Battle for the Iron Skillet Enters Final Chapter

The110-year old rivalry between SMU and TCU will take a hiatus after Saturday's game.

TCU wide receiver Joseph Manjack IV carries the ball against ACU. | Brian McLean - On Assignment Photo/KillerFrogs.com for TCU On SI

For over 100 years, TCU and SMU have battled for gridiron supremacy in the DFW metroplex. 

The rivalry grew over the years, with the infamous Iron Skillet being added in 1946. Over the years, players and coaches have exchanged heated words and flags have been planted on opposing fields. TCU head coach Sonny Dykes even got ejected last year. 

All that pageantry and tradition will come to a halt after Saturday as the Battle for the Iron Skillet becomes a casualty of conference realignment.  

“It's the culprit,” Dykes said at his weekly press conference. “You know what I mean? I mean, if we were in the same conference as SMU, we’d play them every year. And there was a long time that they were, and it was very convenient to play them when they're in your conference.”

In 2023, TCU announced it would stop playing SMU following the 2025 season. The decision centered around a desire to play more home games. 

The Horned Frogs and Mustangs have met 103 times since 1915, with many meetings counting toward the Southwest Conference standings. TCU leads the overall series 53-43-7 due in large part to a 25-9 record dating back to 1989, but SMU holds a 3-2 edge over the last five years. 

Dykes helped the Mustangs get two of those wins in 2019 and 2021, their first back-to-back victories in the series since the 1992-93 seasons. When Dykes arrived at SMU, he noticed the players lacked a rival-like disdain for TCU. 

“I was a little surprised it didn't mean more to the players, honestly, when I got over to SMU, probably because the rivalry had been a little bit one-sided,” Dykes said. “There just didn't seem to be a lot of juice from the players for it. And, so, we tried to play it up to a degree and then we had some success.”

Dykes framed the game as an opportunity for the Mustangs “to get on the map” since the Horned Frogs were a Power Conference opponent. At the time, the Mustangs played in a Group of 5 conference, the American Athletic Conference. 

The momentum swung back to TCU when Dykes moved across town in 2022. SMU reclaimed the Skillet last year, but what happened on that field is not fueling this year’s game - at least not publicly. 

“I'm focused on this year. I'm focused on their group,” TCU quarterback Josh Hoover said.  “They don't have the same team as they did last year. Neither do we, so I'm not going to put too much into that but obviously going to be aware of some things they tried to do to us and I'm sure they'll do the same thing. So it goes both ways.”

This year’s version, like last year, holds more meaning in the broader college football landscape since SMU is now a power program. The Mustangs joined the ACC in 2024 and made the college football playoffs as an at-large bid. 

TCU safety Bud Clark breaks up a pass during the 2024 SMU game. | Brian McLean - On Assignment Photo/KillerFrogs.com for TCU On SI

SMU’s membership in a power conference might bring the game back in the future, but nothing is guaranteed. Schedules are created years in advance making last-minute changes difficult. 

“If we try to cancel these games right now, I think we're going to owe $24 million worth of guarantees,” Dykes said. “So, I mean, it’s really pretty simple.” 

Plus, playing 11 Power Conference teams is not a common move. 

TCU and Baylor are the only teams out of 134 Division I FBS programs playing 11 Power Conference games this season and both happened to schedule SMU. Baylor beat SMU 48-45 in overtime on Sept. 6. 

Since TCU and Baylor are in the same conference, that rivalry will continue. The Big 12 protected four rivalries when building conference schedules for the 16-team conference: TCU-Baylor, Arizona-Arizona State, BYU-Utah and Kansas-Kansas State. 

Other long-standing, 100-plus year rivalries have been lost amidst conference realignment. 

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State played the final scheduled Bedlam game two years ago. Kansas and Missouri reignited the Border War on Sept. 6 after a 14-year hiatus. Both Missouri and Oklahoma left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012 and 2024, respectively. 

Even Texas and Texas A&M paused a 131-year old rivalry from 2012-2023. The Lone Star Showdown restarted last season when the Longhorns joined the Aggies in the SEC. 

“They changed conferences. They didn't play each other. They ended up in the same conference, now they play each other,” Dykes said. “Just the ebb and flow of the way this stuff works in college football because there's a lot of uncertainty. That's just really kind of how it is.”

The final scheduled Battle for the Iron Skillet will kick off at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Amon G. Carter Stadium. The game will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2. 

Wide Receiver Depth

Earlier this week, true freshman wide receiver Ed Small earned Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors. Small caught six passes for 45 yards and two touchdowns in the win over ACU and became the first Horned Frog to win the weekly award since quarterback Max Duggan in 2019. 

“Proud of Ed, the way he played,” Hoover said. “I've known for a long time he's going to be a really special player and I've got no doubt that he's got a bright future at TCU and beyond.” 

Small joined TCU in the spring as an early enrollee and by fall camp had caught the coaching staff’s attention.

“We got to work him out during camp and you could see that he understood the game and how to run routes and he was quick in and out of his breaks,” Dykes said. “And, you know, that's kind of when he got on the radar for us.”

Throughout the first two games of the season, TCU has displayed its depth at the wide receiver position. Eric McAlister came into the season as the number one wide receiver, but ranks third on the team with five receptions for 66 yards. 

North Carolina blanketed McAlister with multiple defensive backs, which allowed Jordan Dwyer, a transfer from Idaho, to emerge as the top target. Dwyer caught nine passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. 

Small paced the Horned Frogs against ACU with six catches while Houston transfer Joseph Manjack IV had a team-high 114 yards on four catches. 

Even with so many newcomers, Hoover trusts his receivers and is continually building those relationships. 

“You feel confident [in] guys that you know are going to find a way to catch it or give the best effort,” Hoover said. “So, I think we've got a group of guys that can all do that, and for me, it's a blessing.”