About this column: Midnite Madness is Tom Burke’s opinion column on TCU football and the Big 12.

Former TCU head football coach Dennis Franchione died on October 6, at the age of 75.

During pregame ceremonies of the Horned Frogs’ October 24 homecoming football game against West Virginia, Franchione’s life was memorialized, with recognition of his role in the rebirth of TCU football by leading the Frogs to a 28-19 victory over USC in the 1998 Sun Bowl, in El Paso, Texas.

Unfortunately, the 2026 edition of TCU football couldn’t continue the rebirth of its season against the Mountaineers. The Horned Frogs climaxed an embarrassing week for Texas Christian University with a head-shaking 24-20 upset loss to Big 12 foe West Virginia, before a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon crowd of 36,216 in Amon G. Carter Stadium on the TCU campus in Fort Worth, Texas.…