SEC Football: Power Ranking the Defenses Going Into Week 3
The SEC is a conference that is well known for having tenacious and hard hitting defenses.
After only two weeks of the new season and with some games against inferior competition, it is certainly difficult to accurately determine the strengths of these defenses.
However, at least one half of the league's teams have already played a conference game and the rest of the teams will be in conference play within the next two weeks.
Based upon the current 2010 SEC defensive statistics, I have rated all 12 teams based on 8 different defensive categories -- Run defense, pass defense, sack defense, 1st downs given up, 3rd down conversions allowed, red zone defense, interceptions, and scoring defense.
Although we are early in the season, there are some surprising results that could have a large effect upon who will be in the drivers seat to make it to the SEC Championship Game.
Although Alabama is picked to repeat as SEC Champions, I think there will be several teams that will end up having a lot to say about who the eventual champion will be.
It has always been said that " defense wins championships ", so these ratings are most important in predicting the SEC contenders.
No 12 Ranked Vanderbilt Commodore Defense
1 of 12
Vanderbilt has long been the academic leader in the SEC, but they have also long been the perennial last place finisher in football.
With the high academic standards and requirements of Vanderbilt, it makes it hard to recruit players that possess both academic smarts and athletic talent.
Additionally, it takes a very well financed athletic department to provide the facilities necessary to attract the high profile players and Vanderbilt is lacking in this area.
But, despite the disadvantages it faces, Vanderbilt survives in the crazy competitive SEC by being smart enough to remain a viable member and share in the conference's lucrative bowl proceeds at the end of the year. .
According to this year's early SEC defensive statistics, Vanderbilt is in last place after the first two weeks of the 2010 season. Their game against Northwestern was a very competitive and a close game and most feel Vanderbilt were robbed by an erroneous referee's last second call.
However, Vanderbilt gave up 365 yards to Northwestern and 392 yards to a strong ground attack by LSU. It appears their biggest problem is that they have allowed too many first downs, too many points, and they are poor at allowing 3rd down conversions.
Vanderbilt played LSU with it's anemic passing attack very hard for about 3 quarters, but then the Tigers ground game wore them down and LSU took control in the fourth quarter for a run away victory.
No 11 Ole Miss Rebels And Their Land Shark Defense
2 of 12
Ole Miss has been such a dominant defense the last several years, that they nick named their defense "The Landshark Defense" because of the way they attacked the opposing offenses.
With present NFL stars like Patrick Willis who played for the Rebels a few years ago, the Landshark nickname was begun. For the last several years, the Landshark Defense has been a major strength and a big reason for the recent resurrection of the program under Coach Houston Nutt.
However, even with carryover players like Jerrel Powe and Kentrell Lockett returning, the 2010 Ole Miss defense has just been a major disappointment for the Rebel fans.
In fact, it has become a very perplexing problem for coach Houston Nutt as he was expecting his defense to be a strength for the Rebels this year. Ole MIss's offense has always been a good one, but without a formidable defense to compliment them, things look dim for the Rebels already.
Of course, it was one of the most embarrassing games in Ole Miss history this year when they lost an overtime game to Division 1A sub power Jacksonville (Alabama) State and gave up 49 points in the game.
It was the ineffective Ole Miss defense that must shoulder the blame for losing this game as the offense scored 48 points which is more than enough to produce a victory.
In fact, the Ole Miss defense has given up more points than any other SEC team so far in 2010, and they did it against two rather low level programs in Jacksonville State and Tulane.
Unless Ole Miss can somehow reignite their "Landshark Defense" that nick name will be a thing of the past, and Coach Houston Nutt will continue his reputation of being an up and down coach.
No 10 Auburn Tigers Defense
3 of 12
The Auburn Tigers have have been a very successful team during this decade, and in fact they had a 13-0 record under former coach Tommy Tuberville in 2005. But, due to computer ratings and such, Auburn was denied an opportunity to play USC for the BCS National Championship.
This of course has been a sore subject to Auburn Fans especially now in light of the USC scandals with Pete Carroll have broken out. In fact, there has been talk that Auburn should now be awarded the BCS Title since USC is forced to return it and Oklahoma was soundly defeated by USC in that game. Of course we all know that will not happen.
Things have changed since that undefeated season though, as Auburn had become discontented with Coach Tommy Tuberville and they arrived at a mutual decision for coach to step down and Gene Chizik was hired to take over.
Gene Chizik, was a former Auburn assistant with a losing record at Iowa State and his hire was highly questioned by everybody.
However, coach Chizik has put together a great offensive staff headed by offensive coordinator wizzard Gus Malzahn. Malzahn and Coach Chizik have done a magnificent job of recruiting a top 5 class last year plus they added former blue chip Gator signee, Cameron Newton as their show piece quarterback.
