TCU didn’t just survive a 90-minute lightning delay. The Horned Frogs came out of it looking super-charged.

Josh Hoover delivered his cleanest game of the season, torching Cincinnati for four touchdown passes and 306 yards on an ultra-efficient 19-of-22 night with zero interceptions. Jeremy Payne was unstoppable, rumbling for 174 rushing yards and two scores while stacking up 218 total yards as TCU blasted the Bearcats 45-23 to close the regular season.

The weather delay hit early, but it didn’t matter. Hoover opened with a 3-yard strike to Joseph Manjack IV, then answered Cincinnati’s first punch with a 69-yard bomb to Jordan Dwyer that sent the home crowd into a frenzy. When play resumed on the rain-soaked turf, Hoover kept cooking—highlighted by a 44-yard catch-and-run from Payne and a 17-yard TD to Eric McAlister.

Even Hoover’s lone moment of frustration—a goal-line face-mask scuffle that led to a penalty—couldn’t derail TCU’s night. Payne added a 9-yard score and later slammed the door with a dagger 51-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Dwyer hauled in two touchdowns, McAlister topped 100 yards receiving, and TCU’s offense looked as crisp as it has all year.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s slide continued. Brendan Sorsby put up three touchdown throws and 282 yards, but the Bearcats finished the regular season on a four-game losing streak and dropped to 1-11 in November under Scott Satterfield.

For the Horned Frogs, it’s all smiles. Three seasons after a national title appearance, TCU has now secured back-to-back eight-win campaigns for the first time since 2014–15—proof that Sonny Dykes’ program is stabilizing and trending up again.

Both teams now wait for their bowl destinations, but TCU walks into December feeling good, fast, and dangerous.