Final Stats

Cincinnati outgained TCU 373-336, with 213 of those coming by way of the ground.

Corey Kiner capped off his Bearcat career with his third consecutive game of 100 plus yards after tonight's 110-yard performance, Kiner, led the charge for the Bearcats offense and cemented his name into history books during his three year career as a Bearcat.

Cincinnati's defense did what they needed to in order to put this team in position to win. However, the Bearcats couldn't respond after the two early turnovers which resulted in ten quick points for the Horned Frogs.

“Yeah, just disappointed, honestly," Scott Satterfield told reporters. "We did not, obviously start the way we wanted to start. The defense did a great three and out on the first punt. We were getting ready to get the ball, and we go and try to stop the ball from rolling, and it bounces off our knee. That cost us seven points. It was the turnovers tonight. 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, quarterback, they're six in the country in passing and we held them to 20 points. Outstanding job by our defense. They gave us a chance. Great night by Corey Kiner. He ran his butt off all year long. Finished with another good game from him. I thought Brendan, played hard tonight as well. He probably ends up with 160 yards passing, but had five drops on the night, and that was certainly held a little bit of that. He ran hard as well. But again, I think, we just didn’t score enough points. And that's what it came down to, 13 points tonight. It got tough there in the second half with the snow, but I still think we were moving the ball pretty well, pretty effectively, but we just didn't get in the end zone enough. Just disappointing. 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.”

The Rundown

The Horned Frogs strikes first following a seven play, 29-yard drive highlighted by a two-yard touchdown run from Savion Williams. A drive that was extended following a crucial special team's blunder after forcing an early three and out, after a muffed punt by Jamoi Mayes gave the Horned Frogs new life deep inside Cincinnati territory.

The Bearcats offense was desperately searching for answers in the opening minutes after running just 10-plays for 39 yards in the first quarter. Cincinnati would have to find some sort of rhythm on offense quickly or things could start trending south in a hurry. Especially after Texas Christain extended their lead to 10-0 with 14:47 in the second quarter following an eight-play drive capped off by a 27-yard field goal from Kyle Lemmerman.

Cincinnati did just that, after Brendan Sorsby came away with a huge scramble for 11 yards to move the Bearcats to the Horned Frog territory. Corey Kiner then rattled off a huge 46-yard run down the left sideline before being chased down and caught from behind by a shoelace tackle at Texas Christain's one yard line.

Scott Satterfield went right back to the hot hand in Kiner, who scampered into the endzone for the one-yard touchdown run. A seven play, 75-yard drive that consisted of six runs on that drive as Cincinnati continued get the run game involved early with hopes of opening up the passing game.

The Horned Frogs wasted no time on the other hand after a seven play, 65-yard drive extended their lead to 10 over the Bearcats following a 2-yard touchdown run from Williams. The drive was highlighted by a huge 40-yard completion from Josh Hoover to wide receiver Blake Nowell that moved Texas Christain deep into Cincinnati territory.

Just when Cincinnati had momentum rolling into their favor after converting on a 4th-1 to move the chains. Then, disaster struck again fir Cincinnati after Corey Kiner was blown up in the backfield forcing a fumble in which Texas Christain recovered at the Bearcats 34-yard line. The Bearcats defense stood tall after a huge third down stop from Eric Phillips for a loss of six, to prevent the Horned Frogs from getting in the endzone.

The Horned Frogs took a 20-7 lead following another Lemmerman field goal with 3:44 remaining in the first half. However, the Horned Frogs had a chance to extend their lead to 16 right before the half before Lemmermann's field goal missed off the upright with three seconds left in the first half.

Cincinnati just couldn't find any rhythm in the passing game in the first half, as Brendan Sorsby threw for just 31 yards, while Josh Hoover lit up the Bearcats defense for nearly 200 yards in the first half. Meanwhile, they found success in the run game behind Corey Kiner, who rushed for 78 yards on 14 carries.

However, Cincinnati's two turnovers resulted in 10 points for the Horned Frogs. That was the difference maker in this one. Now, for Cincinnati, they desperately needed an answer out of the half, our they could potentially see their season come to an end this evening.

Cincinnati's defense would force Hoover into his first turnover of the night after his pass intended for Drake Dabney sailed high right into the arms of Tre Gola-Callard. The Bearcats would take over from their own 27-yard line with hopes of sparking the offense.

Brendan Sorsby would spark the Cincinnati offense late in the fourth quarter after leading the Bearcats on a 12 play, 94-yard drive to make this a 20-13 game with 5:15 remaining. Sorsby, capped off the drive with an eight yard touchdown run, but Nathan Hawks failed to convert the extra point.

The Bearcats had an opportunity to go tie it up in the final seconds of this one after another huge defensive stand. However, the Bearcats were forced to go 97 yards if they wanted to go to a bowl game, but their hail Mary attempt sailed out of the back of the endzone as time expired.

What's next for Scott Satterfield and the future of the Bearcats

Despite not being bowl eligible for the second consecutive season, Satterfield and staff now will turn their focus to the offseason. With national signing day next week, and the transfer portal being open, they will look to act swiftly and quickly throughout the process.

"We are going to evaluate every aspect. We are not far off. We are 5-7, I know it is disappointing, and everyone hates that. I hate it as well, it sucks. We are not that far off. We are trending in the right direction. We feel as if we have a great nucleus of guys coming back next year in order to be able and compete in the Big 12. However, we are going to re-evaluate the whole program and figure out what we are going to do to get better on all three phases."