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If you haven't already seen the video of Dana Holgorsen sipping Red Bull on the sideline, enjoy.

• Texas AD DeLoss Dodds is expected to announce plans for his resignation today. A look at some potential candidates to replace him. The Longhorns also lost a legend Monday in former quarterback James Street.
• One year after giving up 807 yards in Morgantown, Baylor is ready to show how far its defense has come against West Virginia.
• Could Oklahoma find a way to use both Blake Bell and Trevor Knight to challenge opposing defenses?
• Even after one of the best games of his career, TCU safety Sam Carter remains his own toughest critic.
• Texas Tech is sticking with Baker Mayfield at quarterback this week. Is staring the season 7-0 a realistic possibility?
• Charlie Weis still remembers drafting Kliff Kingsbury while with the Patriots. What's going on with the receivers at Kansas? Ex-Jayhawk Marquel Combs has transferred to Southeastern Louisiana.
• Still no word on whether Oklahoma State CB Justin Gilbert will be punished for getting ejected from the WVU game. J.W. Walsh regrets audibling out of a goal-line run in that loss. OSU landed the fastest recruit in the country Monday.
• WVU is down to one healthy quarterback, creating one big question mark for Saturday.
• Paul Rhoads has found his guy at running back in Aaron Wimberly.
• Kansas State is preparing for a disappointed Oklahoma State team this week and trying to fix its own flaws.

1. Can Oklahoma strike for the Big 12 Conference? The Sooners have the chance to earn the biggest nonconference win of any Big 12 team this season if they can knock off Notre Dame in South Bend on Saturday. OU has its eye on inserting itself into the BCS title conversation and that could begin with a win against the Fighting Irish.
2. What does Dana Holgorsen have in store for his former colleagues at Oklahoma State? Holgorsen spent one season as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State before he was named coach in waiting at West Virginia. He played a major part in transforming OSU’s offense into what it is today so both teams will be very familiar with the other’s offensive attack. Add in the Mountaineers’ struggles on offense this season and you have to expect Holgorsen will have some new, creative wrinkles to confuse OSU’s defense and spark WVU’s offense.
3. How will TCU respond to a 1-2 start? TCU coach Gary Patterson didn’t like how his team was handling its start to the season, saying his group was "feeling sorry for themselves." Yet the Horned Frogs have had two weeks to get things going back in a positive direction and, even though they’ve stumbled at the start, they still have one of the top defenses in the conference. And that’s a terrific foundation to build upon.
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David Purdy/Getty ImagesPaul Rhoads and Iowa State are off to a slow start.
4. Can Iowa State get its first win of the season? The Cyclones opened the season with losses to Northern Iowa and Iowa. Worst yet, Paul Rhoads’ crew has played just two games heading into tonight’s game at Tulsa, making it tough to find any kind of rhythm and confidence on either side of the football. ISU’s defense has been particularly bad allowing 27.5 points and 417.5 yards per game thus far. It’s a young roster, full of inexperience, so if the Cyclones don’t win tonight, things could snowball in a hurry for the Cyclones.
5. Will OSU stumble in Morgantown? The Cowboys will be a big favorite when they step on the field in Morgantown, W. Va., after WVU’s embarrassing 37-0 loss to Maryland last weekend. It would be easy for the Pokes to overlook the Mountaineers and stumble on the road in a conference play, particularly since WVU does have some talented, albeit young, players on the roster. WVU will be looking to prove it is better than it showed against the Terps while OSU will simply be looking to get off to a good start in conference play. Motive advantage: WVU.
6. Can TCU find some type of offensive identity? What is TCU’s identity on offense? Does anybody know? The Horned Frogs have looked uncertain during their first three games, particularly with Trevone Boykin under center. Don’t be surprised if TCU re-commits its offense to the running game with talented runners B.J. Catalon and Waymon James in the backfield while putting Boykin on the back burner.
7. How will OU quarterback Blake Bell do in his first road start? The Sooners signal caller has the opportunity to send a message with a stellar performance in his first road start. The Fighting Irish will be looking to stop the run and play physical, forcing Bell to beat them with his arm. If he can do it on a national stage, the junior will remove all doubt who should be leading the Sooners’ offense for the next two seasons.
8. Is OU’s defense the real deal? The Sooners' defense has been terrific in OU’s first three games. Yet it hasn't been tested like it will be against the Fighting Irish. OU’s defense is built for speed and handling the spread offenses in the Big 12 so if ND comes out and tries to ram the football down OU’s throat, the Sooners will have to have an answer or risk being compared to last season’s disappointing unit.
9. Will Ford Childress reward Holgorsen for sticking with him? The WVU quarterback has kept his starting job after throwing more touchdown passes to Maryland defenders than his teammates last weekend. He threw more interceptions than he completed passes to WVU receivers in the loss. Yet Holgorsen didn’t hesitate when asked if he was sticking with the redshirt freshman. Childress will be looking to reward that loyalty against OSU.
10. Will Iowa State find an answer to its offensive woes? This was supposed to be a breakout season for quarterback Sam Richardson. It’s not looking good for the sophomore thus far. His numbers aren’t horrible (502 passing yards, 62 completion percentage) but he’s been unable to spark the Cyclones offense and take the entire team to another level like ISU fans would have hoped. If Richardson hopes to turn things around, he can start against a Tulsa defense that gave up 51 points to Oklahoma on Sept. 14.

Texas moves back up in this week's Power Rankings, West Virginia moves back down and the top four remain steady:

1. Oklahoma State (3-0, 0-0 Big 12; last week: 1): When he was the coordinator in Stillwater, Dana Holgorsen recruited quarterback J.W. Walsh to Oklahoma State. This Saturday, Holgorsen's Mountaineers must deal with stopping Walsh, who’s been terrific since taking over the starting quarterback job in the opener. Walsh ranks sixth in the country in QBR and is a major reason why the Cowboys are three-touchdown favorites for their game in Morgantown.

