Posted:
#26
Hope you don't mind all the posting but just wanted to get some data in here. Stats are imperfect and they don't tell the whole story but these are some of the best stats we have as a place to start.
I'll say a couple of things that stood out to me, then shut up and let the pros do the talking:
1. DL gets you a LONG WAY, look no further than LSU, Florida, Michigan of getting 8-10 wins a year with horrid offenses. A great 2ndary is very nice to have but Ohio State and Washington lost nearly everyone from last year and their DL kept their defenses stout. Hell even the crazy offensive focused Mike Leach started to figure out he needed a DL.
2. Your DL also needs to get sacks. Sacks overall are very important but if you have to blitz a lot to get them eventually you will be robbing Peter to pay Paul.
3. Offensive line is a hard one to quantify. Isolated OU may not have the best pure OL but it also has to do with the QB, offensive coaching, and skill players to make it work. Consider that OU easily beat arguably the #1 DL twice and the #4 on the road and go back and watch the tape of those games. I saw command and confidence and that a great offense can beat the best defense you can throw at it. Also last year Clemson and Alabama had clearly the best DL's by stats in the country and probably the best defensive's, yet they put up 66 pts. Two years ago Penn State had one of the worst offensive lines in the FBS, it has improved some but it was the offensive coaching, McSorley, and the slew of skill players that were able to hide this weakness.
4. I was surprised about Clemson and Kelly Bryant. He only threw 12 TDs and had 6 INTs (Hurts had 15 TDs but only 1 INT). On the one hand I think I need to give the coaching job even more credit but on the other I'm concerned and I would be willing to bet they are too, they would not keep OU from scoring and would struggle to keep up. Also surprised about JT Barrett, I wanted him to be ranked last but as bonehead and limited as he can be at times he threw 35 TDs to 9 INTs, had a 161.7 efficiency rating, and completed 64.7% of his passes. Those are damn good numbers.
5. Speaking of Ohio St, you can certainly see where they have a solid argument but unfortunately for them so does Bama. Something just wasn't quite right for Washington this year, they are a playoff team on paper.
6. I like Georgia and Fromm but if Ohio St and TCU couldn't prevent OU from scoring 30+, Georgia doesn't stand a chance. It makes you wonder if on the big stage when they really need to keep up if they will be able to make the big pass plays. There is just something to it, maybe confidence and repetition but if you don't push scoring with the passing game its hard to dial it up when you need it most.
7. Beware of conference generalities (ex. the Big 12 doesn't play defense). Last year the Big 12 clear and away played the best defense in the bowl games, to the surprise of many...Baylor and Ok State even joined the party.
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Great INFORMATIVE posting 
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