College Football: If Defense Wins Championships, Who's a Glendale Lock?
The kickoff of the 2010 college football season is just a few weeks away, and that signals the beginning of all the conjectures, projections, guesses, predictions and so many other things that come with this time of year.
Not to disappoint those who love the predictions, I bring you yet another slide show that will feed your addiction.
There's always been the saying "offense wins games, but defense wins championships." The saying has echoed through not only college football, but also the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball.
But we're not here to talk about those other sports, we're here to talk about the best defenses in college football and who might be headed to Glendale, Ariz., for the BCS National Championship game.
Alabama proved that their defense was up to the task last year. Can they repeat the same performance this season, or is there another contender that's ready to step up to the plate?
Ready? Let's get it...
Virginia Tech Hokies
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Virginia Tech might be a big dark horse to watch in 2010, but they'll have a big test right off the bat as they'll face Boise State at FedEx Field in the very first game of the season.
Get past that with a win, and they very well could be on their way to a great season.
Defensively, the Hokies ranked 12th last season in total defense (295.5 ypg), 11th in passing defense (167.1 ypg), but struggled mightily against the run, finishing 41st (128.38 ypg).
In each of the last six seasons, they've finished in the top 15 in total and scoring defense.
The Hokies lost nine starters from last year's defensive squad, including two key defensive losses in linebacker Cody Grimm and defensive end Jason Worilds, not to mention three other defensive lineman from last year.
They may have a tough go of it trying to replace those players, but they've always overcome losses before, so I don't doubt that they'll be able to find solid replacements again this season.
TCU Horned Frogs
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The TCU Horned Frogs look primed to repeat their Mountain West success last season, but look for a better end to their season than their BCS bowl loss to Boise State.
Their defense led the nation in total defense last season, giving up just 239.7 yards per game (3.9 ypp) and was the third-best rushing defense (80.23 ypg) behind Alabama (79.36) and Texas (72.36).
Where their defense might struggle is losing two of their top starters from last year.
Defensive end Jerry Hughes—a first-team All-American had 26.5 sacks over the past two seasons—is gone, as is linebacker Daryl Washington, who led the team in tackles last season.
Replacing Hughes will be either redshirt freshman Stansly Maponga or sophomore Ross Forrest who are both competing for the starting job.
Tank Carder will be the guy to step into the vacancy created by Washington's departure.
One concern for TCU and head coach Gary Patterson, is their secondary. They lose cornerback, and four-year starter, Rafael Priest, but will try to replace him with Jason Teague and Greg McCoy, but will be far less experienced at the position.
Florida Gators
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One thing we all know about the Florida Gators is their ever-famous quarterback Tim Tebow.
The Swamp will have a different feeling without arguably the most popular quarterback in recent memory. However, we're not here to talk about the new Denver Bronco.
Defensively, the Gators lost three key defensive players in defensive end Carlos Dunlap, linebacker Brandon Spikes, and cornerback Joe Haden who was a quarterback when he first got to Florida and turned himself into one of the best cornerbacks in the nation.
The Gators finished fourth in the nation in total defense (252.4 ypg), fourth in points per game against (12.4), 12th in rushing defense (100.43 ypg), and second in passing defense (151.9 ypg) last season.
The Gators will need to replace both defensive ends and the linebacker position will have an open competition as well, though I don't see them having a problem filling either spot considering the depth they have on their roster.
At corner back, they have one spot open with the other one filled by Janoris Jenkins, who was an All-Conference player in 2009.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
North Carolina Tar Heels
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Remember, fans, we're talking defense here so before you blow up this pick, let's take a look at why they're on this list.
In 2009, the North Carolina Tar Heels finished sixth in total defense (262.2 ypg), 14th in passing defense (174.0 ypg), 10th in rushing defense (95.62 ypg), and 13th in scoring defense (17.1 ppg).
They return everybody from their defensive unit from last season including defensive end Robert Quinn, who was second in the ACC in sacks (11), linebacker Quan Sturdivant, cornerback Deunta Williams and safety Kendric Burney.
They'll get a stiff test right off the bat as they'll kick off the 2010 season against LSU.
Boise State Broncos
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Boise State is one team that is getting a lot of buzz around college football circles for being a legitimate contender for a BCS title shot—the first mid-major to get this kind of run in quite some time.
Everyone knows about quarterback Kellen Moore and what he's able to do with the Boise State offense, but what about their defense?
Their only key loss from last season was corner back Kyle Wilson, who headed to the NFL.
While their defense was nothing short of dominant against teams like TCU and Oregon, they give up big yardage to Fresno State, Louisiana Tech and Nevada and could have lost any one of those games.
Defensively, they return some of their best starters from last season but they will be under a brand new defensive coordinator, Pete Kwiatkowski, who will replace Justin Wilcox who left for Tennessee.
