Recap: TCU 20 Cincinnati 13

Every late season game is important, but for Cincinnati, Saturday night's regular season finale was the Bearcats' final opportunity at becoming bowl eligible after four consecutive losses.

(Photos: Taylor Keeton / RiverfrontU )

Defensively, the Bearcats were trying to improve on arguably their worst defensive performance of the season after last week's 41-15 loss to Kansas State.

Special teams had been an issue during Cincinnati's four-game losing streak and it would once again cost the Bearcats early in the game against TCU.

After UC's defense forced a punt following a three-and-out on TCU's opening possession of the game, Ethan Craw's punt went off Jamoi Mayes on the return, giving TCU excellent field possession at the UC 29-yard line. 

Seven plays later, TCU running back Savion Williams took a direct snap up the middle for a two-yard touchdown to give the Frogs a 7-0 lead at 11:18 in the first quarter. 

Williams would finish the game with eight carries for 10 yards and three catches for a season-low 15 yards.

Cincinnati's offense was limited to just 39 yards on 10 plays during the first quarter, struggling to get anything going in both the run and passing game. 

TCU extended their lead to 10-0 on a 27-yard Kyle Lemmermann field goal three seconds into the second quarter.

Quarterback Josh Hoover completed 7-of-13 passes for 74 yards during the first quarter, including a 30-yard completion to JP Richardson to help set up Lemmermann's field goal attempt. 

The Bearcat offense would finally show some life on their next offensive possession.

Facing a 3rd-and-4 at TCU's 47-yard line, Corey Kiner took a handoff off the left side for a 46-yard gain to the TCU one yard line. 

On the next play, Kiner took it in the end zone for a touchdown after initially being stopped at the line of scrimmage.

The UC momentum wouldn't last long.

During the ensuing kickoff, Nathan Hawks kickoff went out of bounds to give TCU possession at their own 35.

On the third play of the drive, Josh Hoover connected with Blake Nowell for a 40-yard gain to the UC 18. The next play was an 11-yard completion to Eric McAlister to the UC-7.

On third-and-goal from the two, Savion Williams took a direct snap up the middle of the defense for his second touchdown of the game to extend TCU's lead to 17-7 with 7:34 remaining in the second quarter.

 Facing a 4th-and-1 from their own 33 on their next possession, Corey Kiner picked up four yards to keep the UC drive alive.

On the very next play, Kiner took a hard hit and fumbled to give the TCU offense the ball at the UC 33. 

The Bearcat defense did their part and kept the TCU offense out of the end zone following the sudden change, but a 20-yard completion from Hoover to Richardson would be enough to put the Frogs' offense in scoring position.

After Eric Phillips stopped Trent Battle for a six-yard loss on 3rd-and-10, Kyle Lemmermann came on and booted a 35-yard field goal with 3:44 remaining in the half to extend the TCU lead to 20-7. 

TCU had an opportunity to extend their lead just before the half, but Lemmermann's 38-yard field goal attempt clanked off the left goal post. 

The attempt was set up by a 26-yard completion from Hoover to Nowell on 3rd-and-7 at the TCU 31, as well as a 12-yard completion from Hoover to McAlister on 4th-and-1 at the Bearcat 34. 

Both offenses would struggle to get anything going in the third quarter, as the two teams combined for just 83 total yards prior to an interception by the UC defense.

With TCU trying to convert a 3rd-and-8 at the UC 44, Josh Hoover was intercepted over the middle by Gola-Callard to give the UC offense the ball back with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter and UC still trailing 20-7.

Over the next six minutes, Cincinnati's offense would assemble a 15 play, 61-yard drive to the TCU 12-yard line.

After Brendan Sorsby was almost intercepted on a pass attempt over the middle to Xzavier Henderson, the sophomore quarterback floated one to the corner of the end zone. 

The result was a Channing Canada interception to give the ball back to the TCU offense with 11:34 remaining in the game. 

The UC offense would be given another opportunity following a defensive stop on the next TCU possession and they would take full advantage of it. 

