Big 12 Coaching Boards - Week 4

Ok, so has Texas or Oklahoma played anyone of note? It seems like their both shifting through the month of September waiting for the Red River Rivalry. While the Pac-10, Big Ten, and for the most part, SEC have the number one coach locked in place, the Big XII comes straight down to the Shootout in October. A win over Oklahoma, which no one is contemplating, would get Mack Brown to the number one position.

1. Bob Stoops
Oklahoma
Stoops has the Sooners rolling, but other than the victory over Cincinnati there's really not much to note. Sure there was the win at Washington, but that was to a demoralized Huskie team. At least Bob kept the anti-Pac-10 referee rhetoric from the 2006 Oregon game to a minimum.

2. Mack Brown
Texas
Again, this should really be considered 1b as opposed to number 2. Mack probably hasn't gotten as much out of his talent as Stoops has, and he's yet to prove that he can win consistently without Vince Young. Which reminds me, think there's someone who should question the type of players Mack is bringing in - Young, Cedric Benson and Ricky Williams don't really represent the university well.

3. Missouri
Gary Pinkel
I'm probably too hard on Pinkel. Not sure why exactly - perhaps its from how overrated they were four or five years ago. But I'm really beginning to think he deserves this spot. He has undergone some growing pains and he probably had too much expected from him too early in Columbia, but since 2005, he's steadily improved, and many people consider the Tigers to be the second best team in the Big XII - a mighty statement considering UT and OU have rules the roost.

4. Mike Leach
Texas Tech
Leach and Texas Tech are taking this week off. I can't blame them; I know most top ten teams probably would want a break after having Eastern Washington (D1-AA), Nevada, SMU, and UMass (D1-AA). Not to fear, Red Raider fans - Tech comes back from the break with a game at Kansas State... tough...

5. Dan Hawkins
Colorado
The Hawk might deserve to move up a little higher. He has the biggest win outside of Missouri toppling Illinois, as the Buffaloes knocked off Pat White and WVU last Thursday night. Now we'll see if Hawkins can take his team across the country to win a game that they should win, before returning home to the Big XII schedule. Right now, Hawk at No. 2 in the North is probably about right, and unless he knocks off UT in two weeks, there probably won't be much of a rise.

6. Mark Mangino
Kansas
Mangino lost at South Florida two weeks ago in the only real game they have until mid-October. Mangino gets the benefit of the 2007 Orange Bowl win to edge Bo Pelini, but the way that Kansas played against USF, Jayhawk fans may want to start considering how nice San Antonio is in December.

7. Bo Pelini
Nebraska
Things have gotten off to a good start in Pelini's first year, but the competition dial is about to be turned up to 11. Coming off the bye and 3-0 start against three less-than-stellar opponents, NU now faces Virginia Tech and Missouri before traveling to Texas Tech. Getting two out of three would rise Pelini's stock mightily.

8. Mike Gundy
Oklahoma State
Interesting that Oklahoma State, off to a 3-0 start with wins over Washington State (one of the worst teams in the BCS), Sam Houston State (D1-AA) and Missouri State (D1-AA), decided to take off the week before Troy. Think that somebody remembers this?

9. Art Briles
Baylor
Art Briles has probably reached his peak, at least as long as he's at Baylor. Unless he can somehow get the Bears to a bowl game (and considering they're 2-2, it's more likely that Nick Saban will bolt to be the defensive coordinator at New England... actually, one could hope that he would), Briles has reached the ceiling, by getting Baylor to .500 for the start of October.

10. Ron Prince
Kansas State
Ron Prince got eaten by one of his cupcakes... not to fear, Ronnie, you've got one more cupcake left.

11. Mike Sherman
Texas A&M
The Sherman era hasn't exactly gotten off to a rousing start - the Aggies lone win has come against New Mexico, but with Army up on Saturday, Sherman should get A&M back to .500 - well, maybe. If the same team that lost to Arkansas State shows up, then Sherman might as well pack it in for the season.

12. Gene Chizik
Iowa State
At one time, Iowa State would've loved the opportunity to have Kansas and Baylor lined up after a bye week. Not anymore. If would be amazing if the Cyclones could get to 4-2 before the meat of the schedule, but Chizik needs to start worrying about the possibility of a 10-game losing streak. The loss to Iowa wasn't unexpected; not getting the win over UNLV - with the Rebels coming off the high of beating Arizona State, was disappointing.