2. Baylor (3-0, 0-0 Big 12; last week: 2): The Baylor-hasn’t-beaten-anybody argument only holds so much water. Who in the Big 12 has really beaten anybody? Oklahoma State over Mississippi State? Texas Tech over TCU? Oklahoma over West Virginia? The fact is, even against three doldrums, Baylor has been as impressive as any team in the league. This offense has a chance to be as prolific as the 2011 Oklahoma State Cowboys or the 2008 Oklahoma Sooners.

3. Oklahoma (3-0, 1-0 Big 12; last week: 3): After opening with three home victories, the Sooners will finally find out about their team during a road trip to South Bend, Ind., this weekend. They should find out a lot about quarterback Blake Bell, too -- he was marvelous after replacing Trevor Knight two weeks ago against Tulsa. But that was against Tulsa in Norman. This is Notre Dame in South Bend. If OU wins this game, people will begin to mention the under-the-radar Sooners as a possible dark horse national title contender.

4. Texas Tech (4-0, 1-0 Big 12; last week: 4): The Texas Tech defense continues to play well, but the offense was sluggish again in a 33-7 victory over Texas State. Kliff Kingsbury has to decide whether he’s going to stick with Baker Mayfield as his starting quarterback or go with Davis Webb, who has made plays the last two weeks in relief of Mayfield. Kingsbury might secretly and anxiously be waiting on the return of Michael Brewer, who’s been injured since the summer with a bad back but is close to rejoining the team on the practice field.

5. Texas (2-2, 1-0 Big 12; last week: 8): After winning their Big 12 opener 31-21 over Kansas State, the Longhorns still have plenty to play for. But they are also beaten up. Linebacker Jordan Hicks is out for the season again with a ruptured Achilles tendon, quarterback David Ash continues to deal with concussion issues and offensive playmaker Daje Johnson remains out with an ankle injury. The game with Oklahoma (Oct. 12) looms, too. A victory in Dallas is about the only thing that can save Mack Brown’s job and completely reverse momentum in Austin.

6. TCU (1-2, 0-1 Big 12; last week: 5): Gary Patterson was not pleased with his team during the off week. Patterson told reporters last week the Horned Frogs were “feeling sorry for themselves” after the 20-10 loss at Tech. “If we don’t grow up,” Patterson said, “we’re not going to win any more ballgames.” The Frogs had better grow up quickly if they want to avoid letting this season turn into a catastrophe. TCU faces road trips at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in October.

7. Kansas State (2-2, 0-1 Big 12; last week: 7): Even though Texas had been a sieve stopping opposing quarterbacks on the ground, Bill Snyder elected to use Daniel Sams sparingly in Austin. Sams averaged 6 yards a carry but got only eight carries as Jake Waters again took the bulk of the snaps at quarterback. Even though wideout Tyler Lockett is having a monster season, the Wildcats with Waters behind center have been just average offensively, which is flirting with disaster in the Big 12. Especially when the defense is just average, too.

8. West Virginia (2-2, 0-1 Big 12; last week: 6): So much for the idea that the Mountaineers could just replace Geno Smith, Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey. West Virginia looked completely inept offensively in a 37-0 loss to Maryland, which is a good team, but not that good. The Mountaineers, who had one of the best passing attacks in the country last year, suddenly can’t pass. Quarterback Ford Childress threw for just 62 yards with two interceptions Saturday, not that Paul Millard fared any better in West Virginia’s first two games. Holgorsen said he’s sticking with Childress at quarterback, which is a sign the Mountaineers are building for the future. The present is not a pretty sight.

9. Kansas (2-1, 0-0 Big 12; last week: 9): With the bottom half of the Big 12 struggling so much, the Jayhawks have the opportunity to win a couple of games in the league. But Kansas has its own problems. An offense that was supposed to be improved actually has been worse so far this season. After scoring just a field goal over three quarters against Louisiana Tech, the Jayhawks had to scramble late to escape with a 13-10 win. Jake Heaps owns the worst Total QBR (32.2) in the league and the Kansas wide receivers so far have been a disappointment. There is some talent on Charlie Weis’ offense, especially in the backfield. But it has yet to manifest on the field.

10. Iowa State (0-2, 0-0 Big 12; last week: 10): The Cyclones have back-to-back Thursday night games on deck: at Tulsa and at home against Texas. If Iowa State can’t prevail in either, this will end up being the worst season of the Paul Rhoads era. The only way the Cyclones can avoid that fate is by conjuring something in the run game, which has been abysmal so far this season.

Preseason camps have wrapped up around the Big 12, and it’s time teams focused on their openers this weekend.

It’s also time for the first Big 12 power rankings, which will appear on the blog at the beginning of each week throughout the season.

This list will change, obviously, but here is the starting point for how the Big 12 teams stack up going into Week 1:

1. Oklahoma State: The Cowboys were competitive last season, despite shuffling through three inexperienced quarterbacks. Even if Mike Gundy makes good on his promise to play both Clint Chelf and J.W. Walsh, quarterback figures to be a strength this time. Weapons abound offensively, and seven starters return on defense. The schedule also favors the Pokes, with TCU, Oklahoma, Baylor and Kansas State all slated to visit Stillwater.

2. TCU: The Horned Frogs have the best defense in the league, maybe by far. Among the contenders, they also have -- by far -- the most difficult schedule, which begins this weekend with a neutral-site showdown with LSU. Can TCU survive the gauntlet? That hinges heavily on Casey Pachall, who has the talent to quarterback the Frogs to the Big 12 title -- even against a brutal schedule.

3. Oklahoma: Bob Stoops stunned the college football world last week by announcing Trevor Knight as his starter. There could be bumps in the road early for the redshirt freshman quarterback. But Knight’s potential appears to be vast, and he could become a lethal weapon out of the Sooners’ new read-option offense. If that happens, and Mike Stoops can get something out of an unproven defense, there’s no reason OU can’t win a ninth Big 12 championship.

