Game 3: at SMU Mustangs

SEPT. 24 | GERALD J. FORD STADIUM (32,000) | DALLAS, TX | 11:00 AM

TV: ESPNU
Talent: John Schriffen, Rene Ingoglia
Radio: WBAP 820 AM, Sirius XM 99, SXM App 968
Talent: Brian Estridge, John Denton, Landry Burdine
Spanish Radio: Zona MX 99.1 FM
Talent: Miguel Cruz, Elvis Gallegos

GAME NOTES

ABOUT THE GAME

• TCU is the only undefeated FBS program, out of 12, in the state of Texas.
• The Horned Frogs are ninth in the nation in scoring offense (48.5 points per game) and total offense (521.5 yards per game). Defensively, TCU is the nation’s fourth-most improved team in scoring defense (-19.9 points per game) from last season while ranking sixth for most improved in total defense (-140.3 yards per game).
• The Horned Frogs and Mustangs will be meeting for the 101st time in their history.
• TCU is playing at SMU for the first time since 2018. The Horned Frogs have won their last six games at Ford Stadium.
• Sonny Dykes is the first TCU head football coach to win his opening two games since Dutch Meyer in 1934. Dykes is the 11th Horned Frogs coach since Meyer, who led TCU to national championships in 1935 and 1938.
• A victory over SMU would make Dykes the first head football coach at TCU to win his opening three games since Francis Schmidt in 1929.
• TCU is looking for its first 3-0 start to a season since 2017, when Dykes was an offensive analyst for the Horned Frogs.

MEET THE NEW BOSS

• Sonny Dykes is in his first season as head coach of the Horned Frogs and second overall at TCU.
• Dykes was an offensive analyst on the 2017 TCU team that posted an 11-3 record, played in the Big 12 Championship Game and finished the season with a No. 9 national ranking, its last top-10 appearance.
• Dykes was head coach at SMU the past four seasons (2018-21). He led the Mustangs to three consecutive winning records for the first time since 1980-86 and their first back-to-back victories over TCU since 1992-93.
• Dykes also served as head football coach at Cal (2013-16) and Louisiana Tech (2010-12).
• He is the son of legendary Texas Tech Head Football Coach Spike Dykes. Spike coached the Red Raiders from 1986-99.•Sonny Dykes lettered two seasons in baseball at Texas Tech.

FAMILIAR FACE

• TCU starting center Alan Ali played the previous five seasons at SMU and started 39 games across all five offensive line positions.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Horned Frogs hold a 51-42-7 edge over the Mustangs in a series that began with a 43-0 TCU win in Fort Worth in 1915.
• TCU has won 11 of the last 14 games against SMU and 17 of the past 21.
• The Horned Frogs are 23-22-2 versus the Mustangs in Dallas and 28-20-5 in Fort Worth.
• SMU is TCU’s second-most played series. The Horned Frogs’ 100 meetings with the Mustangs trail only Baylor (117).
• With the exception of four years, TCU and SMU have played every season since 1925. In two of those seasons (1987-88), the Mustangs did not field a team.

TCU NOTABLES

• Quarterback Max Duggan ranks No. 1 in the nation in passing efficiency (239.2 rating) and completion percentage (78.1). Duggan has completed 25-of-32 attempts on the season for 417 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions.
• Jordy Sandy is donating $20 to Fort Worth’s Hope Center for Autism for every punt inside the 20-yard line. Sandy has a 9-year-old cousin with autism back home in Australia. He has totaled $60 with three punts inside the 20 this season.

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