College Football: Which Would You Rather Have, Alabama's D or Duck's Offense?

The No. 1 team in country has the 20th-ranked defense in FBS.  The No. 3 team has the first-ranked offense in FBS.

If you had to choose, which one would you rather have in making the run for the BCS championship?

Gut instinct suggests defense, and you would be right.

Over the last 10 years, just five teams have made it to the BCS championship game with a defense ranked outside of the top 10, OSU ('02), OK ('04), USC ('05), OSU ('06) and OK ('08).  OSU is the only team to win the title, but their defense was ranked 23rd. 

Having a strong defense is necessary to make the title game, and it is likely necessary to win the game.  Nine out the last 10 BCS champions have had defenses in the top 10.  The champion also had the higher ranked defense seven times. 

Offensive firepower has been less common for the BCS championship teams since 2000.  Thirteen teams have made it to the title game without a top-10 offense, seven without a top-25 offense. 

Eight teams have won the championship without a top-10 offense, four without a top-25 offense.  In 10 years, only three teams have won the title with a higher ranked offense. 

These statistics do not suggest that an effective offense is unnecessary to make it to the game or win the game.  It just means it is less important to the outcome.

Balance is important though.  Having a strong defense with a productive offense is the best combination to make it to the championship and win.  The Buckeyes in 2002, with an offense ranked 70th and defense 23rd, are the only exception.

Looking at the top three teams right now, recent history favors Bama and OSU.  The Tide are ranked 20th in both total offense and defense, OSU is 21st in offense and fifth in defense, and Oregon is first on offense and 52nd on defense. 

The most balanced team is definitely Alabama.  With offensive firepower, an opportunistic defense and solid special teams play, the Tide are nicely positioned to be the first team to win back-to-back BCS championships.