4. Texas: On paper, the Longhorns would deserve to be at the top of this list. Unfortunately, for them, football is not played on paper. Texas returns 19 starters and appears formidable at every position on either side of the ball. Something, however, has been missing intangibly from this program the past three years, underscored by two consecutive no-shows in the Red River Rivalry. Can the Horns rediscover their mojo? If so, the rest of the league could be in trouble -- because the talent and experience is there in Austin.

5. Baylor: The Bears deserve to be in the same tier with Oklahoma State, TCU, OU and Texas. In other words, they are a viable Big 12 title contender. Seven starters return on a defense that uncovered an opportunistic identity last November, and the offense is, well, loaded. Then again, there’s something to be said for having done it before, which Baylor has not. The schedule is favorable early, but the Bears’ mettle will be put to the test in November-December when they face all four teams ahead of them in the power ranks.

6. Kansas State: Bill Snyder’s bunch has surprised the past two years with heady quarterback play and stingy defense. With a QB battle ongoing and only two defensive starters returning, it’s difficult to envision K-State winning double-digit games again with the same formula. That said, the Wildcats might have the best blocking line in the league, and three of the better playmakers in Tyler Lockett, Tramaine Thompson and John Hubert. You know Snyder will have his team well coached, too. In other words, the Wildcats should not be discounted.

7. West Virginia: West Virginia lost three of the best offensive players in the history of its program, and yet there’s still a lot to like about this offense. The Mountaineers added some talented junior-college transfers, and Houston transfer Charles Sims could be a star in the Big 12. Even though the defense will be improved, it probably won’t be good enough for West Virginia to contend; but it might be enough for the Mountaineers to top last year’s win total.

8. Texas Tech: The Red Raiders are in a state of flux at the moment with their quarterback situation. Projected starter Michael Brewer continues to battle a bad back, which means first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury could wind up starting a true freshman Friday night at SMU. With running back Kenny Williams, wideout Eric Ward and tight end Jace Amaro, there’s more than enough around the quarterback for Tech to be prolific offensively. But unless Brewer gets healthy, it’s hard to see Tech maximizing its offensive potential.

9. Iowa State: Consistent quarterback play has been the one thing that’s kept Iowa State from becoming anything more than a .500 team in the Paul Rhoads era. Can sophomore Sam Richardson finally be the guy who turns that around? The Cyclones are banking he is. Richardson has some tools, and he played well in limited action last year with eight touchdowns compared to just one pick. He’ll need to stay efficient to offset a defense in rebuilding mode.

10. Kansas: Coach Charlie Weis said last month Kansas doesn’t deserve to be put anywhere but in last place. The Jayhawks should be better than last season, especially with former blue-chip prospect Jake Heaps now quarterbacking them. Running backs James Sims and Tony Pierson are dynamic, too. But will that be enough to pull Kansas out of the basement?

Rachel Bachman of the Wall Street Journal took a look at some of the most-used words from coaches at media days over the past week, including a trio of Big 12 coaches. This includes only each coach's 20 minutes at the podium.

She noted that Texas coach Mack Brown used the word "tempo" 14 times, and Kansas State coach Bill Snyder used the word "young" on 11 occasions, just ahead of Baylor coach Art Briles' 10 "America" references. (How patriotic!)

Let's have a closer look at this phenomenon, thanks to the folks at ASAP Sports, who supplied the transcripts:

Art Briles, Baylor

• "football": 13 times
• "America": 10 times
• "opportunity": five times

Psychoanalysis: What an amazing collection of words here. I'd keep an eye on Baylor changing its colors to red, white and blue pretty soon.

Paul Rhoads, Iowa State

• "replace": six times
• "excited": five times

Psychoanalysis: Rhoads is always excited, but no surprise that there was so much talk about all the replacement going on in Ames this year.

Charlie Weis, Kansas

• "players": 11 times
• "good": seven times
• "junior college"/"juco": five times

Bill Snyder, Kansas State

• "young": 11 times
• "different": 11 times
• "position": seven times

Psychoanalysis: You never know what you're going to get with Snyder. The uninitiated find him boring, and even if Snyder's delivery can be that at times, I came to a new appreciation of his dry sense of humor during the Wildcats' title run last season.

Bob Stoops, Oklahoma

• "great": 19 times (including nine in his opening statement!)
• "excited": nine times
• "Blake": four times
• "In the end": twice

Psychoanalysis: Times are changing in Norman. Stoops' signature phrase gets less and less play these days, but he spent a good amount of time talking about his new quarterback.

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State:

• "offense(s)": 12 times
• "success": 11 times
• "great": 11 times
• "young men": 10 times
• "advantage": 10 times
• "college football": seven times

Psychoanalysis: This is a great word cloud of exactly what Oklahoma State football has been about on its progressive rise under Gundy. They've done it with offense, especially in the last three seasons.

Gary Patterson, TCU:

• "year(s)": 22 times
• "great": 16 times
• "ball game(s)": seven times
• "defense": five times
• "LSU": five times
• "offense(s)": four times
• "big ball game": three times

Psychoanalysis: Patterson apparently couldn't catch Bob Stoops' "greatness" word count, but that first game is obviously a "big ball game," to borrow a phrase.

Mack Brown, Texas

• "better": 16 times
• "tempo": 14 times
• "older": seven times
• "run(s) the ball": seven times
• "David": six times
• "Colt": six times
• "Vince": four times
• "today": four times

Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech

• "team": 10 times
• "league": eight times

Psychoanalysis: In my conversations with Kingsbury, it's clear he gives by far the shortest answers of any Big 12 coach. That shows here, too. Not a lot of repetition, and when it shows up, it's mostly words everybody uses.

Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia

• "Big 12": 12 times
• "offense(s)": eight times
• "defense(s)": five times
• "quarterback": four times
• "Ford": one time
• "Paul": one time
• "Clint": one time

Psychoanalysis: Props to Holgorsen for not providing much in the way of tea leaves to read when it comes to his quarterback race. Sounds like somebody is (a) happy to be in the Big 12 and (b) loves to talk offense.

