The battle for the Iron Skillet between TCU and SMU was slated to take place on Friday, Sept. 11 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. That rivalry game will have to wait ... if it's even played at all.
TCU announced on Friday that the game has been postponed and the program has paused workouts after an undisclosed number of student-athletes and support staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
"No one is currently facing serious health issues, and we intend to continue our enforcement of strict standards to protect the program and our community," athletic director Jeremiah Donati said. "Everyone's health and safety remains our top priority. We share in your disappointment, but firmly believe we will be ready to resume football activities soon. We will continue to follow prevention and testing protocols and look forward to our Big 12 Conference opener against Iowa State on Sept. 26."
The game is off for now, but the two sides are going to work together to find a way for the rivalry game to be played. The two teams do not share a common bye week and SMU managed to put together a 12-game schedule on the fly despite multiple conferences postponing football this fall.
"We are disappointed to announce that our upcoming football game against SMU will not be played as scheduled on Sept. 11," Donati said. "We have agreed with SMU to monitor dates throughout the season to potentially make up the game."
SMU is slated to kick its season off on the road on Saturday against Texas State. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. ET.
