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| TCU safety Jamel Johnson (#2) shows off the "Iron Skillet" that TCU earned for its 35-24 victory over SMU. |
By Tom C. "Midnite" Burke
With about three minutes left in the 2025 TCU-SMU “Battle for the Iron Skillet” football game, on a bastardly hot Saturday, September 21st, afternoon, Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, was rocking.
More than 7,000 cowboy-clad male and scantily clad female students were leading thousands of other Horned Frogs faithful in a rendition of the phrase “Hey, Hey, goodbye” from the song "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.”
Those were appropriate words to be singing.
TCU would soon be putting the finishing touches on a hard-fought 35-24 victory over SMU for the 54th time in a series that began in 1915 but is now being put on hold indefinitely as the two Fort-Worth-Dallas Metroplex teams go their separate ways.
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| Tom C. "Midnite" Burke |
That means the Horned Frogs may forever possess the hallowed Iron Skillet trophy, because of their latest victory over the boys from that Little D town that is on the wrong side of the Trinity River.
An Amon G. Carter Stadium crowd of 43,333, including a record 6,760 students, witnessed the historic game, which eventually was decided in favor of the Frogs by their junior quarterback, Josh Hoover, senior wide receiver Eric McAlister and junior safety Jamel Johnson.
Hoover threw for 379 yards and five touchdowns, three of them to McAlister as part of the talented receiver's 254-receiving-yards day, the second-most yards by a TCU receiver all time (13 yards short of Josh Doctson’s program record of 267 receiving yards at Texas Tech in 2015). McAlister had an impressive 145 yards after catch in the victory.
Hoover’s and McAlister’s achievements in the fourth quarter of the game, complimented by the defensive play of Johnson, secured the victory for TCU.
With the Frogs trailing the Mustangs 24-21 in the final quarter, Hoover and McAlister connected on two touchdown passes, of 70 yards and 44 yards, to stake the Horned Frogs to a double-digit lead. Johnson sealed the victory by intercepting two SMU passes in the game’s final five minutes.
For his performance against SMU, Hoover was named to the Davey O'Brien Award's Great 8 and earned a spot on the Manning Award's Star of the Week list.
For his performance against the Mustangs, McAlister was named Co-Offensive Player of the Week by the Big 12 Conference. He shared the award with Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond.
McAlister also was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation's National Offensive Player of the Week. He is the first TCU player to earn the honor since Max Duggan did so following TCU's win over No. 18 Oklahoma in 2022, and the first TCU receiver to do so since Josh Doctson's school-record receiving performance against Texas Tech. In the 22-year history of the award, McAlister is the 12th offensive or defensive Horned Frog to be named the foundation's national player of the week.
Plus, McAlister received Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Johnson’s defensive performance against SMU earned him Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors from the Big 12 Conference. He shared the award with Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez.
“Good, hard-fought win, I’m proud of the players,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said. “They played hard, even though it was hot. We talked all week about the need to be disciplined. Sometimes, there’s a lot of chirpin’. I thought our guys were really focused on playing football and doing their job.
“McAlister just took over the game, and that’s what great players do.”
TCU closed out the non-conference portion of its 2025 season with a 3-0 record. The Horned Frogs went undefeated in non-conference play for the first time since 2022 and for the third time in the past 10 seasons (2017, 2022). TCU has started a season 3-0 for the first time since 2022 and for the third time since 2017.
The win over SMU vaulted the Horned Frogs into the top 25 rankings. TCU is 24th in the week five Associated Press top 25 ranking and 25th in the week five Coaches top 25 ranking
After week four, TCU ranks 17th in the ranking of all 136 collegiate Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams by The Athletic.
With the loss, SMU fell to 2-2. The Mustangs have beaten East Texas A&M and Missouri State and lost to the Frogs and Baylor.
Coming off a College Football Playoff appearance and being runners-up in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) last season, the Mustangs started the 2025 season as a top-25 team but fell out of the polls after their double overtime loss to Baylor on September 6. They remain unranked.