DALLAS -- During this era of realignment, a sense of unfamiliarity has become common. Yet that doesn’t make the getting-to-know-you phase any easier.

PODCAST
Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury joins Fitzsimmons and Durrett to talk about the quarterback battle in Lubbock, his expectations as a first-year head coach and what he makes of Johnny Manziel's offseason. Listen

In 2012, every Big 12 team faced the challenge of preparing for a conference game against an unfamiliar opponent. As teams prepped for TCU and West Virginia during their first season in the league, there was plenty of uncertainty about the different challenges the newcomers would bring to the table.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” Texas Tech defensive tackle Kerry Hyder said.

Texas defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat added, “It’s kind of like those first three games against teams not in your conference. When I first saw West Virginia on film I was like ‘Wow, we’re really playing them.’ Everybody talked about playing them but to actually play them was cool, it made it real.”

TCU brought solid defense, West Virginia brought explosive offense and nobody in the Big 12 had a great feel for their new conference rivals.

“You had to do more studying than usual,” Oklahoma center Gabe Ikard said. “You may have seen that scheme but you haven’t seen their personnel. If I’ve played a guy at Texas three times, you kind of know a little about them, but I hadn’t played against any of them.”

It wasn’t a major issue that decided games, but it was a noticeable change from the weekly routine of preparing for a well-known conference opponent.

“Every year is different,” Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. “We knew less about TCU and West Virginia a year ago, but this year’s teams [at TCU and WVU] are going to be different than those teams. I don’t know if we have a leg up this year but it’s good to have a library of thoughts and film.”

For the first time since 2010, the Big 12 will enter this football season with the same members as it had the previous season, giving teams a better idea of what it is going to take to win a conference title in 2013.

“This year we’ll have a better game plan for them, we’ll be more prepared for them,” Hyder said of the newest conference members. “Experience helps in every aspect of life.”

On the flip side, TCU and West Virginia will have a much better understanding of what it takes to have success in the Big 12. TCU coach Gary Patterson and WVU coach Dana Holgorsen did their best to prepare their teams with their words, but actually experiencing a Big 12 schedule was a better teacher than anything Patterson or Holgorsen could have said.

After one season in the Big 12, TCU safety Sam Carter came away with a much better idea of what success in the new conference requires.

“One mistake can cost you a game,” Carter said. “Not just on defense, our offense understands that mistakes can kill you in this conference. Our first Big 12 loss [to Iowa State], we gave up a few big plays, and coaches had been telling us the whole summer that one mistake can cost you in the Big 12. And it came up and really cost us in a few games.”

The Mountaineers had a slight advantage with Holgorsen at the helm. He had an extensive Big 12 background with coaching experience at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech before taking over at WVU in 2011. However, Holgorsen believes it will take at least two seasons before the Mountaineers really feel at home in the conference.

“I did my best of explaining what it’s going to be like at the different places,” Holgorsen said. “After a couple years, you start getting some familiarity with it, the fan base understands it, the administration understands it and your players understand it, and they can talk about it with the other guys.”

While the Mountaineers have more experience after one season in the conference, Holgorsen said he’ll still have some teaching do to. For example, since the Mountaineers hosted the Sooners in 2012, the players still don't know what it’s like to play OU in Norman, Okla. Once they have played in stadiums across the Big 12, then he’ll be more confident that his team has a complete understanding of what Big 12 football is all about.

“It’s going to take time for half of our team to understand what it’s like in Lubbock, Texas,” he said. “And be able to relay that to the other kids in the locker room."

All these variables add to what could be one of the most entertaining Big 12 seasons in recent memory.

“It’s the first year with everybody knowing what everybody is going to do,” said OSU receiver Josh Stewart, a junior who has never experienced playing a conference schedule that featured the exact same teams he played the previous year. “It’s going to be some exciting football in the Big 12.”

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Iowa State faithful when I asked what their most important game in 2012 was, but I wasn't surprised to see a rivalry game against an average at best Iowa team earn 32 percent of the vote.

The biggest earner, however, was Iowa State's Thursday night game against Texas, which received 36 percent of the vote.

The Cyclones' home game against Oklahoma State was in third with 17 percent of the vote, but I was surprised Tulsa (nine percent) and Kansas (six percent) didn't earn a bit more of the vote.

Me? I'm with the fans on this one. Iowa State needs big wins and needs exposure, and it will get both in a Thursday night game against Texas. I've said for a long time that Jack Trice Stadium is an underrated venue, and it will be on display on national television against the Longhorns.

Can the team hold up its end of the bargain? I remember back in 2011 the Cyclones raced to a 3-0 start with three fourth-quarter comebacks led by quarterback Steele Jantz, and hosted a top 20 Texas team. It got rocked, trailing 34-0 at halftime of the 37-14 loss. That kind of thing can't happen this season. It took the air out of the stadium in Ames, and did more harm than good.

Looking back on that adds some gravity to the Cyclones' game. Yes, it's an opportunity, but it's a risk, too. Texas could come to Ames undefeated, and a lopsided loss gives everyone in the Big 12 and the country reason to dismiss ISU as a program to respect.

Win, and that's another win against a top 10 team on Paul Rhoads' resume, and a chance for ISU to earn a reputation as a team capable of building beyond just six and seven-win seasons, and taking that famed "next step" as a program. A win against Texas could be the key to making that happen, and to me, that makes it the most important game of 2013.

Inspired by Florida's "#ComePlayWRFortheJoker" campaign, our recruiting writers looked at other ways schools can sell themselves on the trail. Here's a look at recruiting pitches for other schools:

Baylor Bears
What they’re selling: The new 45,000-seat, $250-million on-campus stadium that will open in 2014. Recruiting is an arms race, and players like fancy stadiums and locker rooms, and Baylor’s upgrade puts them finally on the same level playing field as everybody else in the Big 12.
What they're missing: Help on defense -- specifically at defensive line and defensive back.

