TCU quarterback Ken Seals’ special moment proves bowl games still matter
Even directors like Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan couldn’t have scripted a more perfect ending for TCU quarterback Ken Seals.
Seals went from starting over 20 games in the SEC at Vanderbilt to a backup at TCU for the last two seasons behind Josh Hoover. Seals made his peace with his decision, despite not winning the starting job, as he was just grateful to be back near his hometown of Azle.
But when Hoover entered the transfer portal on Dec. 18, it opened the door for Seals to finally live out his childhood dream of being the starting quarterback for the team that helped him fall in love with football.
In his first start since Nov. 11, 2023, Seals helped orchestrate a fourth-quarter comeback that will be remembered for quite some time as TCU overcame a 24-14 deficit to defeat No. 16 USC 30-27 in overtime in the Alamo Bowl.
When Seals was a child growing up, he would envision this exact moment in the backyard, imagining himself leading TCU to a comeback victory.
But to have it play out in reality, it delivered a feeling that was hard for Seals to describe after the win.
“It felt like a movie,” Seals said. “I just can’t even — I’m not processing it. This has just been an unbelievable experience. The week leading up to it, the last 10 days, and then to finish it in this fashion is just, you know, more than any guy could dream.”
Seals was voted offensive MVP of the bowl game after he threw for 258 yards and a touchdown against the Trojans.
The most impressive thing about Seals’ performance was that he played his best in the final quarter after it appeared USC had figured out TCU’s offensive game plan. After taking a 14-13 lead at halftime, TCU was shut out in the third quarter and only managed 35 yards.
USC’s Jayden Maiava looked like the better quarterback at first as he connected on a number of long vertical passes to help the Trojans take their 24-14 lead, while TCU was forced to dink and dunk.
But something about that final quarter awakened the best in Seals, and he helped deliver one of the program’s biggest moments when he threw the game-winning 35-yard touchdown to Jeremy Payne in overtime.
“I think my mentality was just sell out. It’s your last one, man,” Seals said. “If you can put the ball on the goal line and go score, go do it. Once I felt like I settled in and kind of got back to my game and knew how to play and stuff, I felt really confident in what I can do and made the plays when there were plays to be made.”
That mindset and how he’s carried himself the last two seasons were among the biggest reasons the program rallied around him after Hoover’s departure.
Earlier in the week, TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said it was hard to not like Seals. And even during the press conference, you were able to get a sense of how charismatic Seals is.
He joked and made Dykes and his teammates laugh and was even willing to make himself the butt of the joke.
“I mean, I was a little rusty to start. Not going to lie. I kind of forgot how to run a football,” Seals said with a smile. “I think I got hit standing up straight and just dropped the football [at] the start of the second half.”
Seals was referring to the first drive of the second half when he fumbled on a scramble. On the very next play Seals was intercepted as the ball was deflected high into the air and caught by a USC defender.
When things looked bleak, the confidence of Seals never wavered and also helped motivate the defense to make crucial stops to give Seals a chance to tie the game at end of regulation.
“We believed in Ken and Ken believed in us, and I feel like that’s what took us this far,” free safety Bud Clark said.
It wasn’t just a big moment for Seals. His performance also served as a reminder of why bowl games remain important even as more teams and players opt out every season.
If TCU opted out of its bowl game like Notre Dame did, then Seals wouldn’t have had this moment.
“The only way you can go out and do what he did today is you have to prepare yourself every single day for two years,” Dykes said. “And you have to be incredibly unselfish in order to do that, and he did it. He got to live a dream tonight. He’ll remember it the rest of his life. I’ll remember it the rest of mine. Man, it’s just fun to be a part of it.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2025 at 12:42 PM.