This was the 104th rivalry game between TCU and SMU. The Horned Frogs hold a 54-43-7 edge in a series that began with a 43-0 TCU win in Fort Worth in 1915 and that had continued since the Southwest Conference (SWC) broke up after the 1995 season, except for 2006 and the pandemic-impacted 2020 season.
The Frogs are 30-20-5 versus SMU in Fort Worth and 24-23-2 versus the Mustangs in Dallas. TCU has won 14 of the last 18 games and 20 of the past 25 games against SMU.
Dykes has been the winning head coach in four of the past five games between the Horned Frogs and Mustangs.
Prior to his arrival at TCU for the 2022 season, Dykes, as SMU’s head coach from 2018-21, guided the Mustangs to their first back-to-back victories (2019, 2021) over the Horned Frogs since 1992-93.
The Horned Frogs are 3-1 against SMU since Dykes moved west and upward to TCU.
This was the second meeting between TCU and SMU with both being members of a “power conference” since 1995, when both were members of the SWC.
TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012.
Over the summer of 2024, SMU’s long, desperate efforts to join a major athletic conference paid off when it begged and bought its way into the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), accepting far less of the conference’s revenue than fellow ACC members in the league’s media rights deal.
Prior to last season, SMU was a member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC).
The Battle for the Iron Skillet is the third-oldest rivalry game involving a pair of Texas FBS schools, trailing only Texas-Texas A&M (1894) and TCU-Baylor (1899).
This will be the last SMU-TCU game for the foreseeable future after TCU decided not to renew the annual home-and-home series. The TCU athletic department has said the move was made to focus on getting more non-conference home games for the frogs, instead of using one of those non-conference games trading off with SMU every year.
Lila Bonner Honored
This year, the “Battle for the Iron Skillet” had a little extra meaning, and not just because it was the last scheduled meeting between TCU and SMU. It also was because it was being played in honor of Lila Bonner, who was a fan of both teams.
Lila was one of the Camp Mystic girls who died in the Central Texas floods on July 4. She loved the Mustangs and the Horned Frogs because she grew up in a house divided. Her father is a TCU alum. Her mother graduated from SMU.
SMU and TCU posted a united message to social media the week of the game in honor of Lila, highlighting her organization, “Lila's Light.” She loved animals and donations will go to help animals impacted by natural disasters. Read more here.
Mayors Wager
The TCU win made Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker a winner.
Mayor Parker and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson made a friendly wager on the TCU- SMU game.
Since TCU won, Mayor Parker won the bet, so Mayor Johnson will donate to Fort Worth’s “Good Natured Initiative,” which works to preserve, protect and expand Fort Worth’s natural heritage and green spaces.
If SMU had won the game, Mayor Johnson would have won the wager and Mayor Parker would have donated to the Trust for Public Land’s “Greener Dallas Greater Dallas” campaign.
Hall of Famers Honored
Halftime of the TCU-SMU game featured the TCU Block T Hall of Fame recognition. The nine Hall of Fame inductees are: Julien Brun 2015 (men's golf); Matt Carpenter 2009 (baseball); Whitney Gipson 2012 (track & field); Preston Morrison 2015 (baseball); Glen Norris 1978 (track & field); head coach Gary Patterson (football); Charles Silmon 2014 (track & field); head coach Richard Sybesma (swimming and diving); and Jason Verrett 2013 (football).
All of the newly inducted Hall-of-Famers received standing ovations. Patterson and Sybesma received the longest and loudest.
Coach Patterson spent 24 years as a TCU coach for the football team, serving as defensive coordinator from 1998-2000, then as head coach from 2000-21. He set the TCU all-time coaching record with 181 wins – 72 more than Dutch Meyer, who ranks second on the list. Patterson won 22 national coach-of-the-year honors and posted 10 seasons with 11 wins or more. He guided the Horned Frogs to six conference championships, while mentoring 263 all-conference selections, 21 first team all-Americans and 55 NFL Draft picks.
