Frogs Host SMU for 104th Battle for the Iron Skillet

TCU (2-0) host's Metroplex neighbor SMU (2-1) on Saturday morning at Amon G. Carter Stadium in the 104th Battle of the Iron Skillet. The game is designated as a WHITE OUT for TCU fans as the Horned Frogs are set to bring back their "Too Cold U" uniforms for the game.

GAME DAY DETAILS

[RV] TCU (2-0) vs. [RV] SMU (2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 20 - 11:00 a.m. CT
Amon G. Carter Stadium - Fort Worth, Texas
Tickets » Buy Here

How to Track the Game:
📺 Television » ESPN 2
(Roy Philpott, Sam Acho, Taylor Davis)
📻 Radio Tuning » KZPS 92.5 FM / (Spanish) KWRD 100.7 FM
📻 Radio Streaming » The Varsity Network app
📊 Live Stats » S tatBroadcast

GAME DAY PRIMER

What to Wear?
    » WHITE!
Game Day Central
    » Read
Weekly Press Conference
    » Watch
2025 Fact Book
    » Read
Weekly Game Notes
    » Read

GAME DAY TIMELINE

6:00 a.m. - Parking Lots Open
8:00 a.m. - Frog Alley Opens!
    » Carter Corral - Kids Zone (Inflatables, Yard Games), Live Games, Bar, and Food
    » Riff Ram Row - Giveaways and Samples
    » Stadium Social - Bars, Food Trucks, Live Music
8:30 a.m. - Meet the Team for Frog Walk!
    » Stadium Dr. in front of Schollmaier Arena
9:30 a.m. - Gates Open
10:40 a.m. - Pre-Game Show Begins!
10:58 a.m. -The Frogs take the field!
11:02 a.m. - Kick Off!

NOTING THE HORNED FROGS

TCU is in its fourth season under the direction of head coach Sonny Dykes in 2025. The 2022 National Coach of the Year led TCU to more wins in his first three seasons (27) than all but one head coach in program history (Dutch Meyer, 29, 1934-36).
Dykes has also led programs at SMU (2018-21), Cal (2013-16), and Louisiana Tech (2010-12). In all four stops, Dykes has led the program to the postseason, making him one of just six active head coaches to take four different schools to a bowl game. The others are Hugh Freeze, Butch Jones, Brian Kelly, Lane Kiffin, and Rich Rodriguez.
Directing the TCU offense for his third season as the starting quarterback is redshirt junior Josh Hoover. In his redshirt sophomore campaign, Hoover set TCU's single-season passing record with 3,949 yards on 313-of-471 passing with 27 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. He has thrown 48 touchdown passes in 21 career starts.
Surrounding Hoover will be a new cast of wide receivers as 76 combined starts and 5,464 career receiving yards across their college careers left with the departures of Jack Bech, Savion Williams, and JP Richardson to the NFL.
TCU's rushing attack was an offseason focus as the Horned Frogs rushed for just 113.9 yards per game last season, their lowest per game average since 1997 (110.2) and by far the lowest for a Dykes-coached team. Over his tenure as a head coach, Dykes' teams have averaged 158.5 yards per game on the ground with his 2012 Louisiana Tech team posting 227.2 yards per game.
Defensively, the Horned Frogs are led by Bud Clark, who led all safeties in college football last season with a 90.1 coverage grade. After logging a career-high 68 tackles last season, Clark opted to return to TCU rather than head to the NFL, and his 12 career interceptions are one shy of cracking the program's top-10 record book (t-8th - Sam Carter, 2012-14; Darrell Lester, 1933-35).

NOTING THE GAME

TCU closes out the non-conference portion of its 2025 schedule on Saturday morning when they host SMU in the 104th Battle for the Iron Skillet. It is the final scheduled game in the series, for the time being.
The Horned Frogs are aiming to go undefeated in non-conference play for the first time since 2022 and for just the third time in the past 10 seasons (2017, 2022).
The Battle for the Iron Skillet is the third-oldest rivalry game - first played in 1915 - involving a pair of Texas FBS schools, trailing only Texas-Texas A&M (1894) and TCU-Baylor (1899).
The iron skillet tradition began in 1946, though there are variations of the story on the how and why a skillet became the trophy. One version claims the idea was presented by the SMU student council, which TCU accepted. Another claims an SMU fan was frying frog legs and a TCU fan wagered the skillet go to the victor.
Since 2000, TCU is 18-5 in the game. However, SMU has won three of the last five including two with Sonny Dykes (2019, 2021) serving as head coach of the Mustangs. Overall, Dykes is 5-2 in the contest with additional wins on the TCU side in 2017, 2022, and 2023. His two losses in the series came in 2018 (SMU) and 2024 (TCU).

Schedule

Frogs Host SMU for 104th Battle for the Iron Skillet

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Players Mentioned

Jack Bech

Bud Clark

Josh Hoover

JP Richardson

Savion Williams

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Texas Christian University

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Football versus SMU on Sep. 20, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.

Upcoming Event: Football at Arizona State on Sep. 26, 2025 at 8:00 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football versus Colorado on Oct. 4, 2025 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Football at Kansas State on Oct. 11, 2025 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Football versus Baylor on Oct. 18, 2025 at TBD

Frogs Host SMU for 104th Battle for the Iron Skillet

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jack Bech

Bud Clark

Josh Hoover

JP Richardson

Savion Williams

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