The Auburn defense is another question and an unexpected one at that. The 2010 edition of the Auburn defense seems to be giving up way too many first downs and they are not intercepting passes. While their run defense looks very good, their pass defense has really been struggling and not allowing the offense to stay on the field long enough put the opposition away.
Even though Mississippi State has improved, Auburn should have won this game much more comfortably.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
No 9 The Tennessee Volunteers Defense
4 of 12
Through the years, the University of Tennessee has always been one of the SEC's strongest programs In modern times, things began under Coach Johnny Majors but after years of success and some failures, the administration felt they needed a change and they then looked to assistant and former UT player Phillip Fulmer to take over and lead the Vols.
For much of the 1990s and up until two years ago, Coach Fulmer lead the Volunteers to several SEC Championships and one National Championship.
However, two years ago Tennessee fired Coach Phil Fulmer and sort of made a knee jerk decision to hire controversial NFL lightning rod Lane Kiffin. Kiffin did not waste any time making enemies within the SEC as he tried to pick a fight with highly successful Florida Coach Urban Meyers over a recruit that both wanted.
After just one year on the job, the volatile Lane Kiffin was offered the head job at USC to replace Pete Carroll and he abruptly resigned with Tennessee and left UT in the dark of night as Students were near riot stage on campus.
With Kiffin's abrupt departure, Tennessee was forced to make a quick decision and they chose Derek Dooley, the son of former Georgia Coach Vince Dooley. Derek was an assistant under Nick Saban at LSU and came to UT from Louisiana Tech with a less than stellar winning record. Dooley is a good Southern Boy and he seems to fit the type guy and time will tell if he will be successful.
However, the 2010 Tennessee defense is very weak against the run and they are ranked next to last in sack totals so they do not have a very strong defensive line. To further illustrate the defensive line weakness, they are ranked No 10 in scoring defense. The only bright spot for the UT defense is in their secondary where they rank No 3 in preventing 3rd down conversions. At this point unless Tennessee can begin getting aggressive up front, it could be a long season for the Tennessee Volunteers.
No 8 The Kentucky Wildcats
5 of 12
Everybody in the country knows that Kentucky is a big time basketball school but they have struggled to become a forceful and consistent football winner in the SEC.
The Wildcats have had their good days however, as the legendary Paul Bear Bryant coached them back in the late 40s and early 50s for 8 seasons before he became the legend of Alabama football coach that most know him as today.
Bear Bryant was able to turn any program into a winner as he proved that at Maryland, Kentucky, and Texas A & M before he returned to sweet home Alabama and continued his magic. While The Bear was at Kentucky they went to bowl games, won the 1950 national championship, and produced pro players like the immortal Babe Perrilli and long time LSU head coach Charlie McClendon.
But since the Bear left, Kentucky has been up and down but mostly down as an SEC power. However, Rich Brooks, the former Oregon Coach, came to Kentucky in 2005 and he started a rebuilding program that has produced teams that have made several bowl games in the last few years.
Coach Brooks decides to retire last year and, Kentucky turned to a former Brooks assistant named Joker Phillips. Let's all hope he is no joker as the Wild Cats certainly don't need that, but so far he seems to be a popular choice.
The 2010 defensive team of Joker Phillips appears to very lacking on the defensive line as they are ranked No 11 against the run and their red zone defense is only modestly successful and ranked No 8.
Coupled with the fact that Kentucky has not really played a real quality opponent outside of Louisville this year, their defensive numbers are not very impressive. But, take away the poor run defense and they are ranked as a middle of the road defense. But, once they begin to get into the meat of the SEC schedule, this suspect defense could become a very vulnerable defense if they continue to struggle against the running game.
No 7 The Florida Gators Defense (Surprise)
6 of 12
Now that the Tim Tebow era is over in Gainesville, there seems to be several concerns and questions about this 2010 Florida Gator team. So far the Gators have been less than impressive in two games against Miami of Ohio and The University of South Florida.
Last year Tim Tebow had a concussion and was doubtful to play in the LSU game and John Brantley was expected to step into Tim Tebow's shoes with no expected drop off. Fortunately for the Gators Tebow was able to go in that game.
The way Brantley and his team mates have started out this season, all of that positive talk about Brantley sounds like it was pure bull coming from Meyer and the Gators.
For one thing Brantley and his center could not even get the ball snapped without fumbling and losing yards. Then Brantley seemed to struggle with his passing accuracy, and his overall presence and confidence even seemed to be questionable.
The Gators have won two BCS National Championships this decade and they along with LSU are the only two teams to ever perform that feat.
So dealing with both a struggling offense and a struggling defense all in the same year is more than Coach Meyers or any Gator fan thought they would have to deal with.
