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.