Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners are seven years removed from their shocking season-opening loss to TCU in Norman. OU was ranked in the top 10 and featured tailback Adrian Peterson. But TCU’s defense shut down Peterson and the Sooners and held on for the 17-10 win. The Horned Frogs lost only one game that season, while the Sooners would lose four more.

During Big 12 media days, Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson was asked if he ever looks back at that landmark victory.

“Are you trying to make coach [Bob] Stoops mad at me?” Patterson said to the reporter. “You’ve got to learn from history, but the bottom line to it is you can’t look back too long.”

The loss didn’t dissuade Stoops from continuing to play the Horned Frogs. The two teams met again in Norman in 2008, with OU cruising 35-10. OU was scheduled to go to Fort Worth during the non-conference this season, then TCU jumped into the Big 12, making the meeting a conference game. The OU-TCU game on Dec. 1 will be the season finale for both schools and could have Big 12 title implications.

“They've been playing all of our teams through the years and they always play well,” Stoops said. “They're used to winning championships. Gary does an outstanding job coaching along with his staff. So they'll be tough. There's no question. I mean, they just went two years from winning the Rose Bowl and beating Wisconsin down there.

“They're a strong, good football team and program. So I'm sure it will be difficult. It will be a big challenge playing them.”

Our series on coaches marches on today. Today, we're looking more at the coaching jobs themselves, and less about the men who currently reside within them.

Who has the Big 12's best? It all factors in history, facilities, recruiting base, fan base etc. What are the best jobs in the league? Here's how I'd rank them.

1. Texas: Ready-made recruiting base. The Longhorns are the flagship program in a state full of talented kids who (most of them, anyway) would die for an offer to wear the burnt orange. They've got a big fan base and college sports' biggest budget. What more could you ask for? Oh, a crazy awesome city surrounding your campus? Texas has that, too; this is arguably the best job in the nation.

2. Oklahoma: The Sooners are a national power with a huge fan base and lots of money. Being just under three hours up the road from Dallas pays off in recruiting, too. Winning isn't automatic here (ask John Blake), but it's a lot easier than at most places. The gap between these two and the rest of the league? Enormous.

3. Oklahoma State: Ain't nothin' wrong with a sugar daddy. T. Boone Pickens has helped elevate this program off the field and Mike Gundy turned it into a big winner on the field. OSU's facilities are impeccable, and its proximity to Texas allows it to reel in some top talent from the state.

4. West Virginia: This is the only team on our list that truly has an entire state behind the program. That pays off, even if it's a small one like West Virginia. Being a historic winner helps, too. Big 12 membership will pay off in facility upgrades soon, too.

5. Texas Tech: Tech's facilities are nice and the Red Raiders often get first dibs on the declining-but-still-underrated talent in West Texas. Winning big is possible, and the rowdy fan base provides a nice home-field advantage. Look out for that wind and lack of an indoor facility, though. Lubbock has a reputation as a small town, but it's actually one of the league's biggest with a population of well over 200,000. It's not the prettiest city, but there's more there than most think.

6. Baylor: Waco's proximity to the metroplex makes it a nice draw for recruits, and though the city isn't a huge draw, the campus is nice and the facilities are strong. A small fan base is the biggest negative. It's never fun for coaches or players to play home games in atmospheres that feel like neutral-site games. It happens too often at Baylor.

7. TCU: TCU has the same problem as the Bears, and we'll see if Big 12 membership fixes its home field getting flooded by opposing fans in Texas. Being located in the DFW metroplex is huge, and the facilities are in the process of a major upgrade that will be done soon. Gary Patterson winning for a decade gives this job a big upgrade for the next guy, too.

8. Kansas State: Bill Snyder did the impossible and turned K-State into a power (albeit briefly), but no one else seems to be able to win in Manhattan. It's a tiny town in central Kansas, and unless you're arguably the greatest coach in the history of the game, nobody else has been able to consistently win there. The fan support is outstanding and way underrated, but taking the job has to give any coach pause, even if Snyder's done everything he can to make the program a winner for the next guy.

9. Kansas: An apathetic fan base that seems more interested in basketball is the biggest problem with the KU job. It's the only school in the Big 12 that prefers the roundball. Mark Mangino proved you could win big there, but even he had trouble winning consistently. The stadium is quiet and underwhelming, but its proximity to Kansas City offers some nice payoff in recruiting -- if you can beat out Mizzou.

10. Iowa State: Iowa State holds the distinction of being the only truly "little brother" program in its own state, and that lands it at the bottom of our list. ISU is way north in the Big 12, and in a state that has little football talent. Best of luck convincing top Texas talents to sign up for Iowa winters. Feign offense at the "little brother" tag, but Iowa has 11 conference titles, 22 consensus All-Americans and a Heisman Trophy. Iowa State has two titles, three All-Americans and no Heisman. It's not close. Iowa's also won 14 bowl games, compared to three for ISU. That said, Paul Rhoads is doing an unbelievable job in Ames. So did Dan McCarney.

We're still a long way from the 2013 BCS National Championship Game, but right now, everybody's got a shot.

Some, of course, are better than others.

So what are the best bets?

ESPN Insider Will Harris fills you in.

You'll need ESPN Insider to see it all, but here's a taste:

Oklahoma just endured a season of turmoil and is pretty much at the low point of the Bob Stoops era, but there has been a housecleaning of both the roster and staff and Stoops is an elite coach who is capable of getting the Sooners back on track quickly. If this team finds better leadership and unifies in camp, Oklahoma could rebound big, although Landry Jones is a deal breaker given that the Sooners' odds are just 12 to 1.

My take: I don't know if it's fair to call this the "low point of the Bob Stoops Era" after a 10-win season, but I'm certainly not a believer in the Sooners as a national title contender just yet. Jones is part of that, but the Sooners have more questions marks (secondary, receiver) than I'd feel comfortable buying into.

The Longhorns get a mention at 25-to-1, but Harris checks in with TCU, too.

All other teams are trading at 33 to 1 at least. Of this group, only TCU at 50 to 1 caught our eye. Like Beamer, Gary Patterson has built a consistent winner that can slug it out with anyone in a given game. The Frogs return the bulk of last year's young squad and catch the top three teams in the league at home.

My take: It could happen. TCU is good enough, in theory, but the amount of variables that come with joining the Big 12 leave plenty of room to doubt the Horned Frogs' ability to write a Cinderella story in 2012.