No. 2 TEXAS LONGHORNS

Texas, McCoy ready to avenge last season's slight

OK, Texas, that's enough. We all know you were screwed in 2008. You beat Oklahoma, yet weren't able to go to the Title game because of a three-way tie and one of the dumbest tie-breaker rules ever invented. And we're tired of hearing about it. You were screwed out of a shot at the title - so was 2000 Miami, 2001 Oregon, 2003 USC, 2004 Auburn, 2007 Georgia.

And now everyone's bowing down at your feet, giving you the inside track to the national championship. And why? Why are the Longhorns automatically given the spot over rival Oklahoma? Because of 45-35?

All of the teams listed above (outside of '04 Auburn) failed in some way, and if safety Blake Gideon holds on to an errant Graham Harrell pass in Lubbock, the Longhorns would have been in Miami facing the Gators. Instead, the Longhorns were sent to the Fiesta Bowl and (narrowly) beat Ohio State, giving UT and its fans an off-season of BCS complaints.

The Longhorns non-conference schedule is (again) a joke, and if Texas can navigate through the Big XII Championship, they'll be playing for a national title with a Heisman runner-up QB (Tebow and Co. will have to lose three games for the superhuman not to win his second Heisman). But the schedule doesn't play out nicely. After the Red River Rivalry, Texas has to travel to Missouri and Oklahoma State in back-to-back weeks. They'll drop one of those, giving them likely two losses in the Big XII before the end of October.

Mack Brown might have proven with 2008 that he didn't need Vince Young to compete for a national title, but 2009 will show that he'll need someone better than a (outstanding) Colt McCoy.

CFN 2009 Preview | ESPN Texas Page | CBS Texas Page

Part of a two-week long look into the 2009 Preseason Southern Fans' College Football Poll. New posts released each day, culminating with the No. 1 team later today.

No. 3 OKLAHOMA SOONERS

Sooners want to make up for BCS blunders

Forget about the upset win over Florida State in the 2000 Orange Bowl, and Oklahoma has been as unimpressive in bowls as they've been dominant during the regular season. The Sooners under Bob Stoops come into this season ranked in the top 3 of the Southern Fans poll and would likely be No. 1 if not for the loss to Florida in the BCS Championship Game.

And so the story goes for Oklahoma, who are now 1-5 in BCS Games. Of course, 95 percent of teams would give up their right leg to have been to six BCS games, but the Sooners are beginning to get that bridesmaid feel. No wonder the Sooners, who return a Heisman Trophy winning QB and perhaps a better overall team then last season's juggernaut, find themselves two spots removed from the poll position: Fool us once, shame on you, fool us five times, and we can't take you seriously.

But the Sooners are serious and continue to come back for more. Each season Oklahoma comes back more talented and, seemingly, more hungry to make up for the sins of year's past. And anyone who fault the Sooners for their inability to win the big game, don't understand the difficulties of continuing to dominate a conference that has grown hand-over-fist since it's inception while taking everyone's best shot.

In 2009, Oklahoma looks to make up for losing three straight national title games, and the Sooners have both the ranking and schedule to get them there. If OU can navigate this schedule, no one will keep them out of a title shot, even though they've always seemed to get the fortunate breaks (2003 USC, 2004 Auburn, 2008 Texas).

The '09 schedule mixes the right amount of name-opponents with enough breaks to keep the Sooners in title talk while not posing too much difficulty. OU opens the season with a neutral site game against BYU in the Jerry Jones Convention Center in Dallas, which is where they'll return in mid-season to face Texas at the Cotton Bowl. The Sooners also have to travel to Miami, but their toughest road game will be at Nebraska. The Big XII will continue to be called the nation's second best conference, but Oklahoma gets this season's Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, at home (while having to travel to play an average Red Raiders team). An 11-1 record (and a win over Texas) will have the Sooners, once again, right in the middle of national title discussion.

CFN 2009 Preview | ESPN Oklahoma Page | CBS Oklahoma Page

Part of a two-week long look into the 2009 Preseason Southern Fans' College Football Poll. New posts released each day, culminating with the No. 1 team on September 3.

No. 10 OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS

Gundy, Cowboys try to live up to lofty expectations

Missouri... Kansas... Texas Tech... Hmmm, who else can we choose?

Awww, Oklahoma State - this season's chic pick to unseat Texas and Oklahoma as the unstoppable rulers of the Big XII. Ever since Nebraska and Colorado had their fun in the early part of the decade, the two schools from the South have controlled the conference, leaving fans and the media to speculate on just who could make the conference championship game intriguing.

