TCU and SMU have been playing each other for many years. They’ve played each other since 1915 apart from six years. The only years missed have been in 1919, 1920, 1925, 1987, 1988, or 2006. Also, they aren’t even in the same conference, but that hasn’t stopped them from continuing their rivalry. Plus, the winner of the game gets the Iron Skillet trophy.
History of the Rivalry
Out of 99 total games that have occurred since the first meeting, TCU leads
the series 51-47-7. Unfortunately, despite running a seven-game win streak in recent years, SMU broke that streak last year. To battle the on-going pandemic the Big 12 adopted a plus one non-conference schedule, and the game originally scheduled on September 25th was canceled. It proved to be difficult for both teams, but they tried their best to get the game to happen. With too many conflicts TCU went ahead and scheduled its only non-conference game with Tennessee Tech leaving the 2020 rivalry out of the picture. Suddenly with Tennessee Tech being forced to cancel its scheduled game with TCU due to its fall season being postponed, talks with SMU flared up again.
Rivalry Cancelled in 2020
Luckily, both schools have come to an agreement and announced a new date and time for the game to take place. The two teams will fight for the Iron Skillet for the second straight year, on September 12, in Fort Worth. After the first round of schedule adjustments SMU was supposed to play SFA on this date, but SFA graciously accepted to reschedule for Sept. 25th. 2020 is a special one because it marks the 100th anniversary of the Battle for the Iron Skillet. Both parties had agreed to play on an alternating home-away basis until 2025, but with scheduling conflicts, the rivalry is set to be played in Fort Worth until 2022. This year, we will be counting down the days until TCU kicks off their football season, and we see the trophy back with the Horned Frogs.
Story by Anthony Rodriguez, Creative Media for Campus Live.
