Sitting in my favorite eating establishment this morning, The Old Neighborhood Grill in Fort Worth, I was thinking about Dan Jenkins.  Dan is one of the greatest sports writers in the last 50 years, and he is a native of Fort Worth.  He is also a big TCU fan.  Peter, the owner of Old Neighborhood Grill, and I were talking about some of Dan’s books including his latest one.  Dan is a reminder of just how successful the program has been in years past.  And, recently, with coaching of Gary Patterson, the program has returned to prominence.  It is telling when you realize that the Frogs won 8 games last year, including the Texas Bowl, and that was considered a disappointment.

For years, the Horned Frogs were a part of the old Southwest Conference.  Usually, any team who was at the top of the Southwest Conference was considered relevant in the national rankings, scene.  When the conference folded, the Frogs missed out on going to the Big Twelve.  They spent time in the Western Athletic Conference and the Conference USA before moving the Mounatin West Conference a few years ago.  They seem to have found a home.  As conference strength goes, the MWC is the toughest outside of the BCS power conferences.  It boasts at least two teams with national championships:  TCU and BYU.  TCU came close to busting the BCS “glass ceiling” in its first year in the MWC going 11-1.  Its lone loss was to SMU one week after beating Oklahoma in Norman, keeping it out of the BCS bowls.

When people think of TCU, they might think of “Slingin Sammy” Baugh, Davey O’Brien, Bob Lilly and LaDainian Tomlinson.  You might not realize that the Horned Frogs have two national championships.  The 1930′s were very good to the Frogs as they took the 1935 and 1938 national titles.  TCU has 14 conference championships in 5 different conferences (source).  For a team that is not in a “power” conference, TCU has a pretty rich tradition.  Recently, winning games has become an expectation again.

TCU is not afraid to play against their share of BCS conference teams.  As I mentioned earlier, TCU knocked off OU in Norman in 2005.  They have played Texas Tech home and away, Baylor, Stanford (who comes to Fort Worth this year) and Texas in Austin.   And TCU has beaten every team mentioned but Texas in the past 3 years.  What’s more, the Frogs travel to Norman again this season to take on the Sooners.  The past two trips to Norman have been wins for the Frogs.  Do you think the people in Norman remember?

Bowl games against BCS teams have been successful too.  They started this recent success by knocking off USC in the 1998 Sun Bowl.  Granted, that wasn’t a Pete Carroll coached team, but it was a win over USC.  Then, the Frogs knocked off Iowa State in the 2005 Texas Bowl.  They also own victories this decade over Vanderbilt,  Arizona, and Northwestern.  They have suffered losses to Texas A&M (2001 Bowl game) and Nebraska (2001).  And, the Frogs have a future date with the SEC’s Arkansas.

If the past is any indication, especailly the recent past, the Horned Frogs look to have another succes-field season.  Look for the Frogs to contend for the Mounatin West Conference Title once again.

I wrote in a previous post that I would reveal my top ten coaches list. Here is my list. Of course, I know it is a subjective exercise. Most will not agree with me. That’s fine. But I’ll give you my list, and I will also try to explain why. As before, this list is not in ascending or descending order.

1. Jim Tressel, Ohio State University–It’s hard to argue with Tressel’s success at Ohio State. However, he won four national titles in Division I-AA before jumping to Division I-A (now the Bowl Championship Division) to coach Ohio State. In 21 years as a head coach Tressel has 11 Ten Win seasons. Four titles in Division I-AA and one in Division I-A while at Ohio State. His accomplishments should not be diminished by the Buckeye losses in two straight national title games. The Buckeyes will be an early favorite to make a third straight appearance in 2009, and this time they might win the game. Tressel’s ability to lure prize recruit Terrelle Pryor may have been the advantage he needed to win the title.

2. Urban Meyer, University of Florida– Coach Meyer has been head coaching for 7 years, and 3 of those seasons were Ten Win seasons. Remarkably, Meyer has not finished a year as a head coach with less than 8 wins. Meyer is the hot new young coach for most. His Gators expect to be a major contender both in the SEC and nationally during the 2008-09 season behind returning QB and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

3. Pete Carroll, University of Southern California– Few could argue with Carroll’s inclusion on a Top Ten Coaches list. USC had an astounding 10 players taken in the 2008 NFL draft. Carroll was 6-6 in his first season at USC, but then he won at least 11 games in each of his next six seasons. Carroll led USC to 2 BCS National title game appearances, 2 AP and 1 BCS National Championships, and six straight top 4 finishes. Carroll’s Trojans have either won or tied for the Pac 10 Championship for six straight seasons. In the last three years, USC has been an early season favorite to play in the BCS National Championship Game. Carroll’s resume is impressive.

4. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State University–In 21 seasons as head coach, Erickson has 7 10 win seasons and 2 National Championships. Erickson has coached six different college football teams and is prone to jumping around a bit. Nevertheless, when Erickson takes over a program, he usually makes it a winner. His first year at Arizona State, Erickson led the Devils to 10-3 record and a share of the Pac 10 Championship. Erickson is leading a Devil Storm in the Desert.

5. Bob Stoops, University of Oklahoma–Stoops had a fast start in Norman. In just his second year, the Sooners won the National Championship. Rarely does Stoops lose the annual Red River Rivalry against Texas. Stoops has seven 11 win seasons in 9 years as the head Sooner coach. Stoops’ teams have reached a BCS Bowl 6 different times, winning the first 2.

6. Mac Brown, University of Texas–Brown’s resume was punctuated by a National Championship in 2005 with a thrilling win over USC in one of the greatest 1 vs. 2 and National Championship Games ever. Led by QB Vince Young, Brown’s Longhorns answered every challenge during the year by several teams to make it to the Rose Bowl for the National Title. USC did not have answer for UT’s Young as he scrambled and passed his way to a second consecutive Rose Bowl title and the BCS National Championship. Brown has ten 10 win seasons in 20 years of coaching.

7. Phillip Fulmer, University of Tennessee–Fulmer has nine 10 win seasons in 16 years as head coach of the Volunteers. Fulmer has six SEC East Division Titles (1 shared) and 2 SEC Championships. Fulmer’s Vols have been to two BCS Bowl games and won one National title. Fulmer has a 76.6% winning percentage. All he has done at Tennessee is win. In Knoxville, there are 109,000 screaming fans singing Rocky Talk.

8. Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech University–Beamer has been a head coach for 27 years, yet he still produces good teams. Beamer has nine 10 win seasons including four straight. Bearmer’s teams are usually among the best in special teams, and players regularly compete for a lunch pail.

9. Mark Richt, University of Georgia–Richt has five 10 win seasons in 7 years as a head coach, all at Georgia. Richt’s teams have been to three BCS Bowls and has two SEC Championships. Richt’s ‘Dawgs are many people’s pre-season favorite to win the 2008-2009 BCS National Championship. Georgia rallied last year after two early season losses to finish number 2 in the final polls. The Bulldogs were widely considered the hottest team at the end of the 2007-2008 season.

10. Gary Patterson, Texas Christian University–Patterson’s Horned Frogs have four 10 win seasons in his 7 years as head Frog. Patterson’s teams have finished ranked four times. The Frogs have accomplished all of this during the Patterson era while competing in three different conferences and knocking off teams from BCS conferences. Twice in the Patterson era TCU knocked at the BCS Bowl party door. The Frogs under Patterson have upsets against Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Iowa State. The Frogs recently knocked off Stanford in 2007 the week after the Cardinals upset USC at the Coliseum. The Frogs return a lot of talent to make another run at the Mountain West Conference Title.