None Too Sooner, a True No. 1

You could make a living as a North Sea fisherman, work for Al Davis or get between John Daly and the last bag of M&Ms and still not be in the world's most dangerous position this week.

That honor belongs to Oklahoma.

Welcome to the No. 1 ranking, Sooners. Don't forget to sign your organ donor cards.

Since the start of last season, the No. 1 ranking has changed hands 10 times among six teams. The longest reigns belong to Southern Cal, which lasted five weeks in 2007 and four weeks this year, but both were fluke-ish runs. In 2007, the Trojans beat four teams that would've been an embarrassment to the Papajohns.com Bowl before the voters ousted USC. In 2008, they sprinkled in the work ethic of a DMV office, taking two bye weeks around a plastering of Ohio State.

The next longest reign was three weeks, by LSU.

So by all appearances, Oklahoma is in for a bumpy ride.

But after changing No. 1 teams more often than Oregon changes uniforms, have we finally found a true top-ranked team?Ron Paul's presidential bid might get better odds. Heck, Chris Paul's presidential bid might get better odds, but it's a bet we'd be willing to take.

Of the six different teams to set atop the polls since the start of last season, none have been as complete as the 2008 Sooners.

Last year's national champion Tigers had a better defense than any of the other No. 1s, but outside of one superb throw against Auburn, if the outcome rested on the shoulders of game-managing quarterback Matt Flynn, the Tigers were probably headed for a loss. Flynn cracked 300 yards just twice last year, once against Auburn and the other against Alabama, but only after Flynn's three interceptions left the Tigers in a deep hole. In their two losses, Flynn completed just 39-of-82 passes and ended the triple overtime loss to Arkansas when he threw an interception on the final two-point conversion.

In both 2007 and 2008, Southern Cal has shown that despite all the talent, replacing Reggie Bush is like Wings replacing Paul McCartney. The Trojans fell off to the 27th-ranked rushing attack in 2007 and have slipped to 61st in 2008. Leading rusher Joe McKnight is averaging 58 yards per game, a distance Charlie Weis could run on his crutches.

Ohio State's flaws have been plenty clear to anyone with a television and an understanding that the object of the game is to put points on the board. As outstanding as the Buckeyes defense has been the last two years, Southern Cal and LSU treated with all the reverence of a wrecking ball heading into a condemned building.

And one-game No. 1 Missouri, whom the Sooners beat twice last year, coupled an impressive offense with a defense about as intimidating as a Disney movie.

Which brings us to the Sooners.

They can pass, they can run and they can probably do long division while running a post route. After five weeks of the season, they look like they could probably solve the mortgage crisis in their spare time if Bob Stoops were up to it.

The Sooners excel at putting up gaudy numbers. Saturday's win over then-No. 24 TCU marked the first time they haven't cracked 52 points.

They had to settle for 35. Prior to the game, TCU was giving up seven points a game.

In Seattle, the Sooners beat the Huskies by 41 points, the worst home loss in Pullman since 1929. For the record, seven other teams have won consensus national championships in the Pac-10 and its predecessors since then. None of them put the lumber to the Huskies like the Sooners.

"We played one of the best football teams we've played since I've been here," Washington coach Ty Willingham said after the game. "They were good in all aspects of the game; running it, throwing it, defending it. I thought they were, all around, as strong a football team as I've seen."

It starts up front. Nobody's gotten rolled up like Oklahoma opponents since Vince Coleman met the Busch Stadium tarp. The Sooners are fourth in the nation in sacks and first in tackles for loss. Their offensive line returned intact from a unit that was fifth in the nation last year in sacks allowed, giving up just over half a sack a game.

And they've gotten better and faster since last year's forgettable Fiesta Bowl against West Virginia. The offensive line slimmed down and the play-calling sped up. If last year's offensive line was like a brick wall, this year is like a brick wall strapped to a semi, lining up to knock you over every 20 seconds or so.

Outside of the empty backfield sets and the receiver patterns you might only see in a video game, the Sooners are still dominating at the nuts and bolts of the game. Now they're just doing it at a speed that might make Usain Bolt break into a cold sweat.

In the backfield, Sam Bradford has done everything to build a Heisman resume short of painting himself bronze and striking the stiff-arm pose and the receiving corp has hardly noticed the loss of Malcom Kelly. Juaquin Iglesias actually caught more balls last year, true sophomore tight end Jermaine Gresham has continued to improve and Manuel Johnson, who caught for 206 yards last week, has the same big-play capabilities as Kelly without the locker-room baggage.


Sure, Oklahoma netted just 25 yards on the ground against TCU, but the Horned Frogs stacked the line like they were trying to sneak three guys into a drive-through. And subtracting out the 34 yards the Sooners lost on sacks to Bradford and backup Joey Halzle and the Sooners have a less horrific 59 yards, almost double what TCU's top-ranked rush defense is allowing this season.

And all that facetime with Oklahoma's running backs let Bradford throw for a career best 411 yards. DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown have already produced three 100-yard games thus far and both are candidates for 1,000-yard seasons. Betting on the Sooners to fail on the rush is about as good a bet as Bartolo Colon shilling for Jenny Craig.

They've even turned the weakness of the team into strengths. While the Sooners' secondary deserves most of the blame for Oklahoma's losses over the past five seasons or so, they're now No. 1 in the nation in pass efficiency defense. Cincinnati's 14th-ranked pass offense managed just 239 yards against Oklahoma despite the Sooners' replacing two corners from last year's team.

Stopping the pass happy Big 12, is like having an excellent bail bondsmen at Penn State. Nothing could be more important.

Their last 10 losses have all come at road or neutral sites, but the Sooners have made playing tough on the road a priority ranking roughly somewhere between eating and breathing.

"We used last year as extra motivation to come out this year and play tough and smart on the road," Sooner lineman Trent Williams said. "There's a different vibe when we go on the road this year. I think we take it more seriously so I feel good about every road trip."

Not everything will be easy for the Sooners, particularly in a loaded Big 12. Their special teams play, aside from Murray's kickoff returns, has been decidedly special ed. And with games against Texas, Kansas and Texas Tech still to come, plus a possible Big 12 title game, they've got a schedule that might make the NFC East cringe.

But the Sooners get the Jayhawks and Red Raiders at home. And they know just how precarious their perch is.

"We know that we still have to come out Saturday and perform well like we would every other Saturday," defensive back Dominique Franks said.

The Sooners have beaten Baylor all 17 times they've played, so don't expect a surprise Saturday even more than you'd expect a twist ending in a Barney episode.

But expect a true No. 1 team to take the field for the first time this season. And maybe that is the greatest upset of all.