Last season Texas Tech came up short on a three-way tie breaker, while both Missouri and Kansas had a shot at the national title game in 2007. Now it's the Cowboys, who like Ole Miss and Cal seem to be media darlings entering the 2009 season.

But is Oklahoma State really even good enough to duplicate Texas Tech's 11-1 regular season, much less release the South from the OU/UT strangle-hold for the first time since 1998? While that question probably won't be known for sure until late October, the Cowboys will know from week 1 whether they'll steadily move up the rankings or just be a preseason afterthought. That's because OSU hosts No. 15 Georgia in the first week. A win over the Dawgs would mean a 4-0 start going into the Oct. 10 trip to College Station to face Texas A&M (the 'Boys have powerhouses Houston, Rice and Grambling State for their remainder out-of-conference schedule).

The remainder of the Big XII schedule couldn't play out better for Mike Gundy, who yes, still is a man but now forty-two. The Cowboys have an open date before A&M, host Missouri, another open date (technically at Baylor) before hosting Texas, another open date (technically at Iowa State) before Texas Tech, and then close with hosting Colorado and traveling to Norman.

So there's a high probability that a win over Georgia could mean a 11-0 start for the Boone Pickins-funded Cowboys. But while the OSU offense has been generating buzz for years, the team finally has a defense to make it formidable. If 6-point favorite OSU knocks off UGA, then watch for the Cowboys to actually live up to expectations and displace the Sooners and Longhorns.

CFN 2009 Preview | ESPN Oklahoma St Page | CBS Oklahoma St Page

Part of a two-week long look into the 2009 Preseason Southern Fans' College Football Poll. New posts released each day, culminating with the No. 1 team on September 2.

Big East, Big Ten, Big XII Coaching Boards - Week 5

We'll go with a lightening round for this week's Big East, Big Ten and Big XII Coaching Boards.

Big East Coaching Board
1. Randy Edsall, UConn
Edsall went into Louisville and came out with an impressive win. The

2. Jim Leavitt, South Florida
Leavitt's Bulls dropped a must-win game at home against Pitt.

3. Brian Kelly, Cincinnati

4. Greg Schiano, Rutgers
Schiano holds this spot based off his past few seasons and the fact that a 1-3 start now brings the ire of Scarlett Knight fans. But the Knights need to show a turnaround - and quickly, for Schiano to stay high in the rankings.

5. Dave Wannstedt, Pitt
Huge win on Thursday night for the Stash and his Panthers. Going into Tampa and leaving with a dominating win over the Big East favorite Bulls (after trailing 7-0) is a huge boost for the program after the opening-season loss.

6. Steve Kragthorpe, Louisville
The Cardinals looked competitive against UConn last Friday night. At 2-2, and with a few non-conference games ahead, Coach Krag really needs to move to 4-2 before the remaining Big East schedule hits.

7. Bill Stewart, West Virginia
At 2-2, it's tough to look at the WVU and find 4 sure-fire wins - well, at least with the product Stewart's put on the field.

8. Greg Robinson, Syracuse
Has Lane Kiffen already agreed in principle to a Syracuse contract? Either way, Robinson won't be with the Orange after this season.

Big Ten Coaching Board
1. Jim Tressell, Ohio State
Tressell's team looks completely different than the one that struggled against Ohio and lost to USC. And that'll be what pollsters will say at year's end if the Buckeyes go through the Big Ten unbeaten and there are more upsets like last weekend.

2. Joe Paterno, Penn State
A nice win against Illinois coupled with the Wisconsin loss moves JoePa to No. 2, and within shouting distance of No. 1.

3. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin
The loss in the Big House was out-of-character for a Bielema-coached team. The Badgers must rebound against the Buckeyes this weekend in order to have a shot at the Big Ten title.

4. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan
Finally, Michigan started to get the turnovers that they've been giving this season, and the offense actually put some pressure on Wisconsin. Still think the call to go for two was way too early, but Michigan was able to stop UW's two-point attempt and Rich Rod became the first Wolverine coach to ever mount a 19-point comeback in Michigan Stadium.

5. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State

6. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern
Huge win by the Wildcats in Iowa City last week. Fitz has NU at 5-0 for the first time in over 45 years, with two home games upcoming.

