NORMAN, Okla.-- O.K., it's probably taboo, but let's get ahead of ourselves shall we. Time to forget about the BCS for a minute, just put our feet up and start talking good, old-fashioned hypotheticals. The most intriguing matchup out there? It might not be Oklahoma against Miami. Or Oklahoma against Ohio State or Virginia Tech or Georgia.

It's the Sooners against the Sooners -- the 2000 Sooners, that is.

	Teddy Lehman leads OU's dominating defense.

I'll admit when Bob Stoops said this defense might be better than the national championship version from two seasons ago, I was pretty surprised. After all, that squad had a player I thought might be the best defensive player in college football in the last five years in SS Roy Williams and another guy, LB Rocky Calmus who went on to win the Butkus Award. But after seeing them wreck four Heisman candidacies in the last three games, I think this defense, from front to back, is better. They sure are faster and more impressive.

The D-line, led by Tommie Harris, is deeper and more physical. The linebackers, spearheaded by MLB Lance Mitchell and Teddy Lehman, are faster and more dynamic. And the DBs with FS Brandon Everage (17 tackles vs. Colorado) playing out of his mind are comparable. I don't think any linebacker makes more plays than Lehman, who has improved as much as anybody in the country -- with the possibly exception of Everage.

But it's more than talent at work here. It's an attitude. Sooners assistant coach Brent Venables calls it an aggressive, "infectious, go-for-broke" attitude, that has everyone in the program trying to make plays. Want proof? Look at that fourth-and-three play that Colorado had late in the game. Amid chaos, a CU receiver came open in the corner of the end zone, but Sooners reserve safety Matt McCoy scrambled back and dove to bat away a sure touchdown.

Pretty amazing, says Venebles, since the guy probably only got in for three or four snaps in the whole game. But that's depth and the Sooners have it. They easily go 10 deep in their secondary and probably have third-string DBs who could start for 90 percent of the I-A teams in America.

Their improving offense is more physical than the 2000 team and finally is forming an identity. Converted DT Jammal Brown is a future All-American at RT. Tight end Trent Smith has become a hard-nosed blocking tight end, not just a receiving threat, while Mark Clayton continues to show he might be the most underrated receiver in the Big 12.

Yes, there are some issues here. The Sooners don't throw it around as well as they did at this time two years ago, but remember Josh Heupel was nowhere near 100 percent when OU beat FSU to win the title and QB Nate Hybl is nothing if not resilient. (Oh, and for those of you who will point out Hybl's 10-of-23 performance, and I'm sure you will, just remember that it came in the pouring rain and in the face of a gusty wind.) And they still have Quentin Griffin, who as CU linebacker Drew Wahlroos explains, is much stronger and a much better back now.

But yeah, we are getting ahead of ourselves. Although it does seem like a pretty good bet we will be asking this question about two months from now.

Bruce Feldman is a Senior Writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com.