2001 OU Season

Sooner News From Around the Web

August 19, 2001

by Staff Reporter

It's now less than one week from the beginning of OU's journey to repeat as National Champs. Below are just a few of the many stories about the Sooners, their first game and their quest to repeat as college football's top program. Enjoy!

From ESPN.com:

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."
Click here to read the rest of the ESPN.com article on the Sooners!

From Sportsline.com:

No less than four books on Oklahoma's championship will be out as the new season begins in two weeks.

But coach Bob Stoops is ready for a new edition, one he hopes will end with the Sooners becoming the first school to win back-to-back titles three times.

"We've proven we can win them all," Stoops says about last season's 13-0 record, "and I think we should be a better team this year." Read the rest of this story!

From the PigskinPost.com:

Every magazine is picking either Oklahoma or Texas to win the South. I won’t dare pick against Bob Stoops. Tell Bob Stoops that he can’t repeat as National Champions – I dare you. Stoops makes Anthony Robbins look like a pessimist.

Winning consecutive National Championships won’t be easy. Only 6 programs in NCAA history have won back to back titles. Oklahoma is looking to become the only program to accomplish that feat 3 times.

The good news for Oklahoma is that they return 14 starters, and in their two-deep depth chart from the Orange Bowl, the Sooners had 23 freshmen and sophomores. The Sooners also return every coach from last year. The bad news is – no Josh Heupel. Read the rest of this story by clicking here!

From the Kansas City Star:

An indication of how far third-ranked Oklahoma has come in just three years can be found in coach Bob Stoops' assessment of this year's team.

Despite the losses of Heisman Trophy runner-up Josh Heupel at quarterback, big-play linebacker Torrance Marshall and return specialist J.T. Thatcher -- all big parts of the Sooners' unbeaten national championship run of 2000 -- Stoops says this team has a chance to be better.

"We got better week in and week out as we traveled through the season," Stoops said. "Whether we're tough enough to do that this year, we'll see.

"Going in, we believe we've got a chance to be better and we're hoping we will be."

Last year's 13-0 season came in just Stoops' second year as head coach and capped a stunning turnaround from just a few years earlier, when Oklahoma was languishing through three- and four-victory seasons. The Sooners were an afterthought in the Big 12 and a non-issue nationally. More of the story by clicking here!

Listen to National Championship Game