Four things to know about TCU’s next opponent, the SMU Mustangs
It’s Battle for the Iron Skillet week and this year’s version could be more contentious than last year.
After making SMU competitive against TCU (2-1) from 2019-21, coach Sonny Dykes made the jump across the Metroplex to the Horned Frogs and as expected SMU fans made sure to let their hurt and displeasure known during TCU’s 42-34 win in Highland Park.
This year’s game could be more intense because the Horned Frogs announced that they would pause the rivalry after the 2025 season in a move to get more home games going forward. Objectively it was the right move even if SMU (2-1) received an invitation to the ACC a few months later.
Enjoy this one while you can, there’s no telling how many there will be after 2025. Now onto the field, here’s four things to know about the Mustangs:
Stone Era
Preston Stone was the biggest recruiting win for Dykes at SMU when he signed in 2021. A four-star recruit and top-20 quarterback nationally, Stone was one of the highest ranked recruits SMU had signed in decades. When starting quarterback Tanner Mordecai transferred to Wisconsin, there was more excitement than worry which speaks to how the program believes in Stone’s talents.
Stone has been solid, but not spectacular. Against Oklahoma he was 26-of-45 for 250 yards with a touchdown and interception. He threw three touchdowns against an overmatched Louisiana Tech squad in the season opener while completing 62% of his passes.
Overall Stone has shown flashes and his confidence should be high after throwing five touchdowns against Prairie View in a tune-up game.
Friend turned foe
Another reason this year’s game could be more intense is the fact that the Mustangs poached two Horned Frogs from the transfer portal in the off-season. One was Kyron Chambers, a defensive back who was third on the depth chart in Fort Worth and still trying to crack the two deep in Highland Park.
The other one was more significant with Jordan Hudson joining Chambers in joining the crosstown rivals. Hudson was rated a five-star recruit by one recruiting service and had a solid freshman season with 174 yards and three touchdowns. Hudson got first-team reps all spring practice, but didn’t make the leap the staff expected in the new offense.
Multiple sources say that SMU aggressively went after Hudson with a lucrative name, image and likeness package. That went over well on social media as you can imagine. Hudson is second on the team in yards and tied for first in touchdowns, but most of his damage came off one 67-yard catch against Louisiana Tech. Hudson didn’t record a stat against Oklahoma. How much of a factor will he be on Saturday?
Beef up front
The defensive line of SMU appears to be the early strength of the team. Super senior Elijah Chatman returns for another year and is widely viewed as one of the best linemen in the American. At 6-foot, 280 pounds Chatman is a ball of muscle and probably the strongest on the roster.
While Chatman causes havoc in the interior it’s allowed some of the Mustangs’ edge rushers to make plays like Elijah Roberts who leads the team with three sacks and Nelson Paul who’s tied for the second most on the roster with two.
TCU’s offensive line has held up well so far, but SMU may have the best defensive line the Horned Frogs have seen so far.
Oklahoma data
Games against Louisiana Tech and Prairie View don’t tell us much about SMU, but the Mustangs’ defeat in Norman was enlightening from the TCU perspective. But Oklahoma and TCU obviously play in the same conference, but both also are replacing stars at the skill position and hoped for improvement on defense.
Oklahoma held SMU to just 11 points as the Mustangs turned the ball over twice. The Sooners held SMU to just 3.4 yards per carry while they rushed for 189 yards on 47 carries. The Mustangs do deserve credit for slowing down the Oklahoma passing attack as Dillon Gabriel was held to a modest 176 passing yards.
The counterpoint to that is the fact he threw four touchdowns and no interceptions. The Mustangs wanted to take away the deep ball and the experienced Gabriel was more than comfortable taking what the defense gave him. The biggest difference in that one was how awful SMU was on third down. The Mustangs only converted 25% of their third down attempts and went two for four on fourth down. TCU’s third down defense will be the key in this one.