Oklahoma Sooners
What they’re selling: Oklahoma is proud of its football tradition, and few schools can match the Sooners’ track record for success, facilities and ability to prepare you for the next level.
What they're missing: A renewed focus on evaluating players. It’s what differentiated Bob Stoops’ staff when they started, and it’s how they found players like Sam Bradford, Josh Heupel, Juaquin Iglesias and Donald Stephenson. All at the time were considered to be three-star recruits but wound up being impact players for the Sooners.

Oklahoma State Cowboys
What they’re selling: Their ability to evaluate and develop offensive talent.
What they're missing: Elite players in the Lone Star State. With the best facilities in the conference, it might be just enough to get kids to visit.

Texas Longhorns
What they’re selling: Few in the nation can offer up the type of atmosphere, fan base, tradition and total student-athlete package like Texas can.
What they're missing: A true a difference-maker at quarterback. The last two Heisman Trophy winners have come from Texas high schools, and the Longhorns didn’t recruit one heavily and recruited the other as an athlete.

TCU Horned Frogs
What they’re selling: The Horned Frogs recruit to their style of smash-mouth play on both sides of the ball and don’t care how many stars a recruit has. It hurts them some in the recruiting rankings, but it helps them win a lot of ball games.
What they're missing: BCS conference depth. Heading into their second season in the Big 12 after a 7-6 season, the biggest thing the Horned Frogs need to do is to build the roster to be able to compete year in and year out in the BCS conference.

Texas Tech Red Raiders
What they’re selling: The Red Raiders went through a transition that brought Kliff Kingsbury to Lubbock, and the early reception has been nothing short of positive.
What they're missing: The Red Raiders have never had issues putting up points on people, but under Tommy Tuberville and Mike Leach there was little defense being played.

Texas A&M Aggies
What they are selling: There is a lot to sell a recruit on at Texas A&M right now. An explosive offense which led the SEC in total offense by more than 100 yards a game, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and a team that went into Tuscaloosa and handed Alabama its only loss last season.
What they are missing: There are still some holes to fill on defense. The Aggies finished with the No. 8-ranked defense in the SEC and the No. 10-ranked pass defense in the league. They also need to replace talented defensive end Damontre Moore, who is now in the NFL.

Athlon Sports ranked all 125 coaches heading into 2013, and that includes the 10 coaches in the Big 12. First on the list is no surprise and won't get any argument from me.

Kansas State's Bill Snyder checked in at No. 3, behind only Alabama's Nick Saban and Ohio State's Urban Meyer.

"As long as Snyder roams the sidelines in Manhattan, regardless of how many starters Kansas State loses, never count out the Wildcats from the Big 12 title discussion," writes Steve Lassan.

Well said. That'll be put to the test this season. Only eight starters return from last year's Big 12 title team, more than only three teams in college football.

Oklahoma's Bob Stoops showed up at No. 7 on the list, just three spots ahead of TCU's Gary Patterson, at No. 10.

"The Kansas native had no FBS head coaching experience when he was promoted at TCU in 2000 but has eight seasons of 10 or more wins, including a 13-0 mark in 2010," Lassan notes.

You can't deny the growth Art Briles has developed at Baylor, and he's at No. 13 on the list after taking the Bears to three consecutive bowl games for the first time in school history. Things look like they're only getting better in Waco, too.

It's a little surprising to see him two spots ahead of Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy at No. 15, but you could make the case either way. Briles' job was infinitely harder than Gundy's, but you can't argue with Gundy's Big 12 title ring, the Pokes' first in about three decades.

Texas' Mack Brown is all the way down at No. 28. The past three seasons have taken their toll on his national reputation, no doubt. It's been quite a slide for the Longhorns.

"The Longhorns have the talent to win the Big 12 title in 2013. If Texas fails to surpass its 2012 win total (nine), there will be plenty of calls for a coaching change in Austin," Lassan writes.

I definitely agree with that. Huge season waiting in Austin.

Paul Rhoads is at No. 38, 10 spots lower. His reputation perhaps exceeds the actual on-field results, but his degree of difficulty in this league is probably even greater than what Briles faces. Briles at least has the advantage of being close to big-time talent in Central Texas. Rhoads' talent pool in Iowa is a lot different, and convincing guys to come north isn't easy.

Dana Holgorsen showed up at No. 50, which definitely seems low, but when you've only been a head coach for two seasons and have a five-game losing streak in one of them, you surrender some right to argue your status, I'd say. He's got a conference title and a BCS bowl win, but winning the Big East won't impress too many folks.

Kliff Kingsbury is down at No. 66, which is where I'd say all first-year coaches belong to start. Any new first-time coach has potential, but they haven't proven to be great or poor yet. Put 'em in the middle, I say.

Lassan has Charlie Weis at No. 106 after his 1-11 campaign at KU last season.

Here's the full list:

• No. 3: Bill Snyder, Kansas State
• No. 7: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
• No. 10: Gary Patterson, TCU
• No. 13: Art Briles, Baylor
• No. 15: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
• No. 28: Mack Brown, Texas
• No. 38: Paul Rhoads, Iowa State
• No. 50: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
• No. 66: Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
• No. 106: Charlie Weis, Kansas

That gives the Big 12 half of its coaches in the top 15. Not bad.

The season has come and gone, and brought with it lots of change in the Big 12 Power Rankings. Still, with all the games officially over, here's how I ranked the Big 12 to close the season:

1. Kansas State (11-2, 8-1 Big 12, last week: 1) K-State's year met an unsatisfying end in the desert with another ugly bowl loss. Like last season, the loss was to a team not very far outside of the BCS title picture. Oregon knocked off K-State, but the loss didn't mar all the fantastic things K-State accomplished this year.

2. Oklahoma (10-3, 8-1, last week: 2) Oklahoma suffered a bad bowl loss too, but it mostly exposed defensive deficiencies that may get worse next year. Oklahoma shared a Big 12 title this season, but lacked a big, impressive win. It did have two home losses, but the gap between K-State and OU and the rest of the Big 12 is wide in the standings.

