DALLAS -- So much for the humility Bob Stoops had so carefully instilled at Oklahoma.

The attitude that used to put the "grrr" in swagger under Barry Switzer was back for a fleeting moment Thursday at the Big 12 Conference football media days.

The secret is out and Bob Stoops doesn't care who knows it: The 2001 Sooners that start defense of their national championship in less than a month are an improvement over the 2000 team that shocked the nation on its way to an undefeated title.

Linebacker Rocky Calmus says there's no reason the Sooners can't go back-to-back.(AP)

"We'll be better overall," Stoops said with his usual conviction.

Thank goodness this isn't the usual 'coachspeak' propaganda. It's daring. It's different. If you take a hard look at the lineup, it's also true.

And the feeling is spreading.

"That's the secret that everybody wants to know, why we think we can do it again," Sooners left tackle Frank Romero said. "It's not something you can pinpoint. It's more of a feeling. It's more of an attitude. You're running and you look up at that national championship sign on the stadium and you see '2000'. You say, 'Yes, that can happen. We can get back there.'"

It's natural for teams to be confident. It's unnatural for the defending national champion to put the country on warning. Stoops has cleared the decks and cleared his players' minds for another run.

He sent notice by adding a 12th regular-season game (North Carolina on Aug. 25 in the Hispanic College Fund Classic) when the Sooners' bodies could be crying out for relief in November. Add a possible conference championship game and bowl game, and Oklahoma might face the possibility of playing 27 games in two years.

He admitted that in certain, huge, important ways the quarterback position is better despite the loss of Heisman runner-up Josh Heupel.

He knows late last season it was the Sooners' defense, Stoops' baby, that had edged ahead of the high-flying spread offense. And, like everything Crimson and Cream, that defense seems to be, yes, better.

Most of all he has let his players dream about a third set of back-to-back titles in the program's history.

"Why not?" All-America linebacker Rocky Calmus said. "The Yankees did it, the Lakers did it. I did it in high school. What's not to motivate you to do it again? Why would you want to be the team not to go back-to-back?"

There are qualifiers to this whole scenario. True, Oklahoma could be better but lose a game or two or three. That's what a bull's-eye does to you. Texas has been grinding its teeth since a 63-14 humiliation to the Sooners last season. There's a trip to Nebraska. Kansas State fans would love to knock off the former Wildcats assistant.

The Sooners could end up playing 14 grueling games this season with the addition of the Tar Heels and a possible conference title game and bowl game. Not a problem in the coach's eyes.

"Good game, home game, get to practice early," Stoops said. "All of that together are positives.

"I couldn't feel better about it," said Stoops later. "We're pretty even-tempered on how we react to any win or loss but we haven't had one of those in a while."

Had to remind the world of that, didn't you Bob? Go ahead, gloat. In fact, it was Dec. 31, 1999 -- 19 months ago in the Independence Bowl -- that Oklahoma last tasted defeat. That's two recruiting classes who know nothing but victory. The last class assembled in February was rated by some as the best in the country and tends to ensure that Oklahoma will keep hope alive in the W column.

"Physically, we're much better," Romero said. "Talent-wise, we've got some great recruits. We're full of confidence. We're riding high. There's a little swagger to us, while realizing that we're not going to overlook anything."

If the Sooners do it again, it will be because of Stoops' typical calm steering of the ship. Oklahoma simply didn't get caught up in its celebrity in the offseason. Calmus recalled being asked for his fork by an adoring fan this summer while eating at a Mexican restaurant in Norman. No autograph request. No chitchat. Just the fork.

Aside from a car accident that injured defensive back Michael Thompson, there were no off-field problems. On their own, players stopped wearing their championship rings and packed them away en masse a month after receiving them in late April.

"It was kind of a reaction," Romero said. "We just kind of stopped wearing them. Once we were done with spring ball, we started talking about this season. As time went on it was like, 'I want another one of these.' We want some more jewelry that's for sure. I stopped wearing mine after about a month and I'd look around in meetings and no one would have theirs on."

Bottom line, these Sooners are better because they're faster, deeper and more experienced than last year's team. Eighteen starters return for one of the most efficient and prepared programs in the country. What holes there are, aren't big ones.

That's the case even considering the loss of Heupel, who Stoops revealed Thursday was a lot worse off physically at the end of the season than he let on. Heupel's mechanics weren't the best to begin with, but throw in bumps, bruises and a bum elbow and the gutsy quarterback was a shadow of himself at the end.

"Everyone knew he was bruised bad," Stoops said. "His elbow was twice the size as normal but he practiced. Especially in the last game, (quarterbacks coach) Chuck Long noticed it right away warming up. He told me before the game started that it was bothering him."

Because of the arm problems, Heupel was limited mostly to medium and short passes at the end of the season. With the offense struggling in the Orange Bowl, it was Oklahoma's defense that was able to keep Florida State out of the end zone in a 13-2 victory that clinched the Sooners' seventh national championship.

When Stoops looked across the practice field in the spring, he saw one part of the offense that was improved even without Heupel. Junior Nate Hybl and sophomore Jason White were throwing deep outs.

"They're stronger, they throw with more velocity," Stoops said. "It's safe to say they do throw a little bit better, too. The thing is I think they go for it more. It may stretch the field more, it may stretch defenses more.

"Two years ago no one was bragging about Josh Heupel. He really only had 15 days to learn the offense. Nate and Jason have had two years to learn the system."

The running game is deeper with 5-foot-7 Quentin Griffin having added 30 pounds and being pushed by sophomore Jerad Estus, a forgotten gem in Stoops' second recruiting class in 2000. Estus sat out as a partial qualifier as a freshman.

The defense has a couple of potential All-Americans. Calmus was a consensus pick last year. All-Big 12 safety Roy Williams had four sacks and 94 tackles (third on the team) playing in the secondary.

What's not to like except a certain retro attitude around the program? This week North Carolina center Adam Metts was reminded that Oklahoma didn't agree to play the Tar Heels because it thought it would lose. Carolina is picked to finish sixth in the ACC this season and would make a fine opening day pushover for the Sooners.

"They're going to think they're that big or holy and take on North Carolina because it's an easy win?" Metts said. "The hell with that. That's when the giants fall. David against Goliath."

This year a slingshot might not be enough.