TCU Horned Frogs running back Jeremy Payne. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

TCU walks off No. 16 USC in OT on wild third-down play to end Alamo Bowl

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Dec 31, 2025 10:57 AM ET

Facing a 3rd-and-20 in overtime and trailing the No. 16 USC Trojans 27-24, the TCU Horned Frogs pulled off one of the greatest plays of this bowl season.

What was a checkdown pass from TCU quarterback Ken Seals to running back Jeremy Payne turned into a 35-yard touchdown sprint that turned the Alamodome into a madhouse.

Payne managed to tightrope his way down the far sideline and run into the end zone for the walk-off score, completing a 30-27 victory for TCU (9-4) that gave Sonny Dykes his second bowl win in Fort Worth.

Take a look.

CARDIAC FROGS

JEREMY PAYNE CALLED GAME ON 3RD & 20pic.twitter.com/qer10ovRu5
— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 31, 2025

Payne was TCU's second leading receiver in the game, hauling in six passes for 50 yards. He also ran for 73 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

Seals threw for 258 yards in the win, with his only touchdown through the air coming on the game-winning strike to Payne.

USC's Jayden Maiava threw for 280 yards and a touchdown but also threw two costly interceptions.

USC struggling to break through under Lincoln Riley

For the Trojans, the loss makes it three years in a row that USC (9-4) has failed to reach 10 wins. Head coach Lincoln Riley has only reached that mark once, taking USC to the Cotton Bowl in 2022, but he has yet to make the College Football Playoff at the helm of one of the nation's most prestigious college football programs.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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