College football is losing receipts. The Iron Skillet is next casualty

The 103rd Battle for the Iron Skillet could be the second-to-last in a rivalry that dates back to 1915, when a TCU squad led by Ewing Y. Freeland beat SMU and head coach Ray Morrison, 43-0, in Fort Worth. The only four intrastate rivalries from Texas to play more often than SMU and TCU are TCU-Baylor (119), Texas-Texas A&M (118), Texas-Baylor (113), and A&M-Baylor (108).   

Notice a theme? The Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry was relegated to social media and baseball coaching dramas. The “Battle of the Brazos” between the Aggies and Baylor ended when Texas A&M joined the SEC over a decade ago. The Texas-Baylor rivalry likely ended on the gridiron when the Longhorns made the same jump in 2024. This carnage isn’t reserved for the FBS level – SFA and Sam Houston played 96 times before the Bearkats’ jump to Conference USA ended the “Battle of the Piney Woods.”