TCU Coach Sonny Dykes Ejected vs. SMU After Two Unsportsmanlike Conduct Penalties

The Horned Frogs boss had a bad time against his old team.
Aug 30, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Sonny Dykes reacts after a call during the second half against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium.
Aug 30, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Sonny Dykes reacts after a call during the second half against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Two years ago, TCU coach Sonny Dykes steered his team to an unbeaten regular season, an extraordinary Fiesta Bowl win over Michigan, and a trip to the national championship against Georgia.

How fast things can go south in the game of college football.

On Saturday, the Horned Frogs fell down 41–21 to rival SMU at halftime of the battle for the Iron Skillet. TCU appeared to run back the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but a penalty negated the return.

Incensed by that development, Dykes—who coached the Mustangs from 2017 to '21—incurred back-to-back unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and was thrown out of the game. The CW captured footage of Dykes being escorted off the field.

Incredibly, the Horned Frogs shrugged off Dykes's ejection and scored on their first drive of the half—via a 46-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Josh Hoover to wide receiver Jack Bech.

The punishment concluded a heated week of Iron Skillet-related rhetoric in which Dallas's mayor donned a "TCU sucks" shirt and TCU made fun of the ACC's TV deal with The CW.


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Patrick Andres

PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .