Oklahoma Sooners
2000 record: 13-0 (8-0).
Coach: Bob Stoops (3rd year, 20-5).
Starters returning: 8 offense, 6 defense, 2 kickers.
Outlook: At the Big 12 media days last month, OU coach Bob Stoops said he was "excited to finally be putting last year's season behind." You know, those pesky national championships can be so distracting. But if you need further proof that the Sooners aren't satisfied with just one national championship, consider:
Stoops has his team focused on making history. If OU claims another title, it will become the first NCAA school to win back-to-back national championships three different times.
23 of Oklahoma's top 44 players in last year's Orange Bowl were freshmen and sophomores.
Stoops' troops already are ticked that Big 12 coaches picked Nebraska to win the conference and that the BCS changed its format because, as one Sooner said, "Miami was whining."
Motivation intact, the Sooners simply don't lose much firepower, save for quarterback Josh Heupel. Junior Nate Hybl and sophomore Jason White are stronger and more efficient than Heupel was entering the program, Stoops said. The question is whether they can calmly lead the program to the heights Heupel did. This much is for sure. Either one will have a buffet of playmakers to get the ball to, including running backs Quentin Griffin, Renaldo Works and Jerad Estus and proven receivers Antwone Savage, Curtis Fagan, Damian Mackey and Andre Woolfolk.
Oklahoma is loaded defensively, with linebacker Rocky Calmus and defensive backs Roy Williams and Derrick Strait leading a unit that has speed to burn.
Keep an eye on: Jerad Estus. While undersized starter Quentin Griffin has gained 20 pounds after a solid season last year, Estus could step in at running back. Stoops says the freshman has "incredible speed." The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Estus, who was academically ineligible last year, should provide the Sooners with a gamebreaker who can take pressure off of the new quarterbacks.
Key game: Texas, Oct. 6. If the Sooners take care of Kansas State at home Sept. 29, they'll have a chance to prove their repeat talk is for real against Texas in Dallas. Another win over the Longhorns will get the Sooner Schooner -- not to mention the bandwagon -- rolling into Lincoln Oct. 27.
It's a good year if... The Sooners settle on a quarterback quickly, avoid turnovers and finish strong against Nebraska. Do that and there's no reason to think the Sooners couldn't make a run at the Rose Bowl to defend their national title.
Todd Cooper is a staff writer for the Omaha World-Herald.
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