Watch: TCU head coach ejected in rivalry game loss to former team

Already down by 20 at that point, things did not get better for TCU. The coach-less Horned Frogs managed to fight back with three touchdowns the rest of the game but ultimately fell 66-42, handing the Iron Skillet trophy back to SMU — Dykes' former team — for the first time since 2021.

Dykes led the Mustangs from 2018-21 before leaving for their rivals in Fort Worth, Texas — returning to the program where he was an offensive assistant in 2017.

The third-year head coach has an 18-11 record with TCU but is only 5-9 against FBS opponents since appearing in the 2023 national championship game, a 65-7 drubbing by Georgia.

Saturday's loss felt like rock bottom for the Horned Frogs since the beginning of their tumble from the peak of college football, starting with the Bulldogs' mauling last January.

Dykes was seen fraternizing with the enemy on his way off the field after being ejected, fist pumping to hype up SMU fans in the crowd.

Dykes is still under contract through 2028 but it's yet to be seen if he'll be around to avenge his behavior in the final "Iron Skillet Game" next season, especially if TCU can't turn its poor form around the remainder of this season.

TCU, a member of the Big 12, decided in 2023 to put its rivalry game with SMU, now a member of the ACC, on pause indefinitely after 2025 which would make 2026 the first year since 2020 and only the eighth all-time that the Iron Skillet trophy will not be vied for.