The Alamo Bowl Was A Fever Dream, And TCU Just Woke Up Happy
If you turned off the Alamo Bowl early because you thought USC had it in the bag, don’t worry, you’re not alone. But you missed one of the wildest, most “college football” endings of the entire year.
In a game that felt like a microcosm of the entire chaotic season, the TCU Horned Frogs pulled off a stunner, taking down No. 16 USC 30-27 in overtime. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t perfect, but for a guy like Ken Seals, it was better than Hollywood could have scripted. Let’s break down the madness in San Antonio.
The Play That Broke USC’s Back (And Ankles)
Let’s start with the ending of the Alamo Bowl because, frankly, it was ridiculous. We are in overtime. TCU is staring down the barrel of a 3rd-and-20. USC has momentum. They just sacked Seals.
The defense drops eight guys into coverage, basically daring TCU to check it down. Seals takes the bait and dumps a little pass to running back Jeremy Payne in the flat. In 99 out of 100 universes, Payne gets tackled for a 5-yard gain, TCU kicks a field goal to tie, and we go to double OT. But we live in the one universe where tackling is apparently optional.
Payne didn’t just catch the ball. He turned into a human joystick. He broke a tackle from Marcelles Williams. Then, in a moment that will haunt the Trojans’ film room for months, linebacker Jadyn Walker and safety Kennedy Urlacher collided like two extras in a slapstick comedy, completely whiffing on the stop.
Payne then slipped right through Christian Pierce’s hands and bolted 35 yards for the walk-off touchdown. It was the kind of play that makes you spill your drink. Even TCU linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr wasn’t shocked, admitting, “Shoot, he be shaking me at practice sometimes, too.”
Ken Seals: The Accidental Hero
The best story of the night wasn’t the missed tackles, though. It was the guy throwing the ball in the Alamo Bowl.Ken Seals is a sixth-year senior. He grew up 20 minutes from TCU’s campus, dreaming of being a Horned Frog. He spent years at Vanderbilt, transferred home, and rode the bench behind Josh Hoover for two seasons.
He was supposed to hold a clipboard for his final game at the Alamo Bowl. But thanks to the modern anarchy of the transfer portal, Hoover dipped out on Dec. 18, handing the keys to Seals for one last ride. And man, did he drive it as if he stole it.”It felt like a movie,” Seals said afterward, and he’s right. He wasn’t perfect, but he was clutch.
He led two scoring drives in the final five minutes of regulation just to force overtime, including setting up Kyle Lemmermann for a buzzer-beating field goal. For a guy who had to wait until the absolute final buzzer of his career to start for his childhood team, walking off with the Alamo Bowl trophy is the stuff of legends.
USC’s Defense: A Comedy of Errors?
Now, let’s pivot to the other sideline, where Lincoln Riley probably needs a stiff drink. His loss was the quintessential “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” moment. USC did everything right to force that 3rd-and-20 in overtime. Riley said it himself: “We did everything right defensively to put them in that position.”But college football is a cruel mistress.
You can play perfect defense for 59 minutes and lose because three guys forgot how to wrap up on one play. The Trojans missed tackle after tackle at the worst possible moment. It was a microcosm of a season where USC flashed brilliance like freshman wideout Tanook Hines going nuclear for 163 yards—but couldn’t get out of their own way when it mattered.
The Lincoln Riley Rollercoaster Continues
This game was a perfect, painful summary of USC’s season. They moved the ball. They had explosive plays. But when they got to the red zone, the offense stalled out like a learner driver in a stick shift.
They settled for field goals four times inside the TCU 25-yard line. Kicker Ryon Sayeri set a school record for field goals in a season (21), which is great for him but a terrible stat for an offense led by an offensive guru like Riley.
If you turn just one of those field goals into a touchdown, USC wins this game in regulation, and we’re talking about a 10-win season. Instead, the Trojans finish 9-4, stuck in that weird college football purgatory where you’re good, but not great.
What We Learned
Bowl games are weird, and the Alamo Bowl was no exception. They sit in this strange limbo between seasons, filled with transfers, opt-outs, and interim coaches. But Tuesday night proved why we still watch. We watch for guys like Ken Seals, the hometown kid who finally got his shot in the Alamo Bowl. We watch for guys like Jeremy Payne, who refuse to go down on first contact.
And, let’s be honest, we watch for the chaos. TCU heads into the offseason buzzing. USC heads home with a lot of questions and a film reel of missed tackles they’ll be forced to watch on repeat. Welcome to the offseason, folks. It’s going to be a long one.
