Alamo Bowl Quick Thoughts: TCU 30, USC 27
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Living a Dream
Ken Seals. Returns home to North Texas after three years at Vanderbilt to serve as the TCU backup quarterback. After two full seasons in Fort Worth that include 19 total pass attempts in mop-up duty, Seals is thrust into action for the final game of his collegiate career after the starter leaves the team before the bowl game. Seals not only gets the opportunity to play for his boyhood team, he leads them to an improbable unforgettable comeback with the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime. It’s the stuff of storybook fairy tales and Disney movies, perhaps another in a series of Disney movies set around TCU appearances in the Alamo Bowl. Congrats to Ken Seals as his loyalty and dedication earned him a lifetime of cheers in Fort Worth.
Defense Wins Trophies
As much attention will rightly be put on Ken Seals and Jeremy Payne for the performance on Tuesday, it was the defense that delivered for the Horned Frogs in the Alamodome. Kaleb Elarms-Orr & Namdi Obiaor were the tackling machines they’ve been all season. The Deal brothers were both flying all around making plays and creating havoc. The defensive front stood incredibly strong even as the Trojans continued to feed King Miller, holding the talented back to just 4 yards per carry and making the key stops in the 4th Quarter and Overtime to force field goals. Jamel Johnson earned his Big 12-leading fifth interception of the season with Channing Canada also reeling one in in the endzone to pull points off the board. Bud Clark made two incredible pass break ups in the end zone, preventing sure-fire touchdowns. Ultimately, the Frogs did an impressive job of keeping the Trojans out of the endzone, even when backed up against it. TCU got off the field on third down in a way it hadn’t in big spots during much of the season, allowing just five conversions in 12 third down attempts, delivering two key three-and-out stops in the second half. Forcing four field goals against a Lincoln Riley offense is a real achievement, all of which came on drives that went inside the TCU 25 yard line.
Lemmermann of the House
Ice, pure glacier water flowing through his veins. TCU kicker Kyle Lemmermann was sidelined nearly all season with injury, last seeing active playing time during the season opener at North Carolina. Finally ready to hit the field again in the postseason, the sophomore from Southlake showed no signs of rust. Before being called upon for truly clutch kicks, the TCU Offense granted Lemmermann some warm up opportunities by scoring three touchdowns, after which he coolly knocked through the extra point. As the game neared its final minutes and the Horned Frogs trailing by three, it became increasingly clear the Lemmermann was going to play a massive role in the final result. TCU was able to continue gaining first downs as the clock tick towards the end of regulation, reaching the 10 yard line, calling a timeout with three seconds remaining. While the distance was shortened, the pressure remained immense: a chip shot 27-yard field goal attempt to send the game into overtime or send your teammates and fans home devastated. Even after Lincoln Riley called the timeout to try and get into Lemmermann’s head, the placekicker was not fazed. He stepped up and knocked it true to extend the game. Sometimes though, the best kicks are the ones you do not have to take, as TCU’s efforts to create a somewhat easier kick to force a second OT, just as was needed by Jaden Oberkrom in 2015, were rendered unnecessary as Jeremy Payne hit the walk off touchdown instead.
REMEMBER THE ALAMO BOWL
As the transfer portal opens later this week, flooding the timeline with an abundance of players changing homes and money changing hands, what a blessing to have this palate cleanser to remember all that is wonderful about this sport. A reminder of the way college football – and TCU Football especially – can make you feel. That feeling of your heart rate rising, the butterflies storming your stomach, the pop from the crowd with a release of emotion and shared celebration as Jeremy Payne breaks free through the final defender, that is what it’s all about. TCU fans will get chills watching that play decades from now, just as they do seeing replays of QJ in the Fiesta Bowl, Tank Carder in the Rose Bowl, or Bram Kohlhausen in the Alamo Bowl 10 years ago. Bowls matter, college football matters, teammates matter, fans matter. You could be sitting somewhere in freezing nowhere Indiana crying about the Playoff format or awaiting a new massive mercenary transfer payday, but you’d miss out on so much of what makes the sport so great. Rather than take the easy road to a quiet holiday season, these Horned Frogs chose to fight and become legends, to be forever remembered among the greats, and etch their own miraculous unforgettable Alamo Bowl experience.
College Football is special. TCU is special. The Alamo Bowl is special.
So yes, the Playoff games over the next days and weeks will ultimately serve to determine a National Champion, and many national talking heads will tell you it’s the only thing that matters all season, that there are no meaningful moments unless it results in crowning a Champion. This entire bowl season and this bowl performance in particular proves again that all of these games matter and can deliver that feeling.
Yeah, let’s watch it again:
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos