FanPost

The key to returning to the BCS is defense

Our offense has been good enough last year and this year; last year, we finished 6th in the nation in scoring offense with a freshman QB.  Pretty crappy coaching on the offensive side of the ball, if you ask me.  Comparatively, we finished 26th in scoring defense.  The infamous KState loss was due to defense meltdowns on big plays - we put 42 points on the board.  We beat OU by coming out and throwing the ball the second half. The loss to OSU was excusable - that team played for the MNC.  Even against A&M - they ran the ball down our throat in the 4th Quarter.

This year, even with some offensive sputters, we are a respectable 18th in scoring offense, but a deplorable 45th in scoring defense. I realize the Big 12 has some high octane offenses that may skew the stats some, but we didn't even play two of the best offenses in Kansas and Missouri.

In short, the key to another run at a MNC in my view is not a revamping of the offense (some tweaking wouldn't hurt though), but a revamping of the defense.  We cannot get back to a championship contender or even a Big 12 championship contender with the 45th scoring defense in the country.

Missouri, by the way, may be an exception to the rule, in that they are ranked only 39th in scoring defense (still better than Texas though).  That is why, however, in my humble opinion, Missouri will lose this Saturday to OU, who is a much more balanced team offense to defense than Missouri.

If you don't belive that defense wins championships, just look at the stats:

2006 BCS Florida - 6th in scoring defense, 23rd in scoring offense

2005 BCS Texas - 8th in scoring defense, 1st in scoring offense (Damn, what a team!!!)

2004 BCS USC - 3rd in scoring defense, 6th in scoring offense

2003 BCS LSU - 1st in scoring defense, 19th in scoring offense

2002 BCS Ohio State - 2nd in scoring defense, 41st in scoring offense

2001 BCS Miami - 1st in scoring defense, 3rd in scoring offense (a heck of a great team)

2000 BCS Oklahoma - 7th in scoring defense, 7th in scoring offense

So, bottom line, not a single BCS champion has ranked lower than 8th in the nation in scoring defense, while several champions have ranked well below the top ten in scoring offense.

Offenses will sputter from time-to-time and ours did plenty this year.  However, if you have a strong, consistent defense, you can withstand those offensive sputters, win a lot of games and win championships.

And, as I have said before, Mack has shown the propensity for such change when necessary, letting Reese "resign" after a very similar season to this one - when the scoring defense slipped to 32nd, he brought in Robinson and Tomey and started the march to the '05 championship. So, based entirely on objective facts and historical evidence (and not just wishful thinking), I am fully confident that Mack will take major steps this offseason to restore our defense to a top-ten caliber defense.

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