TCU Set to Face Cincinnati in Regular-Season Finale

The Horned Frogs and Bearcats are on a collision course to see which team can end its season on a high note.

Nov 30, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; TCU Horned Frogs running back Jeremy Payne (26) is tackled by Cincinnati Bearcats linebacker Jiquan Sanks (9) in the third quarter at Nippert Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Albert Cesare/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | Albert Cesare/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The final week of the regular season has finally arrived. Teams across the country have played their hearts and souls out for 13 grueling weeks, all to arrive at the best couple of days on the college football calendar: rivalry week.

Well, that’s not the case if you’re a member of the Big 12, as the conference has inexplicably scheduled its most marquee rivalry matchups, like BYU-Utah and TCU-Baylor, in the middle of October rather than during the last weekend of the regular season.

Oh, well. Instead, the Horned Frogs will gear up to play the Cincinnati Bearcats, a team that’s found itself on the back foot in recent days. TCU can surely relate.

Both sides enter the contest at 7-4, making this game a massive one for how each team’s season will be remembered. The difference between 8-4 and 7-5 is not big on paper, but vibe-wise, the gap is as wide as the Grand Canyon. And for TCU — a program that’s been mired in negativity for the better part of a month — reeling off two straight wins to end the season will be the perfect medicine heading into December.

The Bearcats Have a Two-Headed Rushing Monster

Cincinnati Bearcats running back Tawee Walker (3) runs for 54-yards as Arizona Wildcats defensive back Treydan Stukes (2) chases in the first quarter of the NCAA football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Arizona Wildcats at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Nov. 15, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cincinnati is going to want to run the football. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about that.

With Tawee Walker and Evan Pryor as the lead backs, the Bearcats rank seventh in the FBS in yards per attempt (5.6). Furthermore, they run it more than 52 percent of the time and have put up 178.9 yards per game on the ground.

So, yeah, Cincinnati is going to want to run it down TCU’s throat. The question is whether the Frogs and defensive coordinator Andy Avalos can figure out a way to stop it.

Two weeks ago, against BYU — one of the conference’s premier rushing offenses — the defense didn’t have any answers for LJ Martin and Bear Bachmeier’s legs. The Cougars accumulated 151 rushing yards but managed to average only 3.9 yards per attempt, which is one of the lower figures they’ve mustered all season. Still, BYU controlled the pace of play all night long and ended up winning 44-13.

Then there was last week’s performance against Houston that saw the Horned Frogs give up 230 yards on the ground, with Conner Weigman and Dean Connors doing the brunt of the work. Houston averaged 5.8 yards per carry against TCU, and should that continue versus Cincinnati, the Frogs are going to be in trouble.

Turnovers Will Decide the Game

Nov 15, 2025; Provo, Utah, USA; Texas Christian University Horned Frogs quarterback Josh Hoover (10) scrambles against the BYU Cougars during the first quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

TCU simply has to stop giving the football to the other team, and that all starts and ends with quarterback Josh Hoover.

Hoover’s 13 interceptions are the second-most in the FBS this season — only Florida Atlantic’s Caden Veltkamp (15) has more. The turnover trend has especially increased in recent weeks, as Hoover threw a whopping three picks against Houston, two on the road at BYU, and two more versus Iowa State. That’s too many interceptions, obviously, and it needs to stop.

The good news for the Frogs is that Cincinnati isn’t known for its ball-hawking abilities. Its defense ranks last in the FBS in interception percentage, though should Hoover just throw it up into double coverage multiple times in the game, that probably won’t matter all that much. Still, if Hoover is careful, he should be able to avoid the turnover issues.

The same can be said on the other side for Cincinnati signal-caller Brendan Sorsby. Interceptions have been an issue for him throughout his career, but it appeared he’d curtailed that problem this season. From Sept. 6 to Oct. 25, he avoided any untimely miscues. But then the turnovers began to come in waves. Of the five interceptions he’s thrown this season, four have come in the past three games. If the Frogs are able to get Sorsby uncomfortable and force him into a couple of mistakes, then that would really help out their offense — which we all know has struggled to an extreme degree as of late.

So, What’s the Game Plan?

If TCU is able to figure out how to end its offensive woes — which will be a daunting task — and also force a couple of Sorsby turnovers, then it’ll most likely find itself as the winning team when everything is said and done. If not, though, then the Frogs will drop their fifth game of the season, and the questions surrounding the football program will continue to be numerous.

Or perhaps the ultimate takeaway here is that if TCU wins, it’ll have a (slim) chance to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, and isn’t that what everybody wants anyway?

TCU’s final regular-season contest against Cincinnati will start at 2:30 p.m. CST at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. The game will be televised on Fox.