The TCU Horned Frogs beat the No.16 USC Trojans 30-27 in overtime to win the Alamo Bowl.
They saved their best moment for last. Facing a 3rd-and-20 in overtime and trailing by three, quarterback Ken Seals took what the USC defense gave him. He checked the ball down to running back Jeremy Payne, and watched the rest turn into history.
Payne slipped past two defenders, tiptoed the sideline, and crossed the goal line to give TCU the win. The Horned Frogs’ sideline erupted as players flooded the field, celebrating one of the program’s most dramatic bowl wins in recent memory.
For TCU, the scene felt familiar.
Nearly a decade ago, the Horned Frogs turned to backup quarterback Bram Kohlhausen in the Alamo Bowl after Trevone Boykin got suspended. Kohlhausen led a 31-point comeback to beat Oregon in triple overtime. This time, history repeated itself with Kohlhausen in the building as an honorary captain and Seals stepping into the spotlight.
It had been 780 days since Ken Seals last started a football game and 1,550 days since his last win as a starter, yet he looked anything but rusty.
Seals completed 29 of 40 passes for 258 yards, one passing touchdown and one interception along with a rushing touchdown.
Seals reflected on the moment afterward, still soaking in the magnitude of the win. “It felt like a movie,” Seals said. “This has been an unbelievable experience, the week leading up to it, the last ten days. To finish in this fashion is more than any guy could dream.”
Eric McAlister once again served as the safety blanket for the quarterback. He led TCU with eight catches for 69 yards, consistently finding space and keeping the offense in tempo.
But the night belonged to Payne.
The sophomore continued his late-season surge with 73 rushing yards and a touchdown while adding 50 receiving yards, none bigger than the walk-off score in overtime.
Payne talked about what was going through his mind when he caught the game winning pass and saw the defense in front of him. “Just beat one player, once I do that I’m thinking let’s get the first down. Then I broke another tackle and knew I could make it.” Payne said.
USC quarterback Jordan Maiava put together a solid performance, completing 18 for 30 passes with 280 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, despite playing without Biletnikoff Award winner Makai Lemon and standout receiver Ja’Kobi Lane both of whom opted out.
Safety Jamel Johnson recorded his fifth interception of the year setting the tone early, while Channing Canada delivered a momentum-swinging interception in the third quarter, picking Maiava off in the end zone.
In the secondary, Bud Clark was everywhere — breaking up passes, directing traffic, and anchoring a defense that bent but never broke. After the final game of his college career, Clark reflected on his journey.
“When Dykes came in, I didn’t know if they wanted me.” Clark said. “I was about to transfer, I talked to our DC at the time and he told me that they wanted me. I would do everything that I could for TCU, anything that I could by any chance, any time, any place, anywhere.”
Head Coach Sonny Dykes reflected on how the team built with adversity and was able to overcome it. “We had 13 bowl practices and not one time did anybody dog it. We had some adversity, your starting quarterback says that he’s not going to play in the game, that’s adversity,” Dykes said. “Everyone stepped right up and said that we have our guy in the building with Ken.”
With this bowl win, the Frogs record in Alamo Bowl has improved to 3-0. Now they are looking to carry this momentum into the offseason to build on it.
