Battle of the Iron Skillet will be in Dallas

The battle of the Iron Skillet will occur under the Friday Night Lights when TCU visits SMU at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 on ESPN.

TCU (2-1, 1-0) leads the series 48-40-7 and captured 14 of the last 16 games. Coach Gary Patterson is 12-2 against the Mustangs (2-1), including last season’s 56-37 win. At one point, however, SMU scored 20 unanswered to pull within 42-37.

Patterson said SMU coach Chad Morris is doing a fine job with the Mustangs.

“It’s always a big game,” he said. “It is a cross-town rival and always very intense.”

Though the Mustangs have wins over North Texas and Liberty this season, it was the first half of the loss to Baylor 40-13 that have people talking. The two teams were tied 6-6 at intermission.

SMU quarterback Ben Hicks completed 41 of 85 passes for 583 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. Braeden West has 52 rushes for 332 yards and two touchdowns, and receiver Courtland Sutton has 13 catches for 336 yards and four touchdowns. The Mustangs rank third overall in the American Conference in total offense by averaging 491 yards a game.

Patterson noted that as well as the Mustangs are playing offensively, the defense has been equally impressive. They rank second in defensive efficiency and interceptions with nine in the American Conference.

“They have a lot of takeaways,” Patterson said. “Anytime you do that, you’re going to give yourself a chance to play a lot better football.”

Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs haven’t played poorly themselves. Minus an overtime loss to Arkansas, TCU would be undefeated. The Horned Frogs rank second in the Big 12 in total offense with 572 yards per game and scoring offense with 46 points per contest. Quarterback Kenny Hill is first in scoring and second in total offense and passing average at 345 yards. KaVontae Turpin leads the league in kick returns with 33 yards per game.

As for what happened last year, Patterson blamed himself, noting he called for tough practices leading up to the game so the Horned Frogs were tired in the fourth quarter.

“We aren’t going to do that this week,” he said. “I’m going to make sure we are not a tired football team.”