Sybesma, who retired in 2017, served as the longest tenured head coach for any sport at TCU. He spent 38 years at the helm of the swimming and diving program. The Horned Frogs won seven team conference championships and 16 individual league titles under Sybesma. He produced seven national champions, 18 all-Americans and four Olympians. He is a five-time conference coach-of-the-year.
Big 12 Conference Games
The results of other recently played Big 12 Conference football games:
- Friday, September 19:
- Tulsa 19 at Oklahoma State 12 (1-2, 0-0 ); On the Tuesday following the game, Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy was fired. He had been the Cowboys’ coach since 2004.
- Saturday, September 20:
- Texas Tech 34 (4-0, 1-0) at Utah 10 (3-1, 0-1)North Carolina 9 at UCF 34 (3-0, 0-0)
- West Virginia 10 (2-2, 0-1) at Kansas (3-1, 1-0)
- Arizona State 27 (3-1, 1-0) at Baylor 24 (2-2, 0-1)
- BYU 34 (3-0, 0-0) at East Carolina 13
- Wyoming 20 at Colorado 37 (2-2, 0-1)
Offense Dominant Again
Against SMU, the Horned Frogs had their third-straight impressive offensive performance of the season.
TCU scored five touchdowns and racked up 517 total yards of offense: 138 rushing yards and 379 passing yards.
TCU has scored in 410 consecutive games, the second longest streak in NCAA history, trailing only Florida (464 consecutive games).
The Horned Frogs accumulated 24 first downs against the Mustangs. TCU converted nine-of-17 third-down plays and three-of-four fourth-down plays.
In leading TCU’s offense against the Ponies, Hoover completed 22-of-40 passes for 379 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. He was intercepted once and sacked twice. He rushed for a net 27 yards on eight carries.
Hoover ranks No. 1 nationally in passing yards per game (333) and touchdown passes per game (3.67).
Besides the three touchdown passes to McAlister, Hoover connected with senior wide receiver Joseph Manjack IV and sophomore running back Jeremy Payne on touchdowns through the air.
Manjack’s four-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter was his first TCU career receiving touchdown. This is his first season as a Frog. He is a transfer from the University of Houston.
Payne caught a 10-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. He also had 53 yards rushing, on 12 carries.
McAlister, Manjack and Payne were three of six different TCU receivers to catch a pass against SMU. The other three were junior wide receiver Jordan Dwyer, senior tight end DJ Rogers and freshman wide receiver Ed Small.
TCU has had at least six receivers catch a pass for a remarkable 44 consecutive games, dating back to Iowa State on November 26, 2021.
McAlister, who entered the game against SMU with just five receptions for 66 yards through the season’s first two games, could have had more receiving yardage and an additional touchdown reception in the win over SMU, but he was ruled out of bounds on an acrobatic touchdown catch he made. Replays shown within the stadium showed that the catch had been made inbounds. The game's officiating crew said that league review of the play confirmed the call on the field that the catch was made out of bounds.
Against the Mustangs, TCU’s ground game continued to be an asset. The Frogs gained 138 yards on 37 rushes, for an average of 3.7 yards per carry.
Senior running back Trent Battle led TCU’s ground game. He gained 60 yards on seven carries, for an average of 8.7 yards per rush.
TCU’s leading rusher for the season, senior running back Kevorian Barnes, did not play against SMU. He was in plain clothes on the Frogs’ sideline. He suffered a lower body injury in TCU’s previous game, a 42-21 victory over Abilene Christian University. The extent of the injury has not been revealed, but he has been ruled out of action for at least one more game. Barnes leads TCU with 156 yards rushing and averages 7.4 yards per carry.
Defense Saddles Ponies
Johnson’s two interceptions highlighted a TCU defense that bent and was busted at times, but produced key plays at crucial times, including in the fourth quarter, enabling TCU’s offense to regain the lead and close out the game.
