No More for SMU and TCU After the Most Nonconference Meetings Among Former SWC Teams.

A Rivalry Rooted in the Southwest Conference

TCU coach Sonny Dykes grew up steeped in Southwest Conference (SWC) football as the son of a coach. Now, as a head coach himself, he’s seen both sides of the rivalry between TCU and SMU. That storied series — 104 games across 120 years — is coming to a halt, at least for now.

Arkansas native Rhett Lashlee, now SMU’s head coach after replacing Dykes in 2021, remembers when his Razorbacks shared the SWC stage with eight Texas teams. Since the SWC dissolved, no former members have played each other more often as nonconference opponents than SMU and TCU. Saturday will mark their 23rd “Battle for the Iron Skillet” since splitting conferences, missing only 2006 and the pandemic year of 2020.

“They’ve chosen not to play anymore,” Lashlee said. “We’ll see what the future holds. But we’re playing this Saturday.”

Power Schedules Crowd Out Tradition

SMU’s jump to the Atlantic Coast Conference last year put them back in a power league for the first time since the SWC folded. Meanwhile, TCU entered the Big 12 in 2012. Both schools now face nine-game conference slates, plus pre-arranged nonconference games against other power-league opponents through at least 2030.

“We’re scheduled out, because that’s what you do,” Dykes explained. “The situation changed, and then it didn’t make a lot of sense to play these games.”

This year, both TCU and Baylor are playing 11 Power Four opponents — a rarity — thanks to matchups against SMU that were set before the Mustangs joined the ACC. Baylor will host SMU next year, but beyond that, no more meetings are on the books.

The Script Flips

Recent history hasn’t been as one-sided as the past. SMU has taken three of the past five games after losing 17 of 19 before that. Back-to-back Mustang wins in 2019 and 2021 under Dykes were the first consecutive SMU victories in the rivalry since before the NCAA “death penalty” of the 1980s.

TCU took the 2022 and 2023 meetings, but SMU won last season in explosive fashion, 66-42, despite Dykes coaching the Frogs. That game even saw him ejected for a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

Pony Express Memories

Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson, who with Craig James formed SMU’s famed “Pony Express” backfield in the early 1980s, only recently learned this would be the rivalry’s last scheduled game.

James quipped that TCU simply wanted more home games without the risk of losing. Dickerson’s response: “When you can beat up a team, you want to play them all the time.”

Dickerson recalled the hardest hit of his career came from a TCU defensive back his freshman year. He didn’t even remember walking to the locker room, but SMU won — one of 15 straight in the series.

“All I know is they’re right down the street, they had that ugly mascot, that ugly frog, and I used to love beating up on them,” Dickerson said.

Where Are They Now?

The SWC’s demise scattered its schools:

Arkansas left for the SEC in 1992.
Texas A&M and Texas both joined the SEC, in 2012 and 2024 respectively.
Baylor and Texas Tech remain in the Big 12.
Houston joined the Big 12 in 2023 after years of wandering.
Rice sits in the American Athletic Conference.

Future SWC throwbacks are rare: after SMU-Baylor next year, the only one on the books is Texas Tech-Arkansas, with games set for 2030, 2031, and 2034.

Swing Games with Big Consequences

The rivalry has often carried momentum. SMU’s 2019 win under Lashlee and Dykes helped launch its first 10-win season in 35 years. TCU’s 2022 win propelled the Frogs to a national championship game appearance. SMU’s victory last year preceded its ACC debut and a berth in the expanded College Football Playoff.

“It’s kind of an interesting spot as we’re both leaving nonconference and going into conference,” Lashlee said. “In ‘19, it springboarded us to a 10-win season. ... Last year obviously it really helped springboard us again. So it can be a swing game.”