TCU’s Sonny Dykes takes jabs at refs, SMU after beating former school again

By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Sports Writer

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU coach Sonny Dykes had already ripped the officials with unsolicited comments when he was asked about the rivalry with his former school, SMU, being one step closer to a pause.

“Hooray,” a smirking Dykes deadpanned without elaborating as another reporter started asking an unrelated question.

Dykes led the Horned Frogs to the national championship game last season. TCU and SMU are not scheduled to play each other after 2025.

Dykes had a bit of an edge after pushing his personal winning streak to four games in the “Iron Skillet” series matching the Dallas-Fort Worth rivals with TCU’s 34-17 victory at home Saturday.

The first two were when he coached the Mustangs — both in Fort Worth, despite SMU having just one victory in the previous 11 meetings.

The next was in Dykes’ return to Dallas last year, a 42-34 victory that Dykes said he was happy to have behind him.

The Frogs pulled away after halftime Saturday in the 102nd meeting.

TCU officials have said little publicly beyond confirming an August report that they weren’t continuing the series beyond 2025.

SMU coach Rhett Lashlee responded by saying he didn’t understand why the schools wouldn’t keep playing, and his school issued a statement expressing disappointment over the move.

Since then, the Mustangs have accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference next year, which will put the current American Athletic Conference team in a Power Five league alongside the Big 12’s Frogs.

TCU played in its conference title game last year before making the College Football Playoff, beating Michigan in the semifinals and getting blown out by Georgia in the title game.

Dykes’ one-word answer, which didn’t do much for the idea of the series continuing beyond 2025 as long as he is the coach, came a few minutes after the coach probably earned a fine for criticizing the refs.

In the final minute of a game that was already decided, TCU’s Damonic Williams appeared to sack SMU’s Preston Stone in the end zone for a safety. Instead, the AAC officiating crew ruled Stone down at the 1-yard line.

“He was in the end zone, wasn’t he?” Dykes said after the game. “Since I’ve been coaching, I thought that was one of the biggest BS calls that I’ve seen in my life. That was an American (Athletic Conference) crew, and those guys out to be ashamed of themselves.”

Dykes even downplayed the significance of another win over SMU when asked how it might affect recruiting with the Mustangs poised to join the Power Five.

“We haven’t recruited much against SMU in the past,” Dykes said. “My guess is we will more in the future, but it hasn’t been something that we’ve done that much in the past.”

After a pause, Dykes added, “Probably just look at the history, you know what I’m saying? There’s a difference.”

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