College Football 2011: Power Ranking Every Conference by Defense

As the age-old saying goes, "Defense wins championships."

That mantra has been a mainstay in college football, as well as the NFL, for years.

Any FBS team wishing to qualify for a BCS game or even the national championship must have a defense that can get the job done.

It does not matter if your team has a flashy, high-powered offense. If the defense can't get the opposing offense off the field, your team will lose.

Which teams will have the best defenses this year?

Which conferences are the strongest defensively?

Find out as we count down the best conferences on the defensive side of the ball.

11. Sun Belt Conference

To put it simply, the Sun Belt Conference is not strong on defense.

The conference's highest-ranked rush defense in 2010 was Louisiana-Lafayette, which finished 67th nationally.

When the opposition is able to run the ball with ease, it makes your team's pass defense look much better than it actually is.

That fact was evident within the Sun Belt Conference last season as Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Middle Tennessee, North Texas and Western Kentucky all had top 40 pass defenses.

10. Western Athletic Conference

The departure of Boise State to the Mountain West Conference did nothing but push the WAC closer to the brink of irrelevancy.

It also made the conference that much weaker defensively.

2010 was a horrid year for WAC defenses as New Mexico State, San Jose State, Louisiana Tech and Utah State finished the season ranked 100th or worse in total defense.

The one bright spot was Nevada's 18th-ranked rush defense.

2011 doesn't figure to be any easier for defensive coordinators in the Western Athletic Conference.

9. Conference USA

Conference USA is known for its flashy offenses, but defense is something that it seems to struggle with.

Of the 12 teams in the conference, five (East Carolina, Memphis, Houston, Rice and Tulsa) finished the 2010 season with defenses ranked 100th or worse in the nation.

If the head coaches in Conference USA could recruit better defensive athletes, the conference would be a scary one, considering that its offenses are already producing huge numbers.

Central Florida may be the closest to achieving that goal as the Knights finished last season ranked eighth nationally in scoring defense, eighth in rushing defense and 15th in total defense.

8. Mid-American Conference

The 2010 season was a decent one on defense and the conference will be led by the return of many starters.

The Golden Flashes of Kent State will hope to have continued success after finishing last season ranked 10th nationally in total defense to go along with the fourth-best rush defense in America.

Northern Illinois and Temple will also be looking to build on stellar defensive 2010 seasons. 

Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan are hoping to turn things around this season after finishing last season ranked 102nd and 113th, respectively, in total defense.

7. Mountain West Conference

I might get some heat for ranking the Mountain West in the seventh spot, but the conference is top-heavy with good defense.

Since Boise State has joined TCU in the Mountain West, the conference now has the two teams that finished last season with top two ranked teams in total defense.

That fact deserves recognition, without a doubt.

However, one must look past those two powerhouse teams to see the true colors of the Mountain West Conference defenses.

Wyoming, Colorado State, UNLV and New Mexico all finished last season ranked 90th or worse in total defense.

Those teams won't be much better in 2011, thus putting the conference in the seventh spot in this list.

6. Big 12 Conference

The loss of Nebraska to the Big Ten doesn't help the reputation of defense in the Big 12.

Last season was a bit of a disappointment for those defenses as Texas (sixth) had the only unit that finished last season ranked in the top 40.

Despite that fact, there are still a number of talented defensive players within the conference.

Linebackers Travis Lewis of Oklahoma and Emmanuel Acho of Texas lead the way.

5. Pac-12 Conference

The addition of Utah and Colorado have made the new Pac-12 Conference one of the most feared in the nation.

This year, the defenses within the conference will be solid once again.

Cal, Stanford and Utah each finished last season ranked in the top 30 for total defense.

One big shock was USC's defense last season under the direction of guru Monte Kiffin. The Trojans finished the year ranked 84th nationally in total defense.

That's certainly not what the program is accustomed to.

It will be interesting to see how defenses fare in the first year of the two division format.

4. Atlantic Coast Conference

The ACC will boast some of the nation's top defenses this season, led by the return of a slew of talented players.

Four ACC defenders have been named preseason All-Americans by Athlon Sports: North Carolina DE Quinton Coples, Florida State DE Brandon Jenkins, Virginia Tech CB Jayron Hosley and Boston College LB Luke Kuechly.

The ACC's defensive reputation will be weighed on the continued success Boston College, Clemson, Miami and North Carolina, which all finished 2010 ranked in the top 30 for total defense.

Virginia Tech should also be in the mix after having a down season in the eyes of many after finishing last season ranked a mere 52nd in the same category.

3. Big Ten Conference

One conference's loss is another conference's gain.

That notion is directly related to Nebraska's departure from the Big 12 to the Big Ten.

The switch automatically boosts the Big Ten from a defensive standpoint.

Players to keep a watch on in the Big Ten include Nebraska LB Lavonte David, Ohio State DT John Simon, Iowa CB Shaun Prater and Nebraska DT Jared Crick.

There are also a few teams who should be shutting down opposing offenses this season in Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska who all finished last season ranked in the top 25 for total defense.

Penn State and Illinois were ranked 35th and 38th, respectively.

2. Big East Conference

I'm going to take ridiculous amounts of heat for placing the Big East at No. 2.

However, it remains a strong conference on defense.

Defensive linemen seem to be the strong suit in the Big East as UConn's Kendall Reyes and Pittsburgh's Brandon Lindsey are two of the best defensive players in the nation.

Now we come to overall team defense.

Warning: these figures may shock you.

Louisville (14th), Pittsburgh (8th), South Florida (17th), Syracuse (7th) and West Virginia (3rd) all finished last season ranked in top 20 for total defense.

The Big East deserves recognition for its outstanding defensive play.

1. Southeastern Conference

It's an annual affair that the Southeastern Conference possesses the nation's best defenses.

The Alabama Crimson Tide, otherwise known as Roll Tide, never fails to produce quality defensive players who combine to form brick wall-type units.

It's not just Alabama, though.

South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and LSU each typically have defenses that make opposing offensive coordinators restless.

SEC players to watch this season include Tennessee DL Malik Jackson, Alabama LB Dont'a Hightower and Roll Tide safeties Mark Barron and Robert Lester.

Watch out for the SEC this season.