Last year at this time, the University of Louisville football team talked about "taking the next step," which then-coach Bobby Petrino defined as advancing to the school's first Bowl Championship Series game.

The Cardinals completed that climb by getting to, and winning, the Orange Bowl. Now, with a new coach and a new outlook, it's time for a new desired destination.

At their annual media day yesterday, U of L's players spelled out what the next "next step" should be for the program: landing a spot in the national championship game.

"That's our ultimate goal," said senior quarterback Brian Brohm, who in January turned down NFL riches to stay in school. "I think that's one of the big reasons I came back. We were only three points away last year. You get a little taste of that, and you want to come back and try it again."

Even after they entered the Big East Conference in 2005, the Cards wondered if they could actually blaze a trail toward the national title. Last year showed they could.

They rose to No. 3 in the BCS rankings after beating West Virginia on Nov. 2. A week later they lost 28-25 at Rutgers on a late field goal. Had Louisville managed to hold onto a 25-7 first-half lead, it would have finished unbeaten, with a strong case for a slot in the BCS title game opposite Ohio State.

"People don't consider that we lost one of the premiere running backs in the country and still pulled that off," defensive lineman Adrian Grady said. "If we had (injured) Michael Bush, without a doubt we're there. But knowing that we still got that close helped our confidence going into this year. We know we're good enough to get there, and we know what it takes."

Brian Brohm said he ruefully watched the second-half collapse against Rutgers on tape a few times this offseason before he "finally just threw it away." Falling just short of a potential national title game made the team hungrier in its summer workouts, he said.

The experience also brought some valuable lessons, as the Cards had to learn how to play in the national spotlight with so much on the line. Perhaps they can draw on that this year when late-season games against West Virginia and Rutgers again loom.

"We've been in the big games," Grady said. "There are no excuses now. We just have to keep moving up."

When the team reported to fall camp last week, Grady confidently stated that U of L -- which is No. 11 in the USA Today coaches' preseason poll -- shouldn't lose a game this season. Such predictions were in far shorter supply yesterday, as players spoke mostly about needing to get better each week and more immediate tasks.

Still, first-year coach Steve Kragthorpe didn't exactly deflect the raised expectations.

"I don't think there's any question we want to play in the national championship game this year," Kragthorpe said. "People may say that's a bold statement. Well, if we don't have that type of thought process, we really don't need to be out there practicing right now.

"But in order for that to happen we have to take little steps first. A lot of work has to be done in the meantime."

The new staff has changed the way the team talks about a lot of things.

Last year's Cardinals repeated the motto "Finish" from summer workouts until the end of the Orange Bowl. Kragthorpe hasn't latched on to any themes for the season. About the closest he gets is sometimes carrying around a baseball bat to remind his players of the slogan "B.A.T.: better after today."

That's one way he tries to keep the team focused on day-to-day improvement instead of the big picture.

"If you look too far ahead or too far behind, you'll get hit in the mouth when you turn back around," he said.

Under Petrino, the Cards always strived to have the No. 1 offense in the country. Coaches made sure the players constantly knew where they ranked statistically during the course of the year and challenged them to pick up the pace if they started slipping.

Though players said yesterday they still want to be the nation's most powerful offense, the new coaches don't seem nearly as concerned with piling up pretty stats.

"We don't say anything about that," offensive coordinator/receivers coach Charlie Stubbs said. "We have a different philosophy here, which is to win football games. That's our only goal.

"There might be some games this year where we'll take what the defense gives us. We may rush for well over 300 yards one game and throw for 400 yards in another. We don't really worry about statistics, really."

That echoes the stance the Cards will take for the season as a whole. They know what the next "next step" is, but they'll try not to worry too much about it. Yet.

"We want to get better every game," defensive tackle Earl Heyman said. "And if we do that, we believe the scoreboard and the BCS rankings -- all of that stuff -- will take care of itself."