TCU Football Loses a Heartbreaker to UCF

Despite leading 31-13, the Horned Frogs were unable to hold on and suffered their first loss of the season.

Sep 14, 2024; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Josh Hoover (10) throws a pass during the first quarter against the UCF Knights at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

TCU led Saturday's game for 59 minutes and 24 seconds. With 36 seconds to go, the Horned Frogs saw their 18 point lead wither away at the hands of K.J. Jefferson and the UCF Knights 35-34.

The Frogs were humming on offense in the early going. They converted on its first seven third-down conversions en route to three consecutive touchdown drives. The first was a 14-yard touchdown pass to Eric McAlister. The next two were to Savion Williams, who made some incredible catches to help build a 21-7 lead.

“Savion’s down there somewhere”#GoFrogs | #BleedPurple

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— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) September 15, 2024

The lead would increase early in the third when Josh Hoover delivered a perfect throw to Jack Bech for a 50-yard touchdown. Bech had a career game catching nine passes for 200 yards. However, the ensuing drive for UCF seemed to be the moment things started to click for this offense.

Running the football was certainly a point of emphasis for the Knights. The number one rushing team in the country continued to feed RJ Harvey. UCF would find the endzone on three of its last four drives. A 27-yard touchdown run from Harvey cut the deficit to three early in the fourth quarter.

Hoover and company desperately needed a response. TCU moved down the field swiftly and found themselves back in the red zone. On third and goal at the one yard line, a costly false start pushed them back five and had to settle for a field goal to make it 34-28.

Jefferson led a game winning drive finding Kobe Hudson for a 20-yard score to tie it up and eventually take the lead. With 36 seconds to go, Hoover led the offense and set up Kyle Lemmermann for a 58-yard field goal. He had the leg but it went right and the Knights pulled off a tremendous comeback.

The massive difference was the rushing attack from both sides. The UCF offensive line was dominant allowing Harvey to run for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Cam Cook ran 11 times for 35 yards. The Knights outran the Horned Frogs 289 to 58.

Hoover in the loss threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns. It's the third time in nine career starts that he has gone for over 400. Postgame he said, "I'm going to wake up in the morning and my confidence is still going to be at an all time high about this team and this group. I believe in us and I told everybody we're going to win." The sophomore also said he's moving on to SMU and he won't let this game define who this team is.

Nonetheless, this loss will be a tough pill to swallow for TCU. Fans left heartbroken after what seemed to be a huge win at home only to see it slip away in the final moments. Coach Sonny Dykes said that a lot of these conference games will come down to the final possession and that the team needs to be better in those late game situations. He took accountability for the loss and also said that if he could do it again he would probably go for it on that fourth down at the six yard line late in the game.

TCU drops to 2-1 on the season and now 0-1 in conference play. They'll hit the road next weekend to take on SMU for the Iron Skillet. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. on The CW.

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