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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. ESPN2 televised the game.
Midnite Madness had predicted a 20-14 West Virginia victory.
On October 22, TCU Chancellor Daniel Pullin resigned less than 17 months into his tenure. His resignation added an unexpected leadership shakeup to an already disappointing homecoming week. The return of the highly popular Victor Boschini Jr., who previously led TCU for 22 years, was welcome news. Unfortunately, the football team offered little reason to celebrate.
In fact, not too many Horned Frogs fans in attendance at the game were impressed with TCU’s performance. During the last 12 minutes or so of the game, a continuous chorus of booming boos rained down upon the Frogs’ inept offense and in response to some questionable offensive play-calling.
TCU came into its home game against West Virginia favored by as much as 11 points and riding a one-game winning streak. The Frogs had upset Baylor 17-6 in Waco, Texas, on Saturday, October 17. But TCU now has lost three of its last four games, with all of them being Big 12 contests.
With the loss to the Mountaineers, TCU dropped to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12 Conference. The Frogs, who during the preseason were optimistic about contending for the 2026 Big 12 championship, are among the teams tied at 1-3 in conference play, ahead of winless Colorado.
The one-score loss to West Virginia was TCU’s fourth one-score loss of the season. The three previous one-score losses were: 15-10 to North Carolina, in Dublin, Ireland; 21-13 to UCF in Orlando, Florida; and 17-10 to BYU in Fort Worth.
TCU has beaten only one Power 4 Conference team this season, that being Baylor. TCU’s other two wins came against Grambling State University of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and Arkansas State of the Sun Belt Conference.
“I think the biggest thing for us right now is just an inability to be able to finish on offense,” claimed Dykes. “It’s just a matter of not being able to make plays in critical situations, and it’s happened to us over and over and over again this year. Yeah, that’s disappointing.
“I give West Virginia ton of credit, but we beat ourselves. And we’ve done that numerous times this year.”
One of the ways TCU has been beating itself is its offensive line giving up sacks in critical situations. The Frogs have allowed 15 sacks in their last four games and 20 sacks through seven games, just two fewer than all of last season.
After the West Virginia loss, during which TCU gave up three sacks, including a sack that sealed the Frogs’ fate on their final drive of the game, TCU parted ways with offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator A.J. Ricker.
Ricker arrived at TCU in December 2021 as part of Dykes’ new coaching staff. Before TCU, Ricker coached the offensive line under Dykes at SMU, adding co-offensive coordinator responsibilities in 2020.
Offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis and assistant offensive line coach Ryan Swingle are expected to oversee TCU’s offensive linemen for the remainder of the 2026 season.
With the win over TCU, West Virginia snapped a one-game losing streak to the Horned Frogs, who defeated the Mountaineers 23-17 during the 2025 season. West Virginia improved its 2026 record to 5-3 overall, 2-3 in the Big 12.
West Virginia has won six of the past eight games against TCU, who together were granted entry into the Big 12 in 2012. The Mountaineers lead the series with TCU, 9-6. All but one meeting has come during Big 12 Conference play. That was a 31-14 Mountaineers' win in the 1984 Bluebonnet Bowl, at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
“I am really proud of our guys,” said West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez. “We didn’t really play great, but we played with a little bit of grit. The offense and defense battled through it. TCU moved the ball, but turnovers were big. Any win is a big win and a win on the road is especially big. I’m happy for our guys.”
Utah leads the Big 12 with a 4-0 conference record. Arizona, BYU, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State are tied for second with 3-1 conference records.
TCU, Baylor and Texas A&M are the only Power 4 Conference teams in Texas that are not ranked in this week’s Associated Press top 25 poll or the Coaches top 25 poll.
Big 12 teams included in the AP Top 25 following the October 24 games are Utah, sixth; BYU, eighth; Texas Tech, 13th; Houston, 18th; Arizona, 22nd; and Oklahoma State, 24th. Cincinnati received votes but is outside the Top 25.
Miami is ranked first. Texas is ranked 11th and SMU is ranked 19th.
Against West Virginia, TCU scored in its 427th consecutive game, which is the second-longest streak in NCAA History.
Late in the first quarter against the Mountaineers, TCU's first scoring drive of the game consisted of 16 plays and 91 yards in just over nine minutes. It was the Frogs’ longest touchdown drive of the year by both plays and duration. It gave TCU a 7-3 lead.
TCU’s offense produced plenty of yardage against the Mountaineers, totaling 484 yards (372 passing yards and 112 net rushing yards) and 29 first downs, while possessing the football for nearly 38 minutes of the game’s 60 minutes.