So far, the Gator defense has shown to be a middle of the road defensive team that is ranked No 7 out of 12 teams. For a team that is nationally known as a BCS Title Contender, this is most surprising.
They have some glaring problems on defense as their run and sack defenses are ranked as No 9, and they seem to allow a lot of first downs by the opposition and they are having a hard time stopping their opponents on third down. Considering the quality of the competition so far it looks like the Gators have a lot of work ahead of them if they plan to challenge Alabama or anyone else for the SEC Championship.
No 5 The University Of South Carolina Gamecocks Defense
7 of 12
In 1992 The SEC decided to expand and they invited The South Carolina Gamecocks and the Arkansas Razorbacks to join the conference.
In 1998 Coach Lou Holtz came to South Carolina after 11 years at Notre Dame. and Coach Holtz immediately infused energy and put confidence into the Gamecock program and they went from 0-11 in 1999 to an Outback Bowl victory over Ohio State the next year.
Lou Holtz left the program in 2005 and USC was again in the right place at the right time as former Florida Gators" Evil Genius" Coach Steve Spurrier was looking to get back in SEC football. Once he landed at USC everyone thought he would do the same things he once did at Florida, but it wasn't that quite that easy for the Ol Ball Coach.
Recruiting at USC was much tougher and the budget was much lower. But, to coach Spurrier's credit he has stuck with the Gamecocks and is now on the verge of doing something big this year.
The Gamecocks offense led by Freshman sensation Marcus Latimore is doing it's part for sure. But the Gamecocks defense is rated in the middle of the pack as a unit. However, they have the No 2 ranked rushing defense, and the No 1 ranked red zone defense, which shows a strong defensive line.
The real weakness in the Gamecock's defense is in the secondary where they are ranked No 12 in pass defense and No 12 in allowing 3rd down conversions
If Ellis Johnson and his defensive coaches can work on building up the defensive secondary they could very well challenge for the SEC East Title since Florida is struggling at this time. Coach Spurrier sure is excited about his team's chances this year.
No 5 Ranked Mississippi State Bulldog Defense
8 of 12
Mississippi State parted with coach Sylvester Croom two years ago and they raided the Florida Gator for Coach Dan Mullen , the long time Offensive Coordinator under coach Urban Meyers. Coach Mullen is regarded by most as an intelligent, hard working, and innovative offensive minded coach.
He came in in 2009 and his imprint began to show up in the program immediately and with some very good recruiting last year, he is putting the building blocks together for a strong future for The MSU Bulldogs.
Even though MSU is still not where they need to be talent wise, they are making strides and the team is coming together.
The Bulldogs offense showed they could move the ball against Auburn, but they still lack the play makers to make that important catch or run.
However, the Bulldog defense is heading towards the top in most categories. Although they are ranked as No 5 overall, they are above average in all categories except for run defense, pass defense, and sack defense.
Ranking No 8 in run defense, MSU seems to be weak in the defensive line and that will be a factor when they play the upper echelon teams like LSU, Arkansas, and Alabama. They are also ranked No 9 in Sack defense which will keep their defense from pressuring the quarterback in passing situations.
I see Mississippi State as a much improved team, but they are still lacking talent and that will show up most when they face the top rated teams.
No 4 Rated Georgia Bulldogs
9 of 12
As one of the upper echelon programs in the SEC the Georgia Bulldogs are usually ranked in the top 25 each year. This year is no different, as the Bulldog were No 22 in the Coaches Poll when they took on to meet the ever dangerous South Carolina Gamecocks coached by coach Steve Spurrier affectionately known as the Ole Ball Coach.
South Carolina was waiting in their own home stadium to ambush the Bulldogs and unleash one of their new weapons in the name of Marcus Latimore. Marcus more than did his part but rushing for 185 yards with an amazing 35 carries. He was running over and through tackles by the Georgia Bulldogs and he launched himself as one of the great up and coming SEC Backs for the future.
Georgia's offense was almost good enough, but their defense just fell short of the mark. The Bulldogs have one of the better defense in the conference overall, but their main weakness at this point is their tendency to give up too many third down conversions where they are ranked No 10 in this category.
Until they can fix the third down problem they will allow others to control the game and keep the Georgia offense on the bench. Also a possible area of concern is Georgia's red zone defense which is ranked No 8., and their run defense which is just average.
These high numbers show a weakness in the defensive front four or five. But, there is one surprising area where Georgia excels and that is in Sack Defense where they are ranked No 2 in the SEC in this category.
Overall, Georgia is playing very decent defense and with some emphasis on correcting their third down conversion percentage and their red zone defense the Bulldogs could be right there in the end.
No 3 LSU Tigers And Their Speedy Defense
10 of 12
The LSU Tigers are one of two teams to win a BCS National Championship in this decade. The only other team to do so is the Florida Gators.
