We’re getting a little bit of an Air Raid reunion of sorts in the 2025 Alamo Bowl thanks to the TCU Horned Frogs and the No. 16 USC Trojans who will be meeting up in San Antonio to conclude their seasons.
Sonny Dykes and Lincoln Riley, two of the leading coaches who champion the Air Raid offense in college football, will be leading their respective teams in what could be the most underrated bowl game of the season (if the Alamo Bowl plays out like I think it could).
TCU, at 8-4 overall, showed some solid potential at times this season, such as by beating the Houston Cougars on the road or getting an early season 11-point win over the SMU Mustangs. But struggling against (and losing to) the likes of Kansas State and Iowa State is far from ideal.
USC, now solidly in the Big Ten, did fairly well in its second season in the new conference. At 9-3 overall, the Trojans took a considerable step forward and did well by beating the Michigan Wolverines (like a drum) and proving to be more physical than the Iowa Hawkeyes (which is impressive). Still, USC lost to Illinois, Notre Dame, and Oregon.
There is progress made and progress left to be made by the Trojans and the Horned Frogs.
Alamo Bowl stats breakdown and preview
It’s clear that both of these teams like to throw the ball around a bit.
TCU is averaging a total of 425.3 yards per game from the Horned Frogs offense with 292.8 yards per game coming from the TCU passing attack. As for USC, the Trojans averaged 471.6 total yards of offense per game while getting 297.3 yards per game through the air. TCU averaged 30.8 points per game scored while USC put up 36.5 points per game.
On the defensive side of things, neither team was really all that impressive, though the Trojans were better than the Horned Frogs here. TCU gave up 25.2 points per game while USC allowed 22.4 points per game. The Horned Frogs allowed 377.1 total yards per game while the Trojans allowed 348.8 yards per game.
How to watch the 2025 Alamo Bowl
The Alamo Bowl between the No. 16 USC Trojans and the TCU Horned Frogs will be broadcast on ESPN at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, December 30, 2025.