3. Baylor (8-5, 4-5, last week: 4) No team was hotter than the Bears, who closed the season with four consecutive victories, including a home win against then-BCS No. 1 Kansas State to kick off the finish. The streak that featured three wins against ranked teams and the blowout bowl victory over UCLA has Baylor thinking big in 2013.

4. Oklahoma State (8-5, 5-4, last week: 3) The Pokes were better than their record this year, with blowout wins over decent teams such as Texas Tech, West Virginia and TCU. OSU wishes it had those Arizona and Texas games to do over again, but winning eight games with the injuries at quarterback is no small feat. The Pokes will be loaded for 2013, especially if Joseph Randle returns.

5. Texas (9-4, 5-4, last week: 5) Texas rescued a bowl win against a top-15 team, but David Ash still must be better if the Longhorns are going to return to Big 12 prominence. The tenor of spring practice will be heavily influenced by how an ongoing sexual assault investigation plays out. Regardless, until it's over, it's a possible distraction that could substantially affect personnel.

6. TCU (7-6, 4-5, last week: 6) With a bowl win, TCU might have slid inside the league's top five, but coughing up a late lead put a really frustrating end to a gutsy season from the Frogs. Trevone Boykin and Matthew Tucker did their best filling in for injured players, but the Frogs didn't have enough offense without Casey Pachall and Waymon James to win big in 2012.

7. Texas Tech (8-5, 4-5, last week: 8) Tech's finish was ugly, and narrowly surviving against a barely mediocre Minnesota team didn't really impress many folks. The Red Raiders' losing four of five in Big 12 play didn't inspire much confidence, but the future will be really, really intriguing in Lubbock.

8. West Virginia (7-6, 4-5, last week: 7) West Virginia's ugly bowl loss to Syracuse removed any question about the conference's biggest disappointment in 2012. The defense is nowhere near good enough to be competitive in the Big 12, and the offense didn't have enough juice to outscore very many good teams.

9. Iowa State (6-7, 3-6, last week: 9) Beating teams twice is never easy, but Iowa State had an opportunity to move up in these rankings with a win over the Golden Hurricane. Instead, Tulsa dominated the final three quarters, and did so on the line of scrimmage. A second lopsided bowl loss in as many years is not the finish Paul Rhoads wanted.

10. Kansas (1-11, 0-9, last week: 10) No bowl, and not much to report, but the recruiting class is loaded up with about 70 percent junior college commits. We'll see how that looks in the fall, but this spring should be interesting, too.

The silly season can get dizzying at times. We'll update this if necessary, but here's where the Big 12 coaching carousel has currently landed after a few big spins.

BAYLOR

• No changes.
• Head coach Art Briles was reportedly contacted by Arkansas and Texas Tech, but signed a new extension with Baylor and hasn't expressed interest in any jobs or admitted to any interviews.

IOWA STATE

• No changes.
• Head coach Paul Rhoads reportedly drew interest from Wisconsin, but Rhoads went on the record this week to say he has no interest in replacing Bret Bielema in Madison.

KANSAS

• No changes.

KANSAS STATE

• No changes.

OKLAHOMA

• Co-offensive coordinator Josh Heupel was a candidate for the Louisiana Tech opening last week, but reportedly turned down the job. The Bulldogs eventually hired Skip Holtz to replace Sonny Dykes.
• Co-offensive coordinator Jay Norvell has also reportedly drawn interest from other schools, but it sounds like he's staying at Oklahoma.

OKLAHOMA STATE

• Offensive coordinator Todd Monken left to become the head coach at Southern Miss.
• Head coach Mike Gundy reportedly interviewed with both Tennessee and Arkansas and some local reports even indicated that he had accepted the Arkansas job, but they ultimately proved to be false. Gundy has since gone on record saying there's "no question" he'll be the Cowboys' head coach in 2013.
• Defensive coordinator Bill Young on if he'll return next season or retire: "I don’t know, I don’t know," Young told The Oklahoman. "I’m going to think about it."

TEXAS

• Co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin left to become the head coach at Arkansas State.
• Co-offensive coordinator Major Applewhite replaces Harsin as the playcaller and will coach quarterbacks now. Texas plans to replace him as running backs coach after the season ends.
• Receivers coach Darrell Wyatt was promoted to co-offensive coordinator.
• Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz reportedly interviewed with Florida International, but removed himself from consideration and will stay at Texas.

TCU

• No changes.
• Head coach Gary Patterson was reportedly a leading candidate to replace John L. Smith at Arkansas, but there were no reports of interviews or significant contact between the two parties.

TEXAS TECH

• Head coach Tommy Tuberville left to become the head coach at Cincinnati.
• Offensive coordinator Neal Brown left to become the offensive coordinator at Kentucky on Mark Stoops' staff.
• Texas A&M offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury accepted an offer to replace Tuberville as Tech's head coach.
• Ex-Red Raiders Kevin Curtis and Eric Morris will join Kingsbury's staff. Curtis told reporters he will likely coach the cornerbacks. Morris' role on the staff is still undetermined. He previously coached inside receivers for Mike Leach at Washington State.

WEST VIRGINIA

• Dana Holgorsen relieved cornerbacks coach Daron Roberts of his duties and moved co-defensive coordinator Keith Patterson to defensive playcaller, replacing co-defensive coordinator Joe DeForest as playcaller. DeForest is still on staff.
• Graduate assistant Andrew McGee (who led the Big 12 in interceptions at Oklahoma State in 2010, with five) will coach cornerbacks heading into the bowl game, but WVU will find a permanent replacement after the season.

Colleague Travis Haney named his top 10 underrated coaching jobs of 2012 earlier this week. No. 10 on his list is Baylor's Art Briles.

Briles, though, was No. 3 on my list to end the season, behind Bill Snyder and Gary Patterson. Which were the Big 12's most underrated coaching jobs this year? I'm glad you asked, friends.