7. Joe Tiller, Purdue

8. Ron Zook, Illinois

9. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Wow, what a huge loss to Northwestern. Ferentz was once the star of the Big Ten, and it looks like the Hawkeyes are not about to become competitive under him.

10. Tim Brewster, Minnesota

11. Bill Lynch, Indiana

Big XII Coaching Board
1. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
With the upsets going around, the Sooners return back to the top of the national polls, which is probably where they'll remain until, oh, December.

2. Mack Brown, Texas

3. Gary Pinkel, Missouri

4. Mike Leach, Texas Tech

5. Mark Mangino, Kansas

6. Dan Hawkins, Colorado
Coach Hawk slips a spot due to the loss in Jacksonville to FSU. I expected a better performance from his team, which had 10 days to prepare for a team that could only must 3 points against Wake the week before.

7. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Gundy has his team unbeaten, and should have an easy time with A&M before having to travel to Missouri next weekend.

8. Bo Pelini, Nebraska
Pelini falls a spot due to the loss to Virginia Tech at home, but with the way the Hokies are playing, that's not too disappointing for the first year head coach.

9. Art Briles, Baylor

10. Ron Prince, Kansas State

11. Mike Sherman, Texas A&M
Hoo-ray; Sherman's troops beat winless Army... 21-17. Nice first home win Mike.

12. Gene Chizik, Iowa State
Chizik has two weeks to make a statement - hosting Kansas and traveling to Baylor. Amazing how those two teams now look so formidable on the Iowa State schedule.

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.

Big XII Coaching Boards - Week 2

For more information on the coaching boards, click here.

1 Bob Stoops
Oklahoma W
Very impressed with how Stoops took out Cincinnati last week. I thought that it would be a better game between the two. Now, OU gets a nice out-of-conference away game against a demoralized Washington team. Should be fun to see how much the Sooners run up the score.

2 Mack Brown
Texas W
Mack and his Longhorns scored every way imaginable in El Paso last weekend. Well, perhaps not every way.

3 Gary Pinkel
Missouri W
Missouri scored 50+ points again last week. Quick question: Will Nevada, Buffalo or Nebraska be a bigger test for the Tigers? Not so fast Cornhuskers.

4 Mike Leach
Texas Tech W
The Red Raiders skirted past Nevada last week, as Leach's offense couldn't get going against the mighty Wolfpack. Tech should be undefeated going into the Texas game in early November. The Raiders face SMU, Umass, at KSt, Neb, at A&M, at Kansas. Nice opening 8 games Mike. Now just beat Texas (11/01) and Oklahoma (11/22) and you'll actually start to garner attention.

5 Dan Hawkins
Colorado W
To be honest, I just realized how bad CU's schedule is. While they squeeked by the DI-AA Eastern Washington last weekend, they've got West Virginia, Florida State and Colorado State, not to mention the Big XII North slate and Texas, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. If Hawkins can get through this slate with 4 losses, I'll be impressed.

6 Mark Mangino
Kansas W
Mark Mangino once got into a fight with a high school referee. Apparently, Mangino mistook the referee's whistle for a Twinkee.

7 Bo Pelini
Nebraska W
The Cornhuskers get three weeks off (technically they play New Mexico St. on Sat.) before facing VaTech in Lincoln on Sept 27. I'm still thinking Beamer and Co. have that game, but a win over the Hokies will help the Cornhuskers against Missouri and Texas Tech in October.

8 Mike Gundy
Oklahoma St W
Win over Houston was bigger than Gundy's getting credit for. I expect his team to be unbeaten prior to the Oct. 11 match-up against Missouri.

9 Ron Prince
Kansas St W
Prince likes his cupcakes with Cardinal frosting.

10 Mike Sherman
Texas A&M W
Miami managed 3 points against Florida last week, and now the Hurricanes travel to College Station, where hopefully Hurricane Ike will provide some excuse for the horrid offensive display by both schools.

11 Art Briles
Baylor W
Hooray, the Bears got the first win of the Briles' era (and if you squint, then the recap says that they beat Northwestern and not Northwestern State). A horrid Washington State team comes to Waco, with the possibility of Briles actually taking Baylor to 2-1 and moving into the top 10 of the conference.

12 Gene Chizik
Iowa St W
This may not mean much, but ISU has the worst of all BCS school's when it comes to ESPN webpages. They're missing any type of video or pictures. Oh, and good job Chizik on the 2-0 start. I'll be impressed enough to move you if the Cyclones can somehow make it to 3-3.

