TCU vs Cincinnati: Halftime Report

TCU leads at the half 20-7. The TCU defensive line has been a key factor in the game so far.

Nov 23, 2024; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs wide receiver JP Richardson (7) runs for touchdown against the Arizona Wildcats in the second half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

1st Half Highlights

TCU started out on offense in their final regular season game of the year. With a short Savion Williams run and a few incomplete passes, the Horned Frogs were forced to punt in their first drive of the day. Kendal Briles and the offense got a lucky break with a muffed punt recovered by Brett Matiscik in Bearcat territory. The offense continued to struggle until a fade to the sideline was caught by Jack Bech for 19 yards and a first down in the red zone. On a 1st and Goal set up by Cam Cook from the 1-yard line, TCU went with their bread and butter with a direct snap to Savion Williams for a Horned Frog touchdown with 11:18 remaining in the 1st quarter.

On Cincinnati's first drive of the day, the Bearcats hindered themselves by committing a blindside block on the kickoff. Starting on their own 22-yard line, Brad Glenn and his offense went with the power-run philosophy for their first set of downs with Corey Kiner getting three attempts for a total of 11 yards. Brendan Sorsby's first pass completion went to Joe Royer for 4 yards. On 4th and 2 at midfield, the Bearcats elected to punt it away instead of going for it.

Hauss Hejny got involved early in TCU's second drive of the day with a 6-yard run to the left side. Williams followed that up with a 5-yard screen pass for a first down. After the first down, Cincinnati's defense held true for technically the second time today. The Horned Frogs only averaged 3.3 yards per attempt on the ground early in the 1st half.

Starting from their own 5-yard line, the Bearcats got out of dangerous territory quickly with a jet sweep around the left side to Evan Pryor for 14 yards. The TCU defense came up with a stop in Bearcat territory shortly after the first down. LaMareon James was injured on the defensive drive and likely won't come back based on how the injury looked.

Josh Hoover started with a bang on TCU's 3rd drive of the day with a deep pass to J.P. Richardson for 30 yards. A run by Cam Cook brought the Horned Frogs inside the Bearcat 11-yard line. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Horned Frogs were met with a 2nd and 8 on the Cincinnati 9-yard line. After a few incomplete passes, Kyle Lemmerman attempted and made a 27-yard field goal to close out the drive with 14:47 remaining in the 1st half.

Evan Pryor and Brendan Sorsby both rushed for around 5-6 yards on their first rush attempts of the drive. Sorsby followed it up by rushing for another 11 yards and a first down. On 3rd and 4 at midfield, Corey Kiner broke free on a run to the left side for 46 yards, falling down at the 1-yard line. Kiner delivered for the Bearcats with a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 11:12 left in the 1st half.

Nathan Hawks kicked it away and out of bounds to begin TCU's 4th drive of the day. The Horned Frogs began their drive at the TCU 35-yard line. Two rushes by Jeremy Payne totaling 11 yards resulted in the TCU offense getting to midfield. A beautiful pass by Hoover to Blake Nowell over the top of the Cincinnati defense set the Frogs up inside the Bearcat 20-yard line. An 11-yard catch by Eric McAlister and a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Savion Williams put the Frogs up 10 with 7:34 remaining in the half.

The Bearcats began their next drive on their own 25-yard line and immediately ran into a 4th and 1 on their side of the field. Corey Kiner delivered with a 3-yard rush to pick up the first down. The TCU defense came up big by getting Corey Kiner to fumble on their own 34-yard line.

The Horned Frog offense started out by getting inside the Bearcat 15-yard line with a J.P. Richardson 20-yard catch. The Bearcat defense got their 2nd red-zone stop of the day forcing Lemmerman to attempt the 35-yard field goal. After Lemmerman drilled the field goal, TCU went up by 13 with 3:38 remaining in the half.

In Cincinnati's final drive of the half, the TCU defense held strong forcing Cincinnati to punt the ball away with 1:16 left to play in the half. Markis Deal played a large role in the defensive stop with a 6-yard sack on Brendan Sorsby. The punt by Mason Fletcher was a good one flipping the field on the Horned Frogs with Josh Hoover and the offense beginning their drive on their own 28-yard line.

Receptions by Blake Nowell and Eric McAlister set the Frogs up inside the red-zone with under 30 seconds left in the half. After a couple incompletions, Josh Hoover was forced to scramble out of the pocket going out of bounds with only 0:08 remaining in the half. After a false start, TCU was forced to try for the field goal to end the half. Kyle Lemmerman's 38-yard field goal try bounced off the left upright making the kick no good.

TCU goes to the locker room with a 13-point lead at the half. One thing that's been surprising for the Bearcats is the lack of offensive production in the passing game. Sorsby is 5-7 for only 31 yds through the entire first half. Corey Kiner has been the lone bright sport for the Bearcats with over 70 rushing yards on 13 attempts including a touchdown.

TCU on the other hand has had a plethora of playmakers tonight. Josh Hoover is currently 16-28 for 192 yards. Cam Cook has been good in the run game with 16 yards on only 3 carries. Despite Savion Williams's 2 touchdowns, the receiver/running back only has 16 total yards. Blake Nowell and J.P. Richardson both have over 50 yards receiving entering the 2nd half.

Halftime Score: TCU- 20, Cincinnati- 7

Scoring Summary	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	Total
TCU	7	13	20
Cincinnati	0	7	7

Halftime Stats

Team Stats	TCU	Cincinnati
Total Yards	244	135
Passing Yards	192	31
Rushing Yards	52	104
1st Downs	11	7
3rd Down Efficiency	5/10	2/6
4th Down Efficiency	1/1	1/1
Turnovers	0	2
Sacks	1, -6 YDS	0
Penalties	2-15 YDS	1-15 YDS

Key Players of the First Half:

• Savion Williams: 8 RUSH YDS, 8 REC YARDS, 2 TDs,
• Jack Bech: 3 REC, 27 YDS
• Corey Kiner: 13 RUSH, 79 YDS, 1 TD
• J.P. Richardson: 2 REC, 50 YDS
• Blake Nowell: 3 REC, 75 YDS
• Abe Camara: 1 FF, 1 TFL

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