Grading the Top 10 College Football Defenses Heading into Week 6

If the old adage that “defense wins championships” is true, then there are 10 teams with very good shots at winning a championship in 2012.

We're already in October, and every game becomes increasingly important, particularly now that most teams are entering the heart of conference play.

So which defenses are making the grade? Which teams have solid D's that measure up to championship caliber? Can these defenses lead their teams to the ultimate prize: a BCS National Championship?

Arizona State

5 Games Played, 276.2 yards against per game (10th in FBS), 13.6 points against per game (T-14th in FBS)

Grade: B

Almost completely unnoticed, Arizona State is off to a 4-1 start, with its only loss coming at Missouri in Week 3

The Sun Devils are 2-0 in the Pac-12, and with early losses at the top of the conference, Arizona State could quickly find itself in a South Division race alongside USC and UCLA.

The ASU defense has been the high point of the season thus far, and the Devils are equally successful at defending both the pass and the run.

With continued solid play from the defense, don't be surprised if Oregon finds itself facing a ranked 5-1 Arizona State team in Week 8 when the Ducks make the trip south to the desert.

Michigan State

5 GP, 263.4 ypg (9th), 12.8 ppg, (T-10th)

Grade: B-

Believe it or not, the 3-2 Michigan State Spartans still sport one of the best defenses in the nation, and Sparty still has an excellent shot at winning a Big Ten title this season.

MSU is coming off of a narrow 17-16 loss at the hands of Ohio State, but the Buckeyes likely presented the Spartans with their toughest test this season—and Ohio State is ineligible for the Big Ten Championship Game this season, so MSU won't be seeing the Buckeyes again in 2012.

Still, Michigan State gets a less-than-motivating B- grade on defense, mainly because the Spartans have been unable to get off the field in key situations.

The best example was last weekend, when MSU pulled within one point only to watch Ohio State calmly drain the rest of the game clock.

The MSU defense is easily the best in the Big Ten. If the offense can catch up and put a few more points on the board each week, Sparty could be a shoe-in to hoist the the Big Ten trophy in December.

South Carolina

5 GP, 288.8 ypg (12th), 11.2 ppg (6th)

Grade: B+

The Gamecocks have yet to really wow anyone this season, but have quietly built one of the best defensive résumés in the nation.

South Carolina surrenders a scant 11.2 points per game, and no team has scored more than 17.

The Gamecocks are especially deadly against the run, having surrendered just two rushing touchdowns on the season and 77.6 yards per game.

Once the head ball coach gets his team into midseason form, there's little doubt that this top-notch defense could guide the team all the way to the SEC Championship Game in December.

Notre Dame

4 GP, 291.3 ypg (15th), 9.0 ppg (3rd)

Grade: A-

Notre Dame is 4-0 for the first time in a decade, and the Irish have been rewarded with a top ten ranking.

All of the sudden, those preseason BCS predictions don't look so silly, particularly when you take into account that the Fighting Irish's remaining opponents all look beatable by this year's incarnation of Notre Dame football.

Notre Dame is also one of just three FBS programs to give up fewer than 10 points per game despite giving up more yards per game than any other team on our top 10 defense grades list.

There's something to be said about a defense stiffening just when it needs to. After all, yards don't win games. Points do.

And Notre Dame allows precious few.

Louisiana State

5 GP, 217.8 ypg (4th), 12.6 ppg (9th)

Grade: A-

Let's face it, the only reason LSU is 5-0 right now is thanks to the defense.

The Tigers have been woefully inadequate on offense at times this season and aren't even in the top 20 when it comes to scoring offense.

So it's a darn good thing LSU is a top 10 defense in both yards against and points against.

As good as this defense is, though, the championship outlook for LSU looks pretty bleak; you can't win games if you can't score points.

If, however, the Tigers can find some way to generate an offensive spark, they will instantly become one of the most dangerous programs in the nation—and another SEC title might not be far behind.

Florida State

5 GP, 200.8 ypg (3rd), 11.4 ppg (7th)

Grade: B+

There's little doubt now that Florida State is living up to its preseason hype—for once.