Big XII Coaching Boards - Week 1

For more information on the coaching boards, click here.

1 Bob Stoops
Oklahoma W
Stoops did what Oklahoma does with over-matched opponents, win and win big.

2 Mack Brown
Texas W
Fla Atl's Howard Schnellberger and his team were talking trash about UT. The line on this game was lowered and some people were expecting a Texas struggle. Mack Brown did not allow for a letdown against an inferior opponent, nor let the Longhorn's anger/emotion get away from them. A very impressive win that will go down, improperly, as just another cupcake game.

3 Gary Pinkel
Missouri W
I still am a little hesitant about having him this high. He's built a foundation at Missouri and appears to be reaping the rewards, plus the administration stuck with him even when he was well below expectations during the Brad Smith years, but I think that when the other Big XII powers finally right the ship, Pinkel's team will flounder back to the pack, and thus so will he.

4 Mike Leach
Texas Tech W
I didn't see Tech's game last week. Didn't read about it, so I can' t say too much about Leach's team's performance. I think Tech has become a player in the Big XII South, which is probably why I give him a little more credit than Pinkel, but right now, Pinkel has made it to a Championship Game, while Leach has not. I really think this could change this season.

5 Dan Hawkins
Colorado W
Hawk's team dominated their in-state rival, which has been back-and-forth over recent years. While I don't think Colorado is ready to compete for the North just yet, I do think that Hawkins might finally making the Buffs relevant again.

6 Mark Mangino
Kansas W
I'm not going to comment again on Kansas or Mangino until they play an actual opponent.

7 Bo Pelini
Nebraska W
Pelini kept the Cornhusker machine going, at least when it comes to season openers - Nebraska has started off 1-0 for the past 23 seasons. The Blackshirt D wasn't exactly impressive, giving up 350 yards (340 through the air) and 24 points, but the offense put the game out of reach by the half. Pelini's got his work cut-out for him with 07's worst defense, and giving up that many passing yards isn't great with the abundant QB talent that the Big XII has. With San Jose and New Mexico States over the next few weeks (and VT at home to follow), we may not know too much about Pelini until the October showdown with Missouri.

8 Mike Gundy
Oklahoma State W
State won a big opener in Seattle last week, as Washington State's new offense was no match for the Cowboys' D. Ok St held Wash St to less than 200 total yards of offense, and Gundy got a big win. With this schedule, Gundy should likely have an undefeated record going into Texas A&M in Oct, and probably even a week later against Missouri. But with this schedule, he won't move up in these rankings unless he can get to Texas game unbeaten.

9 Ron Prince
Kansas State W
Ron Prince likes cupcakes.

10 Mike Sherman
Texas A&M L
I struggled with whether to drop Sherman following the loss to Arkansas State, but he holds this position for now. It was an opening game, and he's getting the -benefit-of-the-doubt, but any more struggles against (what's assumed to be) inferior opponents and Sherman will drop. This still seems like a Al Groh/Dave Wannesdat hire as opposed to a Pete Carroll/Nick Saban one.

11 Art Briles
Baylor L
Baylor lost. For now, I still like Briles. He did good things at Houston (probably should have stayed). But he's closer to moving above Sherman than falling below Chizik.

12 Gene Chizik
Iowa St
Hooray, Iowa State beat down on South Dakota State, which is made its debut as a D-IAA, and played it's biggest name opponent since 1984. That's right, Iowa State is the Jackrabbits biggest name opponent since the Raiders won a Super Bowl. Chizik won't move higher unless he can beat Iowa on Sept. 13.

Big XII Coaching Board

The initial rankings of the Big XII Coaches. Each week these will be updated based on their previous game and the season-to-date.

Bob Stoops
Oklahoma
Stoops and Mack Brown are the twin stars of the Big 12, and right now Bob is burning brighter. He has won five conference championships, a Big XII South title, and has pretty much owned the series, going 6-2 since the 2000 National Championship season. Oklahoma has lost two BCS Championship games since then and if Stoops expects to stay at the top of the conference he will need to remain on the national scene.

Mack Brown
Texas
Call Mack 1B. A more recent national title than OU, but other than that '05 season, Texas has vastly underachieved during Brown's era. Similar to '90s UGA, the past 10 years have been marked by numerous high recruiting classes, but UT only has 1 Big XII Championship to show for it. This season, not only are the Sooners thought to be vying for the national championship, but Texas Tech is getting more pub than Texas.

