Dear Opponent: SMU

Each week, we send a letter to that week’s opponent, just to let them know we are thinking about them before the game. This week, the TCU Horned Frogs will host the SMU Mustangs on Saturday at 11 a.m.

© Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Dear Mustangs Fans,

Welcome to The Fort!

It’s been a couple of years since you made the journey across the Metroplex. Don’t let the excitement of getting off the Hilltop cloud your memory and BRING THE IRON SKILLET back to where it belongs! You’ve had it an extra year but, in reality, it wasn’t “yours” for that extra year. It was just stored in University Park as you barely earned it for one year, much less two!

The last time you came to The Carter was tough. We understand that to you Ponies, the game against TCU each year is when you get dressed up in your Ralph Lauren Polos, Sperry’s loafers, and head out to your “Super Bowl.” You came in sporting those sharp “Dallas” unis, and you played as if it was the only game that mattered, and it showed. Last time, we both had new quarterbacks, but to be fair, Shane Buechele had been at Texas for two years and brought along some game experience. Our starting QB, Max Duggan, was a true freshman from Iowa making his first collegiate start. Max had a decent game that day, but I bet you were shaking in those Sperry’s loafers when he threw his third TD pass of the 4th Quarter late in the game. He just didn’t have enough for that 4th down pass with under a minute remaining. If only we’d gone for a field goal for the tie, we know Max would have pulled through for us in OT. Oh well, that was yesterday, and yesterday’s gone, as the song goes.

We had not lost the Iron Skillet for seven years until that day. Each of those years, we earned it. The Ponies were like that annoying little brother who just kept showing up year after year, trying to get another little piece of the pie. Finally, it worked. But we were not worried because we knew we’d get the prized skillet back the next year. Then came the pandemic, and we didn’t even know if we’d play football, and, if so, would we get any non-conference games? Finally, it was decided, and we got one – you. And the skillet was all but back in our possession until Covid cancelled it, and you got to hold on to the skillet one more, unearned year.

Let’s talk about the difference in having the Iron Skillet reside in Fort Worth, and not Dallas. In The Fort, it’s all about western comfort food, after all, we are where the West begins. In our kitchens, the iron skillet is used as it was intended, all the way from the chuck wagon days to today’s kitchen – chicken fried steak, fried chicken, jalapeno cornbread, Cowboy Hash, biscuits, and even grandma’s famous peach cobblers.

In the Park Cities, we’re convinced you used the skillet for brioche French toast, Wagyu beef, escargot (oh, the thought!), and even used it to make your highfalutin’ gluten-free desserts. Ugh! Heck, with that Cox School of Business education of yours, you’re probably thinking about using the skillet to fry up some sushi.

Frogs fans know how to use an Iron Skillet. Shane Buechele has finally left the Hilltop. And, yes, you have once again started the season 3-0. Sure, your new QB looks promising, but do you know for sure? Our Duggan, or Max Thuggan as we sometimes call him, is no longer a freshman and grown into a QB who’s going to take us places. And now he has the extra help of beasts like Zach Evans and Quentin Johnston to help him.

So, Mustangs fans, we hope you enjoyed the skillet, but it’s time to clean it up, season it properly the way an iron skillet is supposed to be, pack it in the Range Rover, and bring it home to The Fort. We will see you – and the skillet – on Saturday at The Carter.

Go Frogs!

KillerFrogs.com