCU finished the season 11-3, Patterson captured his 160th career victory as a Horned Frog, and the senior class finished with 40 wins.
It’s the 10th 11-win season since Gary Patterson took over as head coach in 2001. Only 3 FBS schools have had more such seasons in that time. Ohio State (12), ,Oklahoma (12) and Boise State (11).
“This group of seniors, for their opportunity to win 11 ballgames and then also 40 in their career I think is really cool,” Patterson said. “Bottom line is coaches love coaching guys that are good people and they work hard, and this group does that.”
Going forward, the next group of Horned Frogs has a standard to strive for. “The next group up, they can’t drop the ball because this group worked too hard to get us where we were,” Patterson said. “We’ve got some big games starting out next year.”