FORT WORTH, TX – SEPTEMBER 25: SMU Mustangs defensive end Nelson Paul (#90) tries to get around TCU Horned Frogs offensive tackle Obinna Eze (#55) during the college football game between the SMU Mustangs and TCU Horned Frogs on September 25, 2021 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, TX.
Outside of the stadium named for a man who often said that Fort Worth is where the West begins and the East peters out, cross-town rivalry was alive and well Saturday morning as TCU’s and SMU’s football teams met on the field for the 102nd time.
In the shadow of Amon G. Carter Stadium, TCU and SMU flags flew over a tailgate where friends Jamie Sloan and Andrew House wore their respective school’s colors.
“It is a house divided,” said Sloan, a TCU grad. “There’s always a little bit of rivalry. But this game, it escalates and you really kind of put your friendship aside and you really spend a lot of time trash-talking each other and having a lot of fun.”
The Iron Skillet rivalry game is an annual tradition that for years has brought both friends and families together from opposite sides of the metroplex, or in some cases, households.
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“There’s some good-natured ribbing going on and so forth, and I still think "fear the frog" is too close to pony ears. I think the TCU frogs are secretly supporting SMU,” said SMU grad Jeff Hall.
“I tend to disagree. Everyone has their opinion, and I respect that,” said his wife and TCU grad Sandy.
Earlier this year, it was announced the series will be paused indefinitely after 2025.
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It’s just the latest in a shifting college football landscape.
“Every rivalry is coming to an end. College football is changing. Just look at Texas, Texas A&M. They broke up. OU, OSU, they’re not happening anymore. I mean SMU, TCU, yeah we’ll be sad to go but honestly TCU’s kind of dominated that series for the last several years,” said lifelong TCU fan Austin McLaurin.
McLaurin said while he was prepared for a good match between the rivals on Saturday, he hopes the move will make room to bring larger non-conference teams to Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Until now, SMU hasn’t been part of a Power Five Conference. But earlier this month, university officials announced they would move to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“It’s a great start for SMU. It’s a new chapter,” said Hall.
Still for some, the spirit behind the Iron Skillet might be hard to shake.
“It’ll be like Texas A&M and Texas. It’s still there even if they haven’t played. And who knows? It might come back,” said SMU grad student Andrew House.
