Remember the Alamo Bowl. Will Frogs Three-peat? Our Staff Makes Their Picks

TCU is playing in its third Alamo Bowl in ten years. The first two had their share of drama. Will this one be as exciting?

Nov 29, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs wide receiver Eric McAlister (1) comes off the field during the game between the Horned Frogs and the Bearcats at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The TCU Horned Frogs (8-4, 5-4 Big 12) will once again make a postseason appearance in the Alamo City when they face the USC Trojans (9-3, 7-2 Big Ten) on Tuesday night.

It's the third appearance in the Alamo Bowl for the Horned Frogs. Who can forget the first appearance, nearly ten years ago to the date? It was January 2, 2016, after the 2015 season. The Frogs were down 31-0 at halftime. Gary Patterson infamously changed his shirt at the half. And Bram Kohlhausen did his magic to forever be a part of Horned Frog Lore.

Nearly two years later, on December 28, 2017, TCU found themselves down 21-3 in the 2nd quarter before Kenny Hill led the comeback to beat Stanford 39-37.

It's not just the Alamo history that Frog fans will remember. It was a postseason game against USC in 1998 that forever changed the trajectory of TCU football. Under head coach Dennis Franchione and Defensive Coordinator Gary Patterson, the Frogs headed to El Paso to play USC in the Sun Bowl. No one gave the Frogs a chance. But the Frogs pulled off the upset with a 28-19 win. That win was the beginning of TCU becoming a nationally known competitive team over the next two decades.

Now, as the Frogs get set for th3 2025 season finale, how will this Alamo Bowl go down in TCU's bowl game history? The majority of our staff (9) think that No. 16 USC gets the win, with six of our team thinking the Frogs will get another Alamo Bowl win.

We are predicting it will be a close game, though. Our average margin of victory is just under eight points (7.87). We expect that a total of 52 will be scored. That means we are anticipating a game somewhere in the 30-21 range.

Through the regular season, four of our team sit at 9-3, but Brett leads the pack after having the closest score prediction in four of the games. No one else has more than two, and that is our first tiebreaker after the record. Brett has chosen USC. Even if TCU wins, he will still get crowned the champion of our staff picks.

Staff Leaderboard after Week Fourteen

Place	Name	Wins	Losses	Closest	Cumulative Differential
1	Brett	9	3	4	185
2	Ryder	9	3	2	222
3	Nate	9	3	1	295
4	Nick	9	3	0	190
5	Carson	8	4	1	194
6	Tori	8	4	1	202
7	Davis	8	4	0	200
8	Ryann	8	4	0	209
9	Zion	8	4	0	229
10	JD	7	5	2	215
11	Ian	7	5	1	174
12	Barry	7	5	0	219
13	Andrew	7	5	0	220
14	Mac	7	5	0	265
15	Seth*	3	4	0	137

* Writers who joined the staff after Week One

Staff Predictions - The TCU Horned Frogs vs. the USC Trojans

Nov 29, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs running back Jeremy Payne (26) is tackled by Cincinnati Bearcats safety Tayden Barnes (10) during the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Andrew Bauhs (7-5) - USC 24-17
Barry Lewis (7-5) - USC 31-27
Brett Gibbons (9-3, four closest predictions)- USC 30-17
Carson Wersal (8-4, two closest predictions) - TCU 34-21
Davis Wilson (8-4) - USC 30-23
Ian Napetian (7-5; one closest prediction) - TCU 31-24
JD Andress (7-5; two closest predictions) - TCU 31-27
Mac Walters (7-5) - USC 38-17
Nate Cross (9-3; one closest prediction) - TCU 35-27
Nick Girimonte (9-3) - TCU 27-24
Ryann Zeller (8-4) - USC 31-24
Ryder Solberg (9-3, two closest prediction) - USC 42-36
Seth Dowdle* (3-4) -USC 17-10
Tori Couch (8-4; one closest prediction) - TCU 20-17
Zion Trammell (8-4) - USC 28-20
*Seth joined our team after the season began.

Do you agree with our picks? Let us know what you think the final score will be.

What's Next?

This game will be played on Tuesday, December 30, at 8 pm CT. It will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game can be seen on ESPN.