BCS Rankings: 3 Contenders with Defenses That Just Aren't Title-Worthy

There are several teams in college football that have some type of shot at the National Championship. Some may take advantage of a weak schedule, while some may get there simply because they have a great team on both sides of the ball.

Regardless, to win football games you need defense and if you don't have a decent defense, then you can't win a championship.

Here are the teams that won't win the National Championship because their defense is holding them back.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

The Oklahoma State Cowboys have a great offense that puts up a ton of points, but they have to because their defense gives up 27 points per contest.

This team gave up 34 points to Louisiana-Lafayette, a Sun Belt team. 

The Cowboys may have a ball-hawking secondary that has 15 interceptions on the season, but to win this National Championship, you can't give up a ton of points.

Oklahoma State is out of the question.

Boise State Broncos

The Broncos probably weren't going to get a shot at the National Championship anyway, but just in case they were, their defense isn't good enough.

Sure, they have great stats, but when you look at the competition they play, you can throw the stats out the window. Any defense will look good when you're playing Fresno State, Colorado State and Toledo.

I'd like to know if they could stop a team like Oklahoma, Oregon or Arkansas.

Until then, I can't just assume this Boise team is good enough.

Clemson Tigers

Clemson, much like Oklahoma State, gets away with a bad defense because they put up 40 points a game. But when you're playing a team like LSU or Alabama, that won't cut it.

The Tigers have given up 45 points to Maryland and 38 points to North Carolina.

They get almost no pressure on opposing quarterbacks as they have just 14 sacks on the year, eighth in the ACC.

Clemson isn't going to be able to score 30-plus points every game. That defense is going to need to step up sooner or later.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]

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