5 potential new rivals for SMU after the end of Iron Skillet vs. TCU

Saturday’s contest between SMU and TCU will be the last time the Iron Skillet Rivalry takes place at Ford Stadium for the foreseeable future.

Since TCU has decided to suspend the rivalry after the 2025 meeting, SMU will no longer have a rival guaranteed to be on their schedule every year.

SMU athletic department leadership says the program is moving forward and discussions have begun with other non-conference programs for home-and-home series in future years.

And with the move to the ACC, some new conference rivalries could emerge.

Here are five teams that could become SMU’s biggest rivals:

Baylor

They say, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” and although SMU and Baylor have shared TCU as their biggest rival for years, the two schools have their own history.

The rivalry dates back to 1916 and has been fairly even over the last century, with Baylor leading 39-36-7. The Mustangs once dominated before Baylor won the last 13 meetings, most recently in 2016.

Scheduling seems to be the biggest obstacle for non-conference rivals in college football right now, and that won’t be a problem for SMU and Baylor, as the two teams have a home-and-away non-conference series scheduled for 2025 and 2026.

North Texas

The North Texas rivalry may be too one-sided for the Mustangs, but for SMU, it’s the best chance to have an annual meeting between D-FW teams on the schedule.

The two teams were conference rivals for just one season in the AAC, but have met 43 times in the Safeway Bowl since 1922. SMU leads the series 36-6-1 after winning last year’s game 48-10.

Given the ACC’s chaotic travel schedule, it wouldn’t hurt the Mustangs to have a game closer to home each year, and both programs have expressed openness to discussions about future meetings.

Boston College

Not all rivalries in college football have to be based on geography. A new conference offers SMU the chance to find a new rival within the ACC.

Boston College could be a good choice, especially after last season’s Fenway Bowl loss, which has already left the Mustangs wanting revenge.

The two teams will meet again on November 16 at Ford Stadium – and a close game could create further tension that will continue into the coming seasons.

The Boston College-Notre Dame rivalry is also not played regularly and has no impact on the ACC standings, so the Eagles could use another higher-stakes rivalry game.

California/Stanford

SMU joined the ACC the same year as two other programs and will face both in its first season in the conference.

Cal, Stanford and SMU are the three schools farthest from the Atlantic coast — and newcomers to the conference — and will be competing this year to be the best freshman and prove they belong. A rivalry could arise from those circumstances.

Cal and Stanford have had their own rivalry since their days in the Pac-12, but there’s no reason why their annual games against SMU couldn’t carry a little more weight, too.

Louisville

The former conference rivals of the AAC are now reunited in the ACC.

The Louisville-SMU collaboration overlapped for one season in 2013 before the Cardinals joined the ACC a decade before the Mustangs.

While the two teams face off in football – and No. 19 Louisville is the favorite – the rivalry in basketball could be bigger.

Louisville won the two meetings between the teams in the 2013–14 season – both tough battles – and went on to reach the round of 16 of the NCAA tournament.

Louisville also has no real rival in the conference. After a couple of bad years, Louisville is a more manageable opponent for Andy Enfield’s team than Duke, UNC and others on the challenging ACC slate.

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