LSU's championship quest all began with the hiring of Coach Nick Saban in 1999 to take over for fired coach Gerry Dinardo. Coach Saban immediately began upgrading the facilities at LSU and it didn't take him long to put his stamp on this program. With tireless recruiting and smart coaching, Saban was able to deliver LSU''s first BCS National Championship in 2003.
But, Coach Saban had a yearning for the NFL and he accepted a $ 4 million contract offer from the Miami Dolphins at the end of 2004.
Coach Saban left a storng program in place and LSU hired Coach Les Miles from Oklahoma State to take over for the depart Nick Saban. Coach Miles promptly guided LSU to another BCS National Championship in 2007 and he won more games in his first five years than any coach in LSU history.
Les Miles lost Bo Pellini , his defensive coordinator to the University of Nebraska after the 2007 BCS Championship game. Miles thought he could just go with co-coordinators and leave everything else the same. But that decision proved to be a disastrous mistake for Coach Miles .
To correct his error, Les Miles then looked to former Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis (The Chief) to put a solid defense back in place. The defense recovered very nicely last year and this year they are very young, but very very talented and speedy.
This years Tiger defense is ranked No 3 over all in the SEC, but they are No 1 in run defense, No 1 in sack defense, and No 1 in allowing third down conversions. They have played good competition and after the near miss in the second half of the UNC game, this defense is playing lights out. The only thing holding down the ratings of this defense is their lack of interceptions.
As the season goes on, this LSU defense is capable of returning LSU to those dominating type defenses that all Tiger Fans have come to love about LSU football. If LSU can get the offense moving like the defense, they have every reason to believe they can win the SEC West and play in the SEC Championship.
No 2 Arkansas Razorbacks Defense
11 of 12
Everybody has been talking about Arkansas's awesome quarterback Ryan Mallett who is expected to lead Arkansas all the way to the promise land (Atlanta) of the SEC. Well it is all talk at this point and every year someone is expected to be the super guy.
The last few years, it has been Tim Tebow of Florida and now it appears Ryan Mallett is the new super star to rule the conference. So far, the Razorbacks have been doing very well and building up nice statistics, but they really have not played any quality competition so far.
Tennessee Tech is not an FBCS div 1 team and neither is ULM, so running up scores on those teams offers little to gauge a team's expected performance. We will have a gaufe soon enough to show what type of a defense the Razorbacks have in a couple of weeks when the Alabama Crimson Tide comes calling on the Hogs.
But based upon the statistics for the first two weeks of this year, the Arkansas Razorbacks are ranked No 2 in the SEC overall defense ratings. Actually Arkansas tied Alabama in overall scores, but due to the weaker competition Arkansas has played and the stronger competition Alabama has played Alabama got the nod.
Arkansas has a weakness in the red zone defense as they are rated No 8 in that category, and they are ranked No 7 in interceptions. But, the Hogs rating of No 1 in pass defense seems to be enough to keep their ranking high for the moment.
As we get further into the SEC schedule, it will be interesting to see if the Arkansas Razorbacks have improved their defense enough to get them to Atlanta.
No 1 Alabama Crimson Tide Defense
12 of 12
The Alabama Crimson Tide is the most storied program not only in the SEC but nationally as well. The Tide has won anywhere from 7 to 13 National Championships depending on whose version you believe.
The latest of these championships came in last years 2009 BCS National Championship Game against the University of Texas Longhorns under current Coach Nick Saban.
Last year Alabama put it all together in a convincing fashion to win their first National Championship since 1992 when they were under coach Gene Stallings leadership.
The modern day traditions at Alabama began under the Legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant who coached The Crimson Tide from 1958-1982 and produced 6 national championships.
In 2006, Alabama hired former LSU Coach Nick Saban to lead them back to the promise land. After repeated public denials that he would be the Alabama coach, Nick Saban finally accepted the job.
So far, coach Saban has put the Crimson Tide right back where the Fans wanted and the Tide is now once again the hunted in the SEC.
The current Alabama defense appears to be very young but also very talented, and with Nick Saban running the show, Alabama will continue to be a dominant defense as that is Coach Saban's calling card. Though it is still early and the Tide has not played a conference game yet, they do have two weak areas that must be strengthened in SEC play.
They are currently ranked No 12 in Sack Defense and they are No 7 in run defense. But those are their only real weakness at this point as they are ranked no lower than No 2 or No 3 in any other category. So, it appears the Crimson Tide is not as physical up front as they have been, especially with the loss of Big Cody from last year but they do have an active secondary that is getting interceptions and making plays. If the Tide can correct their weaknesses they certainly have the team to win the SEC and have a chance at repeating as national champion.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
