10 College Football Teams Whose Defenses Will Cost Them Championships

Remember the old adage that defense wins championships?

Well as we approach 2010, there are two groups of top teams: the teams that are elite, and the ones that are just missing that little something to reach the elite status.

Some teams, even when they do not have a strong offense, can get to a very high level.

But there are those without a capable defense, which can lose you more games than a poor offense can.

And even with a good offense, a bad defense can be problematic for obvious reasons.

Here is a look at 10 teams that could potentially push themselves out of title contention because of their defense.

1. Georgia Tech

Paul Johnson's Yellow Jackets had a very strong 2009 season, winning the ACC with his variant of the spread-option offense.

But in 2009, the Jackets defense gave up very unfavorable point totals defensively, including 44 to Florida State, 31 to Vanderbilt, and 31 to Mississippi State.

Those were wins, however, thanks to their ability to put up points almost at will.

The question is can the GT defense get better even with the loss of stud DE Derrick Morgan?

They will need to improve with the losses of Jonathan Dwyer and Demaryius Thomas to the NFL.

The fact that Josh Nesbitt is back for a third season as the triggerman of the option attack should take more pressure off the defense, but the defense is what is keeping GT from being in the national title discussion.

2. Penn State

The defensive problems involving Penn State football for 2010 have nothing to do with its performance in 2009 because the unit was very good last year.

The problem is that Penn State has lost five major contributors on its defense, including first-round pick DT Jared Odrick and all three starting linebackers.

While Penn State is known by many as Linebacker U, it has a lot of work to do to replace two good talents in Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman.

The defensive line should be fine with Jack Crawford and Ollie Ogbu still in the fold, but questions in the back seven could hamper the Nittany Lions, who have bigger concerns at the QB position.

While it's unlikely the defense will be the reason for a slip this season, the unit may have trouble reaching the levels of the past two seasons.

3. Oregon State

The good news for Oregon State in 2009: It scored over 30 points in eight of its 13 games.

The bad news: It was only 5-3 in those games.

Mike Riley's Beavers will need to rely on an inconsistent defense—led by DT Stephen Paea—to carry the team while it replaces Sean Canfield at QB.

If they can win the turnover margin—and they are 30-5 in the last six seasons in that department—the Beavers could get to that next level of top-tier teams out West.

If they stay inconsistent, they will not be playing for BCS bids anytime soon.

4. Georgia

2007 has slowly started to look more like a mirage in Athens, despite Georgia boasting promising dividends on the recruiting trail including A.J. Green and Aaron Murray.

But in 2009, the defense was what caused the Bulldogs to slip down the hierarchy of the SEC.

The Bulldogs gave up 30-plus points in five games, including 34 to Kentucky and 45 to Tennessee.

What's worse is that they lose five talented defensive players, including SS Reshad Jones and DT Jeff Owens.

Sackmaster Justin Houston is back, but he will need to elevate his game to lead a young defense that only had 12 takeaways in 2009, but could feature five-star recruit S Alec Ogletree.

2010 could feature some growing pains for the Georgia defense, especially while it tries to help highly touted Murray acclimate to starting in the SEC.

5. Cincinnati

Butch Jones will come to Cincinnati in his first year and inherit a strong offense led by Zach Collaros and Armon Binns.

And despite a perfect regular season in 2009, there are worries for 2010 on the defensive side of the ball, as the Bearcats gave up 35-plus points in four of their last five games, including a blowout 51-24 loss to Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

Jones comes from a pedigree similar to former coach Brian Kelly, leading talented offenses in Central Michigan.

But the cupboard defensively is pretty bare, leaving many to wonder if the fate of 2009 will happen again in 2010 despite the great success of Collaros at QB.

UC will need to feature a stronger defensive corps if it wants to challenge Ohio State for the best team in Ohio. And if that is the Bearcats' goal, their work will be cut out for them.

6. Houston

Houston Cougar fans will have one more year of the Case Keenum show in 2010.

But it will be the Houston defense that must step up if Kevin Sumlin's crew is bound for the BCS in 2010.

In 2009, the Cougars yielded 30-plus points in half of their games, and four times gave up 40-plus points.

The problem for Houston was it could not stop the run, giving up 226 yards a game, good for 115th in the country.

That means it has little chance for defensive success if it comes across running teams like UTEP and Air Force were last season.

Keenum will need some defensive help in 2010 for his college career to have the same final destination as Hawaii QB Colt Brennan did in 2007, with a trip to a BCS game.

7. Oregon

Chip Kelly in his first year as head coach at Oregon had great success, winning the Pac-10 in 2009 and taking the Ducks to the Rose Bowl.

But they may have problems in 2010 that have nothing to do with the dismissal of QB Jeremiah Masoli.

Defensive inconsistencies, especially in the pass defense, led to them giving up 30-plus points in four games, including 36 to Purdue and 55 to Stanford.

While four games doesn't seem like a lot, it was a reminder that Oregon needed to score in bunches to win big games.

And with Masoli gone, that might be tough to do. So the Ducks defense has to improve, especially in the secondary with the losses of Walter Thurmond and T.J. Ward.

If they don't mature quickly in the secondary, Eugene could be in for a disappointing follow-up to a fantastic 2009.

8. Oklahoma State

After defensive difficulties in 2008, Mike Gundy brought in Bill Young to shore up the defense, and it turned out to be a great decision.

The Cowboys only gave up 40 points once in 2009, compared to three games in 2008.

But like in Happy Valley, the concern is not what they had but what they don't have, losing nine starters including DB Perrish Cox and LB Andre Sexton.

While the OK State offense will have growing pains trying to replace Zac Robinson, the defense may be in for more pains of its own.

After two very good offensive seasons in Stillwater, it will take a good defensive season to keep the Cowboys high in the pecking order of the shrinking Big 12.

9. Florida State

The Seminoles welcome Jimbo Fisher to the helm with many question marks defensively for him and defensive coordinator Mark Stoops to figure out.

In 2009, the 'Noles gave up 30-plus points five times, and looked feeble under Mickey Andrews.

With the talent FSU has in Greg Reid and Nigel Bradham, the potential is there for a strong defensive unit, especially if Stoops can put it into a system that fits its strengths.

If the Seminoles defense can improve with the quality of the offense Fisher has in tow, they can contend once again in the ACC.

If they cannot find the necessary playmakers, despite a bounce-back recruiting class in 2010 featuring LaMarcus Joyner and Jeff Luc, it could be another year of waiting in Tallahassee.

10. Notre Dame

The program that has been under so much scrutiny with Charlie Weis at the helm suffered through a nightmarish 2009 season where they had such high hopes.

The Irish defense, though, was a major letdown, surrendering 30-plus points in six of their 12 games.

What makes it more of a tough stat was that all six games were decided by less than a touchdown, and they lost four of those games.

Brian Kelly replaces Weis beginning this season, but based on his Cincinnati pedigree, that is not a welcome sign for the defense.

The offense is expected to be just as explosive under Kelly, if not more so than before, but defense will remain a question mark.

If it cannot improve, they will have a hard time getting back to their glory days.