The Seminoles field the deadly combination of a potent offense and suffocating defense, but we're still not quite comfortable giving the Florida State defense an A yet—mainly because FSU has only played three FBS programs, and of those three, only Clemson posed any real threat.

Additionally, Florida State's numbers are probably artificially low given its two games against FCS opponents in which the Noles allowed just three combined points and gave up a combined 184 yards.

Since then, the Noles have been pretty a bit more porous on defense, giving up 273.3 yards per game against FBS programs and 18.0 points per game.

As the season progresses, we'll get a much better idea of how this Florida State defense really stacks up, but for now, the Noles will have to settle with a B+.

Brigham Young

5 GP, 226.6 ypg (5th), 10.0 ppg (4th)

Grade: A-

Thank God for defense.

BYU is just 3-2 in this young season, but it could be much, much worse for the Cougars were it not for their defense.

Brigham Young has been so anemic on offense (65th in the FBS in total offense and 56th in scoring offense) that it's relied almost entirely on defense to put the team in a position to even have a shot at winning a game.

Since we're only grading defenses, we can't go with anything less than an A-. After all, if it was for their defense, the Cougars might be 2-3—or worse.

Texas Christian

4 GP, 255.8 (7th), 7.3 ppg (2nd)

Grade: A

Apparently, TCU is taking its addition to the ranks of the BCS AQ conferences pretty seriously.

After just four games, TCU has emerged with one of the nation's top defenses and is allowing a scant 7.3 points per game.

If your defense is that stingy, you can bet that you're going to win a ton of games—particularly in the defensively-declined Big 12.

Sure, TCU hasn't faced teams like West Virginia yet and the amazing defensive numbers are sure to take a hit once it does, but for right now, how can we not give the Horned Frogs an A for their impressive effort?

And it's not just keeping the other guys out of the end zone, either. TCU limits the yardage, too, with a defense ranked in the top 10 in total defense.

Yep. Definitely an A.

Texas Tech

4 GP, 167.5 ypg (1st), 10.8 ppg (5th)

Grade: A-

The Texas Tech Red Raiders are 4-0 for the second season in a row and have looked nothing short of impressive throughout September.

Of course, the opponents included FCS Northwestern State, FBS newcomer Texas State, perennial laughing stock New Mexico and Big 12 cellar-dweller Iowa State.

Nevertheless, Texas Tech is giving up just 10.8 points per game and currently spots the nation's top defense, allowing just 167.5 yards per game.

That probably won't last long, as the Red Raiders host Oklahoma this weekend in Lubbock, but we can't ignore the top five defensive performance in both categories.

If Texas Tech can hold off the Sooners offense, though, we'll be more than happy to upgrade this A- to an A+.

Alabama

5 GP, 191.6 ypg (2nd), 7.0 ppg (1st)

Grade: A

Not surprisingly, the BCS National Championship favorite and No. 1 team in the nation also sports the best defense we can find anywhere in the country.

The Alabama Crimson Tide have established themselves as the team to beat and odds-on favorite to win it all this season, with a lethal defense and potent offensive attack.

Alabama started to season by shutting down one of the most dynamic players in the country in Michigan's Denard Robinson.

That performance was followed in Week 3 by shutting out the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville for the first time in nearly a half century.

Through five weeks, Alabama is just one of two teams in the entire FBS that has limited its opponents to fewer than 200 yards per game.

But there's one thing that keeps us from feeling totally comfortable with giving the Tide an A+ for defense: Week 5.

This past weekend, Alabama looked almost disinterested in playing Ole Miss. Far from the dominant team of a few weeks ago, Alabama just seemed to sleepwalk through its contest in Tuscaloosa. Even though the outcome was never really in doubt, we expected a lot more from the Tide and certainly didn't expect Mississippi to put 14 points on the board.

Maybe that will be a wake-up call for Alabama as it heads into its bye week before an October 13 trip to Missouri.

Still, even if nothing changes, the Crimson Tide have the ability on defense to hold any team in check.