All-Conference USA Senior running back Zach Line runs against TCU in SMU’s 40-33 wons last season. (Michael Danser/The Daily Campus)
It’s time for the Battle for the Iron Skillet. SMU vs TCU kicks off at 6 p.m. at Ford Stadium as the main attraction for Family Weekend and another chapter in the storied rivalry between the longtime rivals.
“It’s a good old rivalry that is 100 years old,” SMU Head Coach June Jones said.
“It doesn’t take much for us to get up for this one and it doesn’t take much for them to either.”
Jones’ team has stumbled out of the gate, losing big to Baylor and Texas A&M, and even looked sloppy on offense in a 52-0 win over Stephen F. Austin that saw the SMU defense surrender over 500 yards to the Lumberjacks.
“[The] Kids are practicing hard and we’ve had the extra week so we’re getting healthy so it’s all good,” Jones said Wednesday about how the team feels this week.
SMU will have to stop a potent TCU attack that features quarterback Casey Pachall, who leads the nation in passer rating at 209.9 and was picked off for the first time this season last week against Virginia.
Pachall will have plenty of weapons to throw to in senior receiver Josh Boyce and sophomore Brandon Carter.
Boyce set a school record with his 18th career touchdown reception last week. Carter is just as dangerous after having a highlight reel catch against the Cavaliers.
“They do a real good job of playing their scheme, but we’ll play what we play and hopefully we can knock the ball out and force some turnovers because the momentum of the game is going to change with TCU on special teams and defense,” Jones said.
TCU has won 10 out of the past 11 meetings against SMU, but SMU did knock off TCU last year in Fort Worth and TCU has gone on a tear since then.
TCU has won 12 straight games since the loss to SMU. During its 12-game winning streak, the Horned Frogs defeated opponents by an average of 24.7 points per game.
SMU must be able to match TCU’s offensive output with its first good showing on offense this season.
The SMU offense has struggled even with All-Conference USA running back Zach Line back for his senior season. Line is averaging just under 100 yards a game, but a majority of that yardage has come against the backups of the three teams SMU has faced.
One reason for Line’s struggles could be due to non-existant passing game in the first three games.
Quarterback Garrett Gilbert has not been able to get into a groove that many people have expected of him.
While Gilbert has looked off while he gets the hang of this new offense, the receivers have not helped much either. SMU’s leading receiver is junior Keenan Holman only has 13 catches for 156 yards and one touchdown.
One player that may see more playing time is freshman Gehrig Dieter, who caught a touchdown against Baylor and has made some plays when he has gotten playing time and has plenty of size to bring to the field at around 6-foot-3-inches.
SMU has to have its first complete as a team this season to stop this TCU attack like it did last year, but that could be a stretch to do against the No.15 Horned Frogs. SMU may have to grind one out on the ground if Gilbert struggles again to keep the ball away from Pachall and that potent TCU offense.
Prediction: TCU-24-21