Gary Pinkel
Missouri
The fact that Pinkel was close to being run out of town makes him a curious pick and shows just how much the Big XII is the Big 2 and Little 10. Pinkel has a loss to Troy State on his record, but is this high based on a great year from Chase Daniel and a high prediction this year. To an extent, Pinkel has been able to take advantage of the downturn at Colorado and Nebraska, but with those teams appearing to be back on the rise, Pinkel's stay at No. 3 is shaky at best.

Mike Leach
Texas Tech
The pioneer of the spread offense in the Big XII, Leach has done amazing things on offense at Texas Tech, and in recent years the Red Raiders have become more of a Big XII player than ever, but they have yet to get over the hump, mainly due to their defense. This season, for the first time, Texas Tech has a defense, while not equal to the star-studded offense, that may keep people from hanging 30-plus each week.

Mark Mangino
Kansas
Yeah, Mangino, along with Weiss and Friedgen, make up the Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus and Bruhathkayosaurus of college football, but he has created an above average team that stole attention away from basketball, at least until March. Mangino gets the No. 5 slot only because of the Orange Bowl victory (a loss there would've put him around No. 8, which is prob were he deserves), but with Texas Tech, Texas, and OU on the schedule, I doubt he'll stay here for long.

Dan Hawkins
Colorado
The former Boise State guru has had limited success in Boulder, and you have to wonder how much it irked Hawkins when his former team made headlining news with the victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, building on the foundation he layed, but unable to reap the rewards. Plus, Hawkins still hasn't beaten Oklahoma and it's no reason to think that his teams will be competitive anytime soon. He does recieve a break due to the horrible quagmire that had become Colorado football.

Bo Pelini
Nebraska
It's funny how Pelini gets credit for the amazing defenses at LSU, but Miles gets no credit for the W's because those are Saban's players... Isn't that one in the same? Anyway, I think this will be a good fit. NU has lost a lot of it's identity with the Callahan regime, but the Pelini-hire should bring back the Blackshirt Defense. Plus, he'll have a much larger grace period as he's not completely overhauling 60 years of Cornhusker tradition. I expect that he'll be atop the North within two years, esp with a unified Nebraska base.

Mike Gundy
Oklahoma State
Alright, we know, he's a man; he's 40+. He's still not brought OSU anything more than a win over Texas in '06, and, I guess, a somewhat noteworthy victory over Alabama in the Independence Bowl. The Cowboys are going to have to fight annually to rise above No. 4 in the South, and with A&M surely to become more competitive ($$$) in the future, it's going to be tough for OSU to being anything above number five.

Ron Prince
Kansas State
Ron Prince is in a similar (though less sleazy) situation as Sly Croom - come in to a team that had no success until the '90s, after the head coach jumped on the JUCO bandwagon, and began to compete annually within a division dominated by one or two national title contenders. Prince is trying to do things the right way; building up a team from the bottom up, but the Wildcats have had little success under his tenure. His teams will do well in the years he misses Texas and Oklahoma, but getting in the top 3 of the division will be an annual struggle.

Mike Sherman
Texas A&M
I honestly don't remember much of Sherman, other than him in ugly green fleeces. Apparently A&M is really excited about this hire, which isn't much of a surprise. They always get excited during the honeymoon then upset when they can't beat Texas annually; Sherman's No. 10 here, and no matter if he's the re-incarnation of R.C.Slokum, I'm guessing he'll either be run out of College Station in 5 years, or retire in the same amount of time.

Art Briles
Baylor
Art Briles should probably get more respect than I'm giving him, but then again, his work did come at Houston in C-USA, and my knowledge of CUSA is lacking. It's difficult to find a worse BCS coaching position than Baylor, as Guy Morriss, who had garnered moderate success at Kentucky, went for the million dollar paycheck and the boot from Baylor within 4 years (of course, a little drunken alcohol scene didn't carry well in the Baptist stronghold). All of that was to say I know nothing of Briles, but there's little reason to think that any good coaching ability that he possesses won't be slowly squeezed out of him by the Bears .

Gene Chizik
Iowa State
A star as a defensive coordinator, Chizik may have leapt too quickly for a head coaching job. Somewhat wonder if Chizik just signed up to be a HC and didn't realize he'd be shipped off to Ames. His time at ISU has been poor at best, but there's no reason to think that Iowa State will ever reach the top 3 of the North, especially with Mangino forming a competitive team annually in Kansas.