1. Paul Rhoads, Iowa State: Sometimes, folks don't understand how hard it is to win in the Big 12 without great quarterback play. Rhoads has done it in both of the past two seasons. This year, in a super-deep Big 12 with really only one easy win, Rhoads navigated Iowa State to six wins in the conference while starting three different quarterbacks throughout the season. That's frustrating for a coach, and Rhoads had a difficult task. He still helped push the Cyclones into a bowl game for the third time in four seasons. Amazing work.

2. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: Speaking of quarterback issues, Gundy navigated his own issues. He had to replace a pair of first-round picks in Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon, and his starting quarterback, Wes Lunt, suffered a knee injury in the third game and had to be replaced by J.W. Walsh, who eventually suffered a leg injury of his own. Then Lunt came back and got concussed. Enter Clint Chelf. OSU's QB spot was a zoo this year, and the secondary was a bit disappointing, but OSU still won seven games, despite a frustrating season-ending loss to Baylor that cost the Cowboys a lot of ground in bowl selection.

3. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: Yes, Stoops had the most talented team in the Big 12 this year, but winning eight consecutive games in the Big 12 isn't easy, especially when you start 0-1 in league play. Stoops got his team off the ground after a terrible finish to the 2011 season and a rough loss at home to begin Big 12 play this year to still win a share of the conference. No, Oklahoma wasn't a national title contender this season, but went 10-2 with its two losses coming to teams in the top five. That's pretty impressive, even if it's at Oklahoma.

Here's how I'd slot the Big 12 after the completion of the regular season. Only bowl games to go, folks.

Bottom line on these rankings: With five teams at 7-5, it might get a little messy in the middle. Not a lot of separation between No. 3 and No. 8, honestly.

1. Kansas State (11-1, 8-1 Big 12, last week: 1) The objective among us know Kansas State is the Big 12's real champion this season, but that was an impressive finish for the Wildcats, who beat Texas 42-24, despite trailing 17-14 midway through the third quarter.

2. Oklahoma (10-2, 8-1, last week: 2) Oklahoma deserves to win a "share" of the Big 12 title, but the postgame celebration and indignance is a little silly to me. Still, Oklahoma strung together another fantastic season and finished strong. Winning eight consecutive Big 12 games is not easy to do.

3. Oklahoma State (7-5, 5-4, last week: 3) Oklahoma State lost to Baylor, but they're clearly a better team than Texas to close the season, and Baylor's got a worse record in conference play. BU is playing well, but they're not the third-best team in the league. The Pokes need to rediscover their mojo in their bowl game.

4. Baylor (7-5, 4-5, last week: 7) When the Big 12 is this tight, you can make some moves. Three weeks ago, Baylor was No. 9 on this ranking. Not anymore. Baylor took it to a pair of really good teams in Kansas State and Oklahoma State, and survived a shootout with the Red Raiders. Nobody in the Big 12 is playing better football right now.

5. Texas (8-4, 5-4, last week: 5) Texas is backpedaling into the end of the season with two losses against TCU and K-State after playing solid ball for a month. The eight wins are nice, but you can't tell me Texas should be higher than this based on the way they finished the season. The Frogs and Wildcats outmuscled Texas, who is banged up and needs time to heal before the bowl game.

6. TCU (7-5, 4-5, last week: 4) What a weird first season for TCU. So many injuries and it's going to be waiting until 2013 for its first home win in its new conference home. Still, the Frogs have been salty and a tough out for anybody in the league. The Frogs finished strong, and might open next season as the Big 12 favorite, especially if Casey Pachall returns. I talked to a couple people around TCU on Saturday, and it sounds like Pachall is doing well in his treatment center and the door for his return to the program in the second semester and spring practice is wide open.

7. West Virginia 7-5, 4-5, last week: 8) WVU's five-game losing streak ceded to a two-game winning streak, even though both wins were over the Big 12's two worst teams this season. Yes, it's Kansas, but not many teams have spanked the Jayhawks like the Mountaineers did.

8. Texas Tech (7-5, 4-5, last week: 6) Texas Tech was idle this week, but the Red Raiders finished worse than any of the Big 12's seven-win teams. Four losses and an overtime win at home against KU? I can't get behind that. What a disappointing close to a promising early-season run in Lubbock.

9. Iowa State (6-6, 3-6, last week: 9) Iowa State was idle this week, and despite sitting solidly at ninth in the Big 12, the six-win season is a serious accomplishment in a deep Big 12. Paul Rhoads reaching a bowl game in three of four seasons to kick off his career is amazing. He's still one play away from making it 4-of-4, going back to that failed fake extra point against Nebraska in 2010.

10. Kansas (1-11, 0-9, last week: 10) Better luck next year, guys. The Jayhawks were better under Charlie Weis, but that was a sad closing effort against West Virginia.

Here's how I slot the Big 12 heading into the final weekend of the season:

1. Kansas State (10-1, 7-1, last week: 1) The Wildcats were idle, but there was nothing that could happen on Saturday to knock the Wildcats off their comfy perch atop this ranking. A loss next week to Texas might, though, as long as the Sooners beat TCU to win the Big 12 outright.

2. Oklahoma (9-2, 6-1, last week: 2) Oklahoma got the job done and defended its home field against an unbelievably resilient Oklahoma State team. The Sooners stayed alive in the Big 12 title race in the process, but that's a Bedlam that won't soon be forgotten by the Sooner faithful, even if it's also a sign of possibly scary things to come.

3. Oklahoma State (7-4, 5-3, last week: 3) Excuse me for refusing to move Oklahoma State down a spot after losing to Oklahoma in overtime in Norman. If there's such a thing as a good loss, that was it. The Cowboys impressed me and held their own in a crazy environment at Owen Field.

4. TCU (7-4, 3-4, last week: 6) TCU's record, like Oklahoma State's, isn't as good as Texas', but you can't discount what happened on Thursday night. The Frogs looked like the better team and their quickly maturing defense has now perplexed Kansas State and Texas in successive games.