Unfortunately, the offense squandered opportunities and couldn’t convert production into enough scoring to defeat the Mountaineers, whose defense had been allowing an average of 45 points per game in Big 12 play.
As has happened so many times during this frustrating and disappointing season, the Horned Frogs stymied themselves. The Frogs committed three turnovers: an interception and two lost fumbles. They also turned the ball over on downs.
The Horned Frogs have not scored more than two touchdowns against a Power Four opponent this season.
“We drove the ball down to their end of the field over and over and over and over again, and then we shot ourselves in the foot,” said an obviously frustrated Dykes. “We had three turnovers on that side of the field. We missed a field goal. You can’t do that.”
TCU fifth-year quarterback Jaden Craig, who transferred from Harvard for this season, lost a fumble at the West Virginia 27-yard line in the second quarter. With just about a minute left in the first half, Craig threw a pass that was intercepted by the Mountaineers at their 16-yard line.
Those two turnovers deep in West Virginia territory and a stout TCU defense resulted in the game being tied 10-10 at the half.
The Horned Frogs had leads of 13-10 and 20-17 in the second half, but couldn’t hold them or further widen the gap.
In the final 11 minutes of the game, with the Frogs trailing 24-20, the TCU offense could not convert a fourth-and-two play and turned the football over on downs. On the Horned Frogs’ final possession of the game, the offense was driving for perhaps a game-winning touchdown, but Craig suffered a strip-sack, with his fumble recovered by West Virginia at its 23-yard line, with 34 seconds left in the game.
“It was a matter of not being able to make plays in critical situations and it has happened to us over and over and over again this year,” explained Dykes. “We just have not had an ability to put a drive together and win a game. That got us again. It killed us. It’s been the story in four one-possession losses. We keep making the same mistakes over and over and over again. And we beat ourselves over and over and over again. We have to get it fixed. It’s been incredibly frustrating.”
Craig completed 33 of 47 passes for 372 yards. He threw one interception and was sacked three times. He scored one touchdown on a two-yard run, which was his first rushing touchdown as a Horned Frog and the 12th of his career.
Craig opened the game with 12 consecutive completions, tied for the third-longest streak in TCU football history. He became the first TCU quarterback to post at least 10 consecutive completions since Chandler Morris did so against Nicholls in 2023.
Craig completed passes to 10 receivers. The Horned Frogs have had at least six receivers catch a pass in every game this season, and at least seven receivers catch a pass in five games this year.
Senior tight end Kari Ashley and wide receiver Jordan Dwyer were Craig’s top targets with 118 receiving yards on six receptions and 113 receiving yards on 10 receptions, respectively. Ashley, who is a transfer from Navarro, had a 37-yard reception, which tied his career long. For Dwyer, who is a transfer from Idaho, it was his 12th career 100-yard receiving game, the second-most of any Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) player.
Senior tight end Ka’Morreun Pimpton, who is a transfer from LSU, caught four passes, including one for a six-yard touchdown. It was his fourth touchdown reception of the year.
TCU tight ends have caught seven touchdown passes this season, tied for the second-most by the unit since at least 1996.
TCU sophomore wide receiver Jacobe Hayes had a career-high 62 receiving yards.
Sophomore running back Jon Denman had a career-high 58 yards rushing on 15 carries, boosted by a 21-yard run. Craig rushed 12 times for 26 yards and the two-yard touchdown.
Once again, TCU’s defense performed well enough for the Horned Frogs to taste victory.
The Frogs held West Virginia to 265 total yards of offense (186 rushing yards and 79 passing yards) and 17 first downs. The Mountaineers had been averaging 497 total yards of offense per game.
The TCU defense entered the game ranked third nationally in scoring defense, allowing 12.2 points per game. West Virginia, however, essentially doubled that average, scoring 24 points against the Horned Frogs.
Coming into the game against West Virginia, TCU's defense had allowed just eight touchdowns, the least in the Power Four and second in the FBS, and had held Baylor to six points and BYU to 17 points.
The Frogs held the Mountaineers to 24 points (three touchdowns and a field goal), but in the crucial second half the defense couldn’t protect TCU leads of 13-10 and 20-17.
West Virginia scored its game-winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 14-play, 75-yard drive.
In TCU’s previous game, the Frogs’ defense held Baylor quarterback DJ Lagway to a completion percentage of 41.5, the lowest with 30-plus attempts against TCU since 2016.
