Saturday marks the 99th Battle for the Iron Skillet, a rivalry defined by NCAA penalties, conference realignment and wild win streaks.
To wit — before the SMU death penalty in 1988, the Mustangs won 15 games in a row from 1972-1986. Since then, TCU has won all but six games in the rivalry, and the Frogs have claimed 17 of the last 19 games.
This isn’t meant to denigrate SMU at all, or to argue that the rivalry is an antiquated event, but TCU should win this game every year. And yet, the Mustangs have found a way to make it weird almost every time, from a rain-soaked 42-12 game in 2018 to a 56-37 points-y explosion in 2015.