Returning to the defensive unit are defensive ends Ryan Winterswyk and Shea McClellin, tackle Billy Winn, nickel back Winston Venable, safety Jeron Johnson and cornerback Brandyn Thompson, who was the Fiesta Bowl MVP.
Penn State Nittany Lions
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Joe Paterno returns for yet another season at the helm of the Penn State Nittany Lions and he has a talented team that will take the field in a few short weeks.
The Nittany Lions finished ninth in the nation in total defense (274.5 ypg) in 2009, sixth in rushing defense (89.85 ypg), and third in scoring defense (12.2 ppg).
While they lost defensive tackle Jared Odrick and linebacker Navarro Bowman, as well as five other starters from the 2009's front seven, Penn State looks deep enough to replace those players and still have the same success as last season.
They will have nose tackle Ollie Ogbu as well as defensive ends Jack Crawford and Eric Latimore back. Also coming back, after being out most of last season with a knee injury, is Michael Mauti.
Oklahoma Sooners
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You would think a team that loses this many pieces off their defensive unit wouldn't be nearly as strong the following season. For Oklahoma, they have the depth to insert new pieces and not miss much of a beat.
Oklahoma, in 2009, finished eighth in total defense (272.6 ypg), 20th in passing defense (179.7 ypg), ninth in rushing defense (92.92 ypg), and seventh in scoring defense (14.5 ppg).
Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and linebacker Ryan Reynolds will be key losses for the Sooners, not to mention both starting cornerbacks from last season.
However, the Sooners will have Big 12 player of the year candidates in defensive end Jeremy Beal and linebacker Travis Lewis returning to the team.
Beal is currently fifth on the school's career sack list while Lewis, in each of the past two seasons, led the team in tackles.
They will also have safeties Quinton Carter and Jonathan Nelson back in the secondary where Nelson is expected to make the switch from safety to cornerback to fill one of the vacancies from last season.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
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The Nebraska Cornhuskers look to be better than they have been since Tom Osbourne roamed the sidelines as the head coach.
The one key loss is a big one for the defensive squad as defensive lineman N'Damukong Suh departed Nebraska for the NFL. Replacing a one-man wrecking crew won't be easy.
Not only is Suh moving on, but they will lose linebacker Philip Dillard, the team's second-leading tackler behind Suh, as well as safeties Larry Asante and Matt O'Hanlon.
Nebraska was seventh in total defense (271.3 ypg), 18th in passing defense (178.9 ypg), eighth in rushing defense (92.43 ypg), and was the best team in the nation in scoring defense (10.4 ppg) last season.
It was a huge improvement from the past two seasons,in which Nebraska was giving up 28.5 and 37.9 points per game, respectively.
The key players for success in 2010 will be defensive tackle Jared Crick, defensive end Pierre Allen, and linebackers Prince Amukamara and Eric Hagg.
Nebraska has depth to replace those leaving for greener pastures, so don't expect much drop-off from last season.
Ohio State Buckeyes
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Ohio State might be the one team that can challenge Alabama for the BCS crown this season. They're strong enough and talented enough to get there. But is their defense up to the challenge?
Last season, Ohio State was fifth in total defense (262.3 ypg), 13th in pass defense (171.5 ypg), seventh in rush defense (90.77), and fifth in scoring defense (12.5 ppg).
While the Buckeyes will be without defensive end Thad Gibson, and his team high 13 tackles from last season, they have another defensive end in Cameron Heyward that will be back for the 2010 season and will be a tough guy to deal with up front.
Linebackers Ross Homan and Brian Rolle will be back as will corners Chimdi Chekwa and Devon Torrence, who will attempt to make up for the loss of safety Kurt Coleman.
The biggest keys to Ohio State's defense will be Nathan Williams and John Simon, as well as seniors Cameron Heyward and Dexter Larimore, who will return to a defense that was dominant against the run and looks to be again this season.
Alabama Crimson Tide
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The Alabama Crimson Tide come in to the 2010 college football season as the defending national champions, and they look to be just as strong this year as they were last year.
Alabama's defense was dominant last year, finishing second in total defense (245.4 ypg), 10th in pass defense (166.0 ypg), second in rush defense (79.36 ypg), and second in scoring defense (11.7 ppg).
Returning to the defensive this season are linebacker Dont'a Hightower, who's coming off knee surgery, safety Mark Barron and defensive end BCS Championship game MVP Marcell Dareus, but they will need to replace guys like Rolando McClain and Terrance Cody.
While their defensive line could be as solid as last season, replacing every starter from their secondary could be the biggest question.
Head coach Nick Saban will try to do just that with some of the best recruits in the country like Dre Kirkpatrick and B.J. Scott.
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