The Frogs held West Virginia sophomore quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., who is a transfer from Oklahoma, to 79 passing yards on 7-of-15 passing. He threw one interception and was sacked three times.
Hawkins, however, hurt the Frogs with his running ability. He rushed 20 times for 87 net yards and two touchdowns.
Former TCU running back Cam Cook made his return to Fort Worth as a Mountaineer. He entered the game fifth nationwide in rushing yards (833), averaging five yards per carry, with a Big 12 high of 119 rushing yards per game.
Cook committed to TCU in the summer of 2022. After playing two seasons for the Horned Frogs, Cook transferred to Jacksonville State, where in 2025 he led the FBS in rushing, with 1,659 yards and 16 touchdowns. He transferred to West Virginia prior to the 2026 season.
Against TCU, the senior Cook rushed 18 times for 90 yards. He caught a 13-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter that proved to be the game-winner for the Mountaineers.
Leading TCU’s defense were safety Jamel Johnson and linebacker Hudson Hooper. Johnson tied a career-high with 11 tackles. Hooper had a career-high nine tackles.
Senior safety Kylin Jackson, who is a transfer from LSU, had his first career interception.
Senior Nate McCashland made field goals of 39 and 37 yards, but late in the second quarter he missed a 43-yard field goal attempt. Those missed three points affected TCU’s offensive strategy later, when the game was on the line.
“The missed field goal was really big,” said Dykes. “We’ve got to be able to make those field goals. Those are makeable field goals. That’s something we have to be able to do. It hurt us today.”
With three conference losses, the Horned Frogs’ Big 12 championship hopes are remote, and even bowl eligibility is in jeopardy. The Frogs must win three of their last five games to qualify for a bowl game for the third season in a row and fourth time in the five-year TCU tenure of Dykes.
The Horned Frogs’ remaining regular-season games are home games against Kansas, Kansas State and Utah, and road games at Arizona and Texas Tech.
TCU plays Kansas in Fort Worth on Saturday, October 31. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Central in Amon G. Carter Stadium. The game will be televised by FS1.
Kansas is tied with TCU at 1-3 in the Big 12 and 3-4 overall. The Jayhawks will come into Fort Worth following an emotional 25-24 homecoming win over Baylor in Lawrence on October 24. In the closing seconds of the game, the Jayhawks preserved their victory by blocking a potential game-winning field goal by the Bears.
The victory ended Kansas’ 14-game losing streak against Baylor, which dated to 2007.
On October 25, Baylor announced that Dave Aranda had been relieved of his duties. Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman will serve as interim head coach. Aranda finished 40-40 in his seventh season with the Bears, who fell to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12. TCU went 6-1 against Baylor during his tenure.
Kansas snapped Baylor's streak of six straight games of allowing 20 or fewer points by collecting 25 points on 421 yards of offense. The Jayhawks had 209 rushing yards and 212 passing yards.
Against Baylor, redshirt-junior running back Dylan Edwards, who is a transfer from Kansas State and Colorado, had 156 rushing yards on 30 carries.
Kansas redshirt-sophomore quarterback Isaiah Marshall threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once. He rushed 15 times for 31 net yards and had one rushing touchdown.
TCU leads the series with Kansas, with 27 wins, nine losses and four ties. The Frogs have won 11 of 12 games played between the two teams since TCU joined the Big 12 Conference in 2012. TCU’s first Big 12 Conference game was a 20-6 victory over KU in Lawrence, Kansas, on September 15, 2012.
The last time the two teams played, the Horned Frogs defeated the Jayhawks, 38-27, on September 28, 2024, in the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium, in Kansas City, Missouri.
TCU is favored over Kansas, with BetMGM listing the Horned Frogs as a five-point favorite on October 27. Betting lines vary by sportsbook and can change before kickoff.
Midnite Madness predicts a 21-17 TCU victory.
TCU has five consecutive wins over Kansas. To record a sixth consecutive win over the Jayhawks and remain optimistic of a winning season, the Horned Frogs will need to convert offensive production into points and avoid the offensive mistakes that have contributed to their four losses this season.
“We’ve gotten beat because, you know why? Because we beat ourselves,” contends Dykes. “And it can’t happen anymore. I’ve had enough of it ... We’ve got to figure it out.”
Dykes could be running out of time at TCU to figure it out.
The conversation continues on KillerFrogs’ Scott and Wes Fan Forum, where fans are discussing the offensive line coaching change. Join the discussion and share what you want to see from the Horned Frogs against Kansas.
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