4 takeaways from TCU’s victory over SMU in final Battle for the Iron Skillet
It was fitting that the final Battle for the Iron Skillet may have been the best of them all, as TCU rallied in the fourth quarter for a 35-24 victory in a thriller with its crosstown rival SMU.
“Good, hard-fought win, I’m proud of players,” head coach Sonny Dykes said. “They played hard, it’s hot. We talked all week about the need to be disciplined, sometimes there’s a lot of chirpin’, I thought our guys were really focused on playing football and doing their job.”
There were big-time throws from two of the best quarterbacks in the country, amazing highlights from receivers and plenty of controversy that will have both fan bases talking.
After SMU took a 24-21 lead — its only one of the game — with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter, TCU star wide receiver Eric McAlister put the game away with two touchdowns. The Mustangs’ lead lasted about a minute as McAlister stiff-armed a defender and raced 70 yards for a touchdown to put TCU ahead 28-24 with 9:18 left.
McAlister’s next score came after the defense forced a stop. Facing a third-and-four, the Mustangs tried to single-cover McAlister, and he made them pay with a 44-yard touchdown on a slant to make it 35-24 with 6:03 remaining.
McAlister caught eight passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns.
“It’s a big moment. I blocked my [expletive] the first game, the same thing the second game,” McAlister said. “Then I finally went off the third game. It shows if you keep doing your job, keep doing what you’re doing for the team, and it’ll pay off.”
Jamel Johnson sealed the game with an interception with 4:10 remaining.
Here are four takeaways from the Horned Frogs’ victory:
Heavyweight QB battle
TCU quarterback Josh Hoover and SMU counterpart Kevin Jennings were impressive throughout, showcasing how their skill sets are more similar than people may have thought.
Both quarterbacks were elite at avoiding pressure and finding receivers downfield once they escaped the pocket. Hoover’s first touchdown came on a third-and-17 when he eluded a defender, rolled to his right and hit McAlister for a 27-yard touchdown.
Jennings had a similar play in the second quarter with TCU leading 14-3. Facing a third-and-6, Jennings somehow avoided multiple blitzers and a shoestring tackle attempt by Kylin Jackson for a 9-yard touchdown to Matthew Hibner to cut TCU’s lead to 14-10 with 7:21 remaining in the half.
After duking it out in the first half, both quarterbacks cooled off in the second as the defenses began to take over. SMU’s front four sacked Hoover twice, the first sacks allowed by the Horned Frogs’ offensive line, while TCU used its exotic blitz packages to keep Jennings in the pocket.
Hoover did throw his third touchdown of the game when he hit Joseph Manjack on a whip route, and the transfer receiver fought off multiple Mustangs for the 4-yard score to move TCU ahead 21-10 with 10:50 left in the third quarter.
Jennings answered Hoover with two touchdowns in the second half, including a 34-yard strike to former Horned Frog receiver Jordan Hudson to make it 24-21. Just as things looked bleak, Hoover threw two more touchdowns to his favorite target, McAlister, with the game hanging in the balance.
Hoover ended up completing 22 of 40 passes for 379 yards and five touchdowns with an interception. Despite the impressive stat line, Hoover knows he can play much better.
“For me going forward I’ve got to be a little bit better with giving guys opportunities and getting on the same page,” Hoover said. “We left some plays out there, and that’s the chase, right? Trying to bridge that gap and get better as an offense.”
Jennings completed 24 of 38 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions, both coming on late desperate drives.
“You’ve got to give Jennings credit,” Dykes said. “There were many times we had people in his face and he threw a couple of passes where we had them covered, and they had guys make plays.”
Life without Kevorian Barnes
The Horned Frogs were forced to play without leading rusher Kevorian Barnes against the Mustangs after Barnes was injured in the first half of TCU’s win over Abilene Christian on Sept. 13.
Despite not having the power back available, the Horned Frogs’ offense didn’t see a major drop in production, as the offense leaned on Jeremy Payne, Trent Battle and some key scrambles from Hoover to maintain balance offensively.
Payne’s first carry resulted in a 22-yard gain, and he also made an impact as a receiver with a 10-yard touchdown in the second quarter after he got wide open on a wheel route. TCU’s rushing attack wasn’t as productive in the second half, but the Horned Frogs did enough on the ground while short-handed.
“I thought we were effective running the ball,” Dykes said. “I know at halftime we were averaging five yards per carry. Now I imagine it wasn’t as much in the second half because we had a couple of sacks that hurt our run average. I thought we played physical up front.”
Defense stands up
After a lackluster finish against Abilene Christian, TCU’s defense knew it would have a major test against SMU. The first half was frustrating but solid enough, as the Horned Frogs held SMU to 10 points. TCU’s defense was excellent on first and second downs, regularly forcing the Mustangs into third-and-long.
The problem was Jennings’ slipperiness, as he constantly used his legs to avoid TCU’s pass rush. He converted multiple third downs by escaping the pocket and finding his receivers downfield. TCU’s initial coverage was often good, but it’s difficult to cover receivers as talented as SMU’s for that long.
The Horned Frogs did a better job in the second half of keeping Jennings in the pocket, thanks in large part to a hard hit from linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr on a sack that briefly knocked Jennings out of the game. Jackson was another player who was effective in making life hard for Jennings in the second half.
“They were big. Both of those guys can run,” Dykes said. “When you have a spy on Jennings it has to be actually somebody that can contain him or tackle him if they need to. Those two guys are athletic enough to do it. I thought the game plan was really good. We made him earn it most of the game.”
Jennings still had success in the pocket with a number of high level throws, but Elarms-Orr would end up being the key to slowing Jennings down as TCU used him more as a blitzer. He had another rush on Jennings in the fourth quarter that forced him to make an errant throw on what could’ve been a touchdown.
“It feels good. I feel like we’re heading in the right direction as a defense,” Elarms-Orr said. “I feel like we still aren’t at our best. You guys saw some some great defensive performances, but we’ve still got to get better.”
Overcoming internal mistakes
The Horned Frogs’ biggest obstacle against the Mustangs outside of Jennings was actually themselves. TCU committed a number of critical mistakes that stopped it from fully taking control.
The first major mistake came with less than three minutes remaining in the first half. TCU was driving with a chance to go up 17-10 or 21-10 while also getting the ball first after halftime.
However, after getting to the SMU 17, Hoover was intercepted on a fade route to McAlister, who let the defender rip away the ball from him in the end zone. It didn’t result in points for SMU, but it kept the TCU offense stagnant, failing to score on its next two drives.
Another mistake came in the third quarter after the Horned Frogs forced a three-and-out thanks to two nice plays by Max Carroll. However, the young linebacker was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the sideline, which kept SMU’s drive alive. Jennings made TCU pay with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Yamir Knight that cut it to 21-17 with 5:54 remaining in the third.
The next critical mistake was a combination of TCU’s inefficiency and a questionable decision by the officiating crew.
After getting to the SMU 25, TCU was flagged for a false start, and then Hoover couldn’t connect with Jordan Dwyer on what would’ve been a first down. On third down, Hoover made what would’ve been throw of the day to McAlister for a touchdown, but it was ruled incomplete on the field.
Multiple replay angles showed McAlister potentially got a foot down inbounds, but the call on the field stood after an expedited review, to the crowd’s dismay. TCU missed a 47-yard field goal after the questionable sequence.
This story was originally published September 20, 2025 at 2:31 PM.
