FORT WORTH -- Eric McAlister had two touchdowns stripped right from his hands Saturday -- one literally and one from the replay booth.

The TCU wide receiver nearly put TCU up 11 points midway through the second quarter when quarterback Josh Hoover found him in the end zone, but SMU defensive back Jaelyn Davis-Robinson ripped the ball away.

"I just knew that plays like that turn the game," McAlister said postgame. "I told myself I wasn't going to allow that to happen again."

In the third quarter, he made a 30-yard grab and scored, but the touchdown was taken off the board. He was ruled out at the 1-yard line, and Sonny Dykes said postgame he was told it was reviewed and the call on the field was upheld -- even though that call was incorrect.

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"That was in," he said. "Two feet."

That's how good of a day McAlister had in TCU's 35-24 win over SMU. Two touchdowns stripped away, and he still finished with a career-high three.

The Horned Frogs receiver had a career-high in every category -- catches, yards and scores. He finished with eight receptions for 254 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the final 10 minutes of play to lift TCU to victory in the finale of the Iron Skillet rivalry. He averaged over 31 yards per catch.

"He just took over," Dykes said postgame. "The guy just took over the game. That's what great players do."

McAlister's 254 yards were the second-most receiving yards in TCU history, falling just 13 yards shy of Josh Doctson's record-holding performance in 2015.

It's difficult to pick just one moment that stood out from his game Saturday. McAlister broke free for a 70-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter just after SMU had taken its first lead of the game. He hauled in a disrupted throw by Hoover that went straight up into the air with half a dozen SMU defenders nearby to keep a TCU drive alive.

His performance didn't come as much of a surprise to Dykes.

"Eric was kind of quiet the first two ball games. We kind of had talked about that through the week. We kind of felt that this was his kind of game," Dykes said.

McAlister transferred to TCU from Boise State ahead of last season. He was a part of a TCU offense that finished eighth in the country last season in yards per game, largely led by a quartet of wideouts, who all posted over 600 yards receiving.

But when three of those receivers departed for the NFL, McAlister's role became even more important.

In TCU's first two games of the year, he totaled just five catches for 66 yards. Idaho transfer Jordan Dwyer had a 136-yard day against UNC. Then, Houston transfer had a 114-yard game against Abilene Christian.

Saturday was McAlister's turn.

TCU's wide receiver depth has shown through nonconference play. Now, its star wide receiver has gotten in on the action.

"He was due," Dykes said. "He's been practicing his tail off. Great players make great plays in big games, and that's what he did."

Photos: TCU hoists Iron Skillet for final time, celebrates win over SMU 43 imagesView GalleryAdvertisementRelated StoriesView MoreSMU left with narrow path back to College Football Playoff after loss to TCUTCU-SMU history: See the all-time results in century-long Iron Skillet rivalry

Find more TCU coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

TCU WR Eric McAlister posts career day vs. SMU -- even after being robbed of two TDs