5. Texas (8-3, 5-3, last week: 4) One loss may sting for a long while for the Longhorns, and don't be surprised if that same loss pays off for the Frogs down the line on the recruiting trail. David Ash was benched for a second time this season after a strong start, and the Longhorns were eliminated from the Big 12 title race before traveling to Manhattan this week.

6. Texas Tech (7-5, 4-5, last week: 5) Texas Tech gave everything it had on Saturday, but Baylor was just an inch better this time. The Bears validated last week's Kansas State upset and Texas Tech lost four of its last five games to close the regular season. Two of the losses were by at least 31 points, albeit to ranked teams. The one win? In overtime at home against Kansas. Uh, not good, Red Raiders.

7. Baylor (6-5, 3-5, last week: 8) The Bears didn't convince me they should slide ahead of the Red Raiders, but wow, what a rescue of a season for the Bears. I probably would have given them a 10 percent chance of reaching a bowl last Friday. Sure enough, they knock off the No. 1 team in the country and back it up with a gutsy win over Texas Tech, their second consecutive win in the rivalry after being shut out by the Red Raiders since the beginning of the Big 12.

8. West Virginia (6-5, 3-5, last week: 9) West Virginia won a game, but that's about it. Beating Iowa State in Ames isn't easy, but it also won't impress many folks. Tavon Austin is ridiculous, there's no denying that. There's also no denying that West Virginia's been ousted by only Arkansas as the most disappointing team in the country this season.

9. Iowa State (6-6, 3-6, last week: 7) The Cyclones may have discovered a real hope for the future in Sam Richardson, who didn't get the win but played well enough to keep his job heading into the bowl game if you ask me. Paul Rhoads is in his third bowl game in four years, but winning that bowl game offers a lot of validation entering the offseason that losing, like ISU did last year against Rutgers, does not.

10. Kansas (1-10, 0-8, last week: 10) This brutal season meets its merciful end next week in Morgantown. An upset is definitely possible, but the Jayhawks were blasted the last time out by an average Iowa State team. Charlie Weis laid some building blocks for the future, but that Big 12 losing streak will hang over the offseason if the Jayhawks can't swing the shocker.

SEC
4. Texas A&M (10-2; LW: 4): The Aggies walked all over a bad Missouri team Saturday. Johnny Manziel injured his knee in the first quarter and was still able to accumulate 439 yards of offense and five touchdowns. The defense gave up 22 points in the second half, but the game was well in hand by halftime. No one knows how this team won 10 games in its first year in the SEC without a bye week, but A&M was a pleasant surprise for the conference. These aren't the Big 12's Aggies, and they're headed to a January bowl.

Time for a whole new round of fun facts from around the Big 12 this week. As always, these come courtesy of our crack team at ESPN Stats & Information, as well as various sports information departments from around the Big 12. Let's get to it!

Did you know ...

• Landry Jones has thrown 12.7 percent of his career passes from outside the pocket.
• Jones has thrown 26.5 percent of his career interceptions from outside the pocket.
• Against Oklahoma State last season, Jones was 3-of-16 with two interceptions on passes outside the pocket.
• For his career, Jones is completing 65.4 percent of his passes inside the pocket, compared to 50.2 percent outside of it.
• Oklahoma State has 15 touchdown drives this season that lasted less than a minute, fourth-most in the FBS.
• The Cowboys have 15 touchdown drives of three plays or fewer, tied for third in FBS.
• In Jones' first five games, he completed just 6-of-27 throws longer than 20 yards, for one touchdown and an interception. In his past five, he's completed of 15-of-30 passes for six scores and two picks.
• Since Week 10, Clint Chelf has completed 52.6 percent of his passes longer than 20 yards, for five touchdowns and no interceptions.
• J.W. Walsh has scored four touchdowns in eight goal-to-go rush attempts.
• Blake Bell has nine touchdowns in 14 goal-to-go rush attempts.
• Oklahoma State running back Joseph Randle has 596 yards after contact this year, fifth-most in the FBS and most in the Big 12.
• Oklahoma gave up just 138.2 yards per game and five touchdowns on the ground in its first six games.
• In its last four games, the Sooners have given up 256 rushing yards a game and 12 touchdowns.
• Oklahoma State's been held below 30 points just once this season.
• Randle is gaining 54.2 percent of his yards after contact.
• Oklahoma's defense has given up just 630 yards after contact this year, the fewest in the Big 12 and eighth-fewest among AQ schools.
• The Big 12 has 70 percent of its teams already bowl-eligible, the highest percentage of any league in the country.
• Two more Big 12 teams could be bowl-eligible by the end of the weekend.
• The Big 12 has five teams in the top 10 nationally in scoring.
• Big 12 teams average 74.1 plays, 463.1 yards and four punts per game. All are the highest among FBS leagues.
• Twenty percent of the Big 12's touchdown drives this year have been scored in less than a minute.
• Baylor's victory over No. 1 Kansas State last week was its first ever over a No. 1 team.
• It also tied the record for the biggest margin of victory over a BCS No. 1 team.
• Iowa State is 9-1 under Paul Rhoads when scoring at least 35 points, and 21-1 when allowing fewer than 24 points.
• West Virginia's five-game losing streak is its longest since a six-game streak in 1986.
• Iowa State is 1-3 at home in Big 12 play this year.
• West Virginia and Iowa State have never met.
• Iowa State hasn't won its regular season finale since 2006.
• Oklahoma has won 32 consecutive games when leading at halftime.
• Oklahoma State's 38-point win over Texas Tech last week was its third-largest ever against a ranked opponent.
• West Virginia had 778 yards of offense last week, but it was only the second-most in school history. The Mountaineers had 807 yards of offense in a win over Baylor earlier this season.
• Seth Doege is just the third quarterback in Texas Tech history with 8,000 yards passing. He has 8,006 after last week's loss to Oklahoma State.