Last updated: November 1, 2026
The Iron Skillet, the trophy SMU and TCU have played for since 1946, will sit in Fort Worth all of 2026 because the two schools do not meet this season. TCU won the last scheduled meeting 35-24 on September 20, 2025, and with no future game announced, here is the history of the Dallas-Fort Worth rivalry and why it paused.
Quick summary
- TCU leads the series 54-43-7 through 2025.
- The rivalry began in 1915; the Iron Skillet trophy dates to 1946.
- TCU chose not to renew the series, making 2025 the last scheduled meeting for the foreseeable future.
- SMU’s 66-42 win in 2024 is the highest-scoring game in series history.
Iron Skillet Series at a Glance
- All-time record: TCU leads 54-43-7
- First meeting: 1915
- Last meeting: September 20, 2025, TCU 35, SMU 24 (Fort Worth)
- Largest margin: TCU 56, SMU 0 (2014)
- Highest-scoring game: SMU 66, TCU 42 (2024), 108 total points
- Trophy: the Iron Skillet, since 1946
- 2026 game: none scheduled
Records are from the Battle for the Iron Skillet history.
Why the Iron Skillet Is Paused
TCU chose not to renew the nonconference series, and scheduling concerns turned the 2025 game into the final scheduled meeting. Realignment is the backdrop: SMU now plays in the ACC and TCU in the Big 12, and both schools have full conference slates plus other nonconference commitments. A rivalry that dated to 1915 lost its spot on both calendars.
Where the Skillet Came From
There are two origin stories. SMU tells one about a fan frying frog legs before a game, with a TCU fan suggesting the game decide who kept the skillet. TCU Magazine credits SMU’s student council with proposing a trophy for the November 30, 1946 game and doubts the frog-leg tale. Either way, the skillet has been on the line ever since.
Recent Results
- 2025: TCU 35, SMU 24 (September 20, Fort Worth)
- 2024: SMU 66, TCU 42 (September 21, Dallas)
- 2023: TCU 34, SMU 17 (September 23)
- 2022: TCU 42, SMU 34 (September 24)
- 2021: SMU 42, TCU 34 (September 25)
- 2020: canceled after TCU players tested positive for COVID-19
- 2019: SMU 41, TCU 38 (September 21)
Games That Define the Iron Skillet
2025: the finale
TCU receiver Eric McAlister caught passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback Josh Hoover threw five touchdown passes as TCU beat SMU 35-24 in the last scheduled meeting.
2024: 108 points
SMU scored 66 against TCU in Dallas, the most points in series history, against TCU coach Sonny Dykes, who previously led SMU.
2014: the biggest blowout
TCU’s 56-0 win remains the largest margin in the rivalry.
The coaching swap
Dykes left SMU for TCU before the 2022 season and has beaten his former school three times since, in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
Without a Skillet in 2026
For the first time since the 2020 cancellation, a full season will pass without the game, and the trophy will stay in Fort Worth. Both teams still have big November games on their own schedules.
🗳️ Vote: Make your prediction for SMU vs. Wake Forest and TCU vs. Kansas State on RallyFuel (Nov. 14)
What the Pause Means for Fans
For Dallas and Fort Worth, the game was more than a nonconference date. The campuses sit about 35 miles apart, alumni fill the same offices, and the result settled local bragging rights every September. Without it, both fan bases lose a guaranteed in-state showcase and one of the biggest local media weeks of the early season.
Rivalries have come back before. Texas and Texas A&M returned in 2024 after more than a decade apart, and many paused series eventually resume as conference schedules change. If SMU and TCU find room again, the Iron Skillet will be waiting, and the 2025 finale will become one more chapter rather than the last one.
The NIL Angle
Both schools were early NIL movers in Texas, and both now operate in the revenue-sharing era. Read SMU’s NIL impact and Texas NIL laws explained. Follow the rosters on RallyFuel: the SMU page and ACC football athletes, and the TCU page, receiver Kari Ashley and Big 12 football athletes. See where the Skillet ranks among college football’s best rivalries.
FAQ
Do SMU and TCU play in 2026?
No. TCU chose not to renew the series, and 2025 was the last scheduled meeting.
Who leads the Iron Skillet series?
TCU leads 54-43-7 through the 2025 season.
Who has the Iron Skillet?
TCU, after its 35-24 win on September 20, 2025.
Why is the trophy a skillet?
Accounts differ: one credits a pregame frog-leg fry, while TCU Magazine credits SMU’s student council proposing a trophy in 1946.
Follow College Athletes on RallyFuel
Explore college athlete profiles, check the RallyFuel NIL Score, and make your predictions with RallyFuel Predictions.
