Sonny Dykes is returning to the Hilltop in Dallas this Saturday, September 24, as head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs, who will be battling the SMU Mustangs for the coveted Iron Skillet.
Kickoff is scheduled for 11 am (Central) at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on the SMU campus. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Prior to being named TCU's head football coach in December 2021, Dykes had been SMU's head football coach since 2018.
Dykes was 30-18 as the Mustangs’ coach and was 25-10 over the final three seasons. He led the Mustangs to three consecutive winning records for the first time since the mid-1980s and their first back-to-back wins (2019 and 2021; the 2020 game was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic) over TCU since 1992-93.
The Horned Frogs hold a 51-42-7 edge over the Mustangs in a series that began with a 43-0 TCU win in Fort Worth in 1915.
TCU has won 11 of the last 14 games against SMU and 17 of the past 21.
The Horned Frogs are 23-22-2 versus the Mustangs in Dallas and 28-20-5 in Fort Worth.
TCU is playing at SMU for the first time since 2018. The Horned Frogs have won their last six games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
SMU is TCU's second-most played series. The Horned Frogs' 100 meetings with the Mustangs trail only Baylor (117).
With the exception of four years, TCU and SMU have played every season since 1925. In two of those seasons (1987-88), the Mustangs did not field a team.
SMU is 2-1 (0-0, American Athletic Conference). Most recently, the Ponies lost to Maryland, 34-37, on September 17, in Landover, Maryland. SMU opened the season on September 3 in Denton, Texas, with a 48-10 win over North Texas. In Dallas, on September 10, the Mustangs beat Lamar, 45-16.
TCU is 2-0 (0-0, Big 12). Most recently, in Fort Worth, TCU demolished Tarleton State, 59-17. The Frogs opened the season on September 2, in Boulder, Colorado, with a 38-13 victory over the University of Colorado.
Of the 12 FBS programs in Texas, TCU is the only one that is undefeated.
Dykes is the first TCU head football coach to win his opening two games since Dutch Meyer in 1934. Dykes is the 11th Horned Frogs coach since Meyer, who led TCU to national championships in 1935 and 1938.
A victory over SMU would make Dykes the first head football coach at TCU to win his opening three games since Francis Schmidt in 1929.
The Horned Frogs are looking for their first 3-0 start to a season since 2017, when Dykes was an offensive analyst for the Horned Frogs.
The Horned Frogs are ninth in the nation in scoring offense (48.5 points per game) and total offense (521.5 yards per game). Defensively, TCU is the nation's fourth-most improved team in scoring defense (-19.9 points per game) from last season while ranking sixth for most improved in total defense (-140.3 yards per game).
TCU senior quarterback Max Duggan ranks No. 1 in the nation in passing efficiency (239.2 rating) and completion percentage (78.1). Duggan has completed 25-of-32 attempts on the season for 417 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. In the Horned Frogs’ victory over Tarleton, Duggan set career highs with 390 yards passing and five touchdown passes. He completed 23-of-29 attempts and did not throw an interception.
TCU quarterback Chandler Morris, who injured a knee in the Frogs’ game against Colorado, will miss his second consecutive game.
Against SMU, Duggan will be making his 31st TCU career start. Duggan has had decent stats in two previous games against SMU (32-of-64, 451 yards, six touchdowns), but he’s 0-2 against the Mustangs.
SMU senior wide receiver Rashee Rice (#11) sits atop the nation in receiving yards with 491 yards. In the Mustangs’ loss to Maryland, Rice had 11 receptions for 193 yards. He has a team-high 28 receptions, the next receiver only has eight. While Rice has almost 500 yards receiving, no other SMU receiver has more than 150 yards.
Against Maryland, SMU quarterback Tanner Mordecai (#8), a senior who is in his second year at SMU after transferring from the University of Oklahoma, threw three touchdown passes. He also had three turnovers. After throwing for 39 touchdown passes last season, Mordecai has thrown 10 touchdown passes through the Mustangs’ first three games this season.
In SMU’s win over TCU last season in Fort Worth, Mordecai threw four touchdowns. The Frogs intercepted three of his passes.
SMU is allowing more than five rushing yards per carry. Maryland rushed for more than 200 yards. Terrapins running back Roman Hemby had 151 rushing yards against the Ponies. North Texas also rushed for more than 200 yards in its season-opening loss to SMU.
The betting line: Even; although some lines have SMU as a slight favorite, and some lines have TCU as a slight favorite.
Midnite’s prediction: TCU 38, SMU 31
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