TCU's defense gave up 384 total yards (94 rushing yards and 290 passing yards) to SMU, but only three touchdowns and one field goal. The Mustangs' three touchdowns came through the air.
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings completed 24-of-38 passes for 290 yards. In addition to intercepting him twice, the Horned Frogs sacked him twice.
Tight end Matthew Hibner and wide receivers Yamir Knight and Jordan Hudson had touchdown receptions. Hudson is a former Horned Frog.
TCU senior linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr led the Frogs’ defense with eight tackles. He had two tackles for loss, one sack and two quarterback hurries against the Mustangs.
With seven tackles, TCU senior cornerback Jevon McIver was the Frogs' second-leading tackler.
In addition to his two interceptions, Johnson had six tackles against the Ponies.
TCU junior defensive end Paul Oweyale had a sack and a tackle for a loss.
Overall, TCU's offense and defense were a winning combination in the last scheduled Battle for the Iron Skillet.
110 years is a long-term relationship. But, all good things eventually come to an end.
Parting is such sweet sorrow, but, “hey, hey, goodbye,” SMU.
- TCU-SMU box score: here
- TCU-SMU game highlights: here
- TCU post-game press conference: here
- SMU post-game press conference: here
TCU Travels to Arizona State
TCU has a quick turnaround from its game with SMU.
The Frogs face Arizona State University (ASU) on Friday, September 26, in Mountain America Stadium, in Tempe, Arizona. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 pm (Central). FOX Sports will broadcast the game.
Arizona State is a three-point favorite. The over/under was 55.5 points.
TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes talks about the game: here
Arizona State head football coach Kenny Dillingham talks about the game: here
This is the Horned Frogs’ 2025 Big 12 Conference-opener. It also will be the first time TCU has played the Sun Devils since 1975 and only the third game ever between the two teams.
TCU is 0-2 against Arizona State. The Frogs lost, 33-10, on September 20, 1975, in Fort Worth, and 37-7 on September 21, 1974, in Tempe.
When both of the previous games were played, TCU was in the Southwest Conference and Arizona State was in the Western Athletic Conference.
Friday’s game will be the first time the Frogs and Sun Devils have met as Big 12 Conference foes
Arizona State joined the Big 12 in 2024, when the Big 12 expanded to 16 teams by adding the Sun Devils and the University of Arizona, the University of Colorado and the University of Utah from the Pac-12.
Arizona State had been in the Pac-12 since 1978.
This season, the Sun Devils are 3-1 overall, 1-0 in the Big 12.
ASU defeated Northern Arizona 38-19 on August 30, in Tempe; lost to Mississippi State 24-20, on September 6, in Starkville, Mississippi; defeated Texas State 34-15, on September 13, in Tempe; and defeated Baylor 27-24, on a field goal as time expired, on September 20, in Waco, Texas.
Arizona State is 30th in the week 5 Associated Press top 25 and 26th in the week 5 Coaches top 25.
Last year, in its inaugural Big 12 season, Arizona State went 11-3 overall, 7-2 in the conference.
ASU defeated Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 Conference Championship Game. The win clinched a fourth seed for Arizona State in the College Football Playoff. The Sun Devils received a first-round bye, then lost to the University of Texas 39-31, in two overtimes, in the Peach Bowl, on January 1, 2025.
Arizona State is called the Sun Devils because a 1946 student vote adopted the name, which was intended to represent the hot, sunny climate of Tempe. The name replaced previous nicknames, like the "Owls" and "Bulldogs.”
Kenny Dillingham is in his third season as Arizona State’s head football coach. Previously, he was the University of Oregon’s quarterbacks coach.
Arizona State Offense
Offensively, Arizona State is averaging 406 total yards per game: 219 passing yards and 187 rushing yards.
