FORT WORTH, Texas —

Josh Hoover threw four touchdown passes, Jeremy Payne ran for 174 yards and two scores and TCU beat Cincinnati 45-23 on Saturday night in a regular-season finale delayed about 90 minutes in the first quarter by lightning and rain.

The Bearcats (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) finished the regular season on a four-game losing streak that started when they were ranked 17th and poised for a run to the Big 12 championship game, and possibly a spot in the College Football Playoff. Advertisement

Hoover answered the first of Brendan Sorsby’s three TD tosses with a 69-yard scoring pass to Jordan Dwyer that gave the Horned Frogs (8-4, 5-4) a 21-7 lead late in the first quarter.

“It’s certainly the most complete game we’ve probably played since North Carolina,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said,

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