TCU's punter Ethan Craw was outstanding all game and would show his ability once again, pinning the UC offense at their own 6-yard line.

Cincinnati's offense accepted the challenge and answered with a 12 play-94 yard drive. 

Quarterback Brendan Sorsby capped off the scoring drive with an 8-yard touchdown run to cut the TCU lead to 20-13 with 5:15 remaining in the game.

Ethan Hawks had two opportunities to convert an extra point following the touchdown but the first one clanked off the right upright and the second was missed due to a bad exchange on the snap. 

TCU drove to the UC 39 on the next possession but would be forced to settle for a punt after a false start pushed them back five yards. Craw once again pinned the Bearcats inside the five with a punt that would be downed at the UC 3.

Faced with the task of driving 97 yards in a minute, Cincinnati drove to the TCU 40 before having their final attempt at the end zone fall incomplete.

"It was the turnovers tonight," head coach Scott Satterfield said following the game. "We end up with three turnovers to their one and it obviously was the difference in the game. I'm proud of our defense, we put them in some bad situations tonight. TCU has a very high-powered offense with some outstanding receivers and their quarterback, they're sixth in the country in passing and we held them to 20 points. Outstanding job by our defense, they gave us a chance. Also, a great night by Corey [Kiner]. He ran his butt off all year long and finished with another good game from him. It was a disappointing outcome, but I'm proud of these seniors, I really am. These guys that have done a great job, laid some great foundation here, very resilient, never quit. They could have made it easy tonight and just laid down, but they didn't. They continued to fight and that's the thing I'm most proud of with these seniors. I really appreciate those guys."

With the loss, Cincinnati concludes the regular season with a 5-7 record, 3-6 Big 12.

TCU improves to 8-4 (6-3 Big 12).

Key Notes and Stats:

- TCU entered the game ranking second in the Big 12 in points per game (34.6), third in total yards per game (440.5), and first in passing yards per game (327). 

Quarterback Josh Hoover completed 18-of-35 passes for 212 yards and an interception, as the TCU offense was held 15 points below their season average, and were also limited to 336 yards of total offense.

- Quarterback Brendan Sorsby's interception in the endzone was costly. The sophomore finished the game completing 21-of-34 passes for 160 yards and 93 yards rushing on 12 carries. 

The next step in Sorsby's development is to get better in his progressions and decision making. Cincinnati struggled to push the ball down the field late in the season and were forced to mostly settle for underneath routes. 

- It's a shame the Bearcats couldn't give senior Corey Kiner one last win inside Nippert Stadium on senior day.

The Roger Bacon product rushed 23 times for 110 yards and a touchdown and continually converted short down situations to extend Bearcat drives. 

Kiner’s finishes his career with 2,562 yards following Saturday’s game, putting him in eighth place all-time in school history in career rushing.

- Tight end Joe Royer became the single-season receptions leader for a tight end tonight with seven catches for 32 yards. The Cincinnati native tallied 50 catches this season to break Travis Kelce’s mark of 45 set in 2012.

- Defensively, Jared Bartlett led the defense with 10 tackles. Freshman Jiquan Sanks was second on the team with six tackles. The Bearcats struggled to get pressure on Josh Hoover, however, finishing with zero sacks and just one tackle for loss. 

TCU's defense had six tackles for loss and one sack.

Final Thoughts:

This is another frustrating and disappointing loss to close the season. The Bearcat defense played well enough to win but turnovers prevented the offense from ever really getting in a consistent rhythm. Cincinnati dominated the fourth quarter 169 yards to 44, but had just six points to show for it.

A lot of areas need to be addressed this offseason starting with better execution and special teams. Missed field goals, poor field position, and turnovers can not continue to be the norm if this team is ever going to compete at the top of the league. 

There was enough talent on this roster for a bowl game and ,500 record to be a realistic expectation. How this staff attacks recruiting and the transfer portal while also retaining the young talent on the roster will determine how successful this program is next season. 

Postgame Videos: Satterfield, Sorsby, Bartlett, Royer