No, the Iron Skillet wasn’t revived. But TCU football finally schedules a 10th game
The TCU football team has scheduled a 10th regular-season game.
The Horned Frogs will face Louisiana Tech of Conference USA on Dec. 12 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, athletic director Jeremiah Donati announced on social media. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
“We wanted to deliver, as promised, a 10th game to our student-athletes,” Donati said in a statement. “They deserve the opportunity to take the field one more time in Amon G. Carter Stadium. I’m also excited for them, and for our fans, to close out the home schedule with a night game.”
The TCU-Louisiana Tech game replaces the scheduled season opener against SMU. TCU had to postpone that game after a COVID outbreak on its team. Both programs discussed playing the game on Dec. 12, but it didn’t come to fruition.
SMU is required to keep Dec. 12 open in case additional American Athletic Conference scheduled changes need to be made, according to a news release.
Donati and SMU AD Rick Hart issued a joint statement that read, in part, “Unfortunately, for reasons outside of our control, we will not be able to play this year. We are both disappointed but look forward to the rivalry and the 100th battle for the Iron Skillet in 2021.”
Donati acknowledged the TCU-SMU matchup remains a possibility this year in a bowl game.
The TCU-La Tech kickoff time will not coincide with the men’s basketball game against Texas A&M at Dickies Arena that same day. Tip-off for the basketball game is set for 1 p.m. The football date is also flexible should the game have to be pushed back to later the following week (Dec. 16-18).
TCU and Louisiana Tech have played just once before in the 2011 Poinsettia Bowl. The Frogs defeated the Bulldogs 31-24. The highlight of the game was quarterback Casey Pachall completing a 42-yard touchdown pass to Skye Dawson with 4:26 left for the game-deciding score.
TCU had been actively searching for a 10th regular-season game in recent weeks.
Louisiana Tech (4-3) made sense on multiple fronts. First, the Bulldogs were looking for a game after their nonconference game against Baylor was canceled in September. Secondly, the Bulldogs’ last scheduled game is this Thursday at North Texas.
That will give both teams the ability to play on Dec. 12, or possibly push it back to later the following week if one of the programs has a COVID-related issue.
TCU (4-4) closes its Big 12 schedule against Oklahoma State on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 10:25 AM.