The Sun Devils have scored 13 touchdowns, six through the air and seven on the ground. They have given up eight sacks, had three passes intercepted and have not lost a fumble.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt (#10), who is a transfer from Michigan State and is in his second year at ASU, leads the Sun Devils’ offense. He is one of the country's top quarterbacks.
Last year, Leavitt finished his first year in Tempe as the school’s all-time leader for total offense by a freshman with 3,328 yards, and second in program history in passing yards by a freshman at 2,885. He was named the 2024 Big 12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year.
This season, Leavitt has completed 72-of-126 passes for 748 yards. He has thrown six touchdown passes and three interceptions. He has a long completion of 61 yards. He has been sacked eight times.
Leavitt has rushed 42 times for 219 yards and four touchdowns. He is averaging 5.2 yards per rush and 54.8 rushing yards per game. He has a long run of 52 yards.
ASU’s top receiver is redshirt junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (#0), who is from Allen, Texas, and who is a transfer from the University of Colorado. He has caught 31 passes for 357 yards and five touchdowns. He is averaging 11.5 yards per catch and 89.3 receiving yards per game. He has a long reception of 36 yards.
Tyson is regarded as one of the top receivers in the country.
Redshirt senior tight end Chamon Metayer (#7), who is a transfer from the University of Cincinnati and the University of Colorado, has caught 13 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown. He is averaging 10.4 yards per catch and 33.8 receiving yards per game. He has a long reception of 27 yards.
Arizona State’s ground game is led by redshirt junior running back Raleek Brown (#3), who is a transfer from USC. He has rushed 56 times for 372 yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging 6.6 yards per rush and 93 rushing yards per game. He has a long run of 75 yards.
Junior running back Kayne Udoh (#6), who is a transfer from Army, has rushed 39 times for 156 yards and one touchdown. He is averaging four yards per rush and 39 rushing yards per game. He has a long run of 21 yards.
The Sun Devils’ defense is allowing 334 total yards of offense per game: 238.8 passing yards and 95.3 rushing yards.
ASU has allowed opponents to score 10 touchdowns, eight through the air and two on the ground.
Arizona State’s defense has recorded 13 sacks, recovered four fumbles and intercepted two passes.
Senior linebacker Jordan Crook (#8), who is from Duncanville, Texas, and is a transfer from the University of Arkansas, leads ASU’s defense with 33 tackles. He has 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
Senior linebacker Keyshaun Elliott (#44), who is a transfer from New Mexico State, has 30 tackles, including five tackles for loss and three sacks. He also has been credited with two quarterback hurries and one pass breakup.
Senior defensive back Myles “Ghost” Rowser (#4), who is a transfer from New Mexico State and Campbell University, has 25 tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass breakup and one fumble recovery.
Redshirt sophomore safety Adrian “Boogie” Wilson (#6), who is a transfer from Washington State, has made 17 tackles. He has one pass breakup, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Redshirt senior defensive lineman Clayton Smith (#10), who is a transfer from the University of Oklahoma, has 12 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He has been credited with one quarterback hurry.
Graduate student defensive lineman Anthonie Cooper (#96) has one interception. Because of injuries suffered during his career, he is the first seventh-year player in ASU football history and one of fewer than 25 seventh-year players in the Football Bowl Subdivision for the 2025 season.
Junior defensive back Keith Abney II (#1) also has intercepted a pass, in addition to four pass breakups and one forced fumble.
Arizona State’s main punter is sophomore Kanyon Floyd (#31). He has punted 11 times for an average of 44.4 yards per punt. He has not had a punt blocked. He has a long punt of 61 yards.
Redshirt junior Matthew McKenzie (#34), who is from Sydney, Australia, has punted three times. He averages 36.7 yards per punt. He has not had a punt blocked. He has a long punt of 77 yards.
Redshirt senior kicker Jesus Gomez (#35), who is a transfer from the University of Eastern Michigan, has made nine-of-10 field-goal attempts. He has not had a field goal attempt blocked. His nine field goals made are tied for fifth nationally
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