Landon Collins (26) is a big-time player on Alabama's defense. (John Reed-USA TODAY Sports)
The old cliché that defense wins championships is still alive and well, but with each passing season football is morphing more and more into a offensive free-for-all.
In today’s game, the rules, now so more than ever, favor offenses. Defensive backs get flagged for barely touching a receiver. They get flagged — and possibly ejected with the new targeting rules in place — for hitting defenseless players when more often times than not they delivered a clean blow. And they also have to deal with numerous dynamic, hurry-up offenses designed to wear a unit down physically and mentally.
For the defensive purists out there, the modern-day game probably isn’t their style of ball. But for the casual fan that enjoys scoring, present day college football is as entertaining as it’s ever been.
In 2013, no other conference saw more of a shift from defense to offense than the rugged SEC, a league that’s always prided itself on playing good D.
In 2012, six conference teams held opponents under 20 points per game. Last year only one, Alabama (13.9 ppg), held the opposition to less than 20 an outing. That’s a big-time flip in defensive productivity for the conference as a whole — and a lot of that can be attributed to the excellent crop of quarterbacks and skill position players that were sprinkled throughout the league a year ago.
Entering this season, the quarterback crop isn’t as strong in the SEC as it was last year, so a few teams may bounce back in the defensive department. But don’t be surprised to see the conference as a whole continue to have a tough time stopping good offenses once again this season.
Eight league teams averaged giving up 20.3 to 24.7 ppg in 2013. And with so much turnover on several defenses that were in that range, that number could be higher this upcoming season.
With that said, here are my projections on where each SEC team will finish in scoring defense in 2014.
1. Alabama: The backbone of Alabama’s success under Nick Saban has always been defense, but replacing an All-American like C.J. Mosley at middle linebacker will be a challenge. Mosley was a playmaker, a team leader and the heart of Bama’s D a season ago. In addition to Mosley, the Crimson Tide must also replace defensive lineman Ed Stinson and safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, two of the team’s top playmakers. Linebacker Trey DePriest and safety Landon Collins are the team’s top returning starters, but budding stars A-Shawn Robinson, a former five-star defensive tackle who had 5.5 sacks in 2013, Jeoffrey Pagan, Denzel Devall, Jarrick Williams and Cyrus Jones should help the Crimson Tide remain a formidable defensive unit once again in 2014. Newcomer Da’Shawn Hand, the nation’s top-ranked defensive end prospect, could make an impact as a pass rusher along the defensive front, something that’s been lacking from Alabama’s arsenal since Marcell Dareus departed following the 2010 season.
2. LSU: The loss of tackles Anthony Johnson and Ego Ferguson, linebacker Lamin Barrow and safety Craig Loston will sting, but after breaking in a bunch of new faces a year ago the Tigers should field another solid defensive unit under the direction of coordinator John Chavis. Cornerback Jalen Mills is a big-time player and defensive end Daniel Hunter (eight tackles for loss in 2013) can bring the heat off the edge. Kwon Alexander and D.J. Welter headline an athletic, hard-hitting group of linebackers. The Tigers need some defensive tackles to step up, but there’s enough talent in Baton Rouge for Les Miles’ team to field another outstanding defense.
3. Auburn: The Tigers return seven starters to a unit that recorded 32 sacks, forced 19 turnovers and finished second in the SEC in red-zone defense a year ago. Talented sophomore defensive linemen Carl Lawson, Montravius Adams and Elijah Daniel will combine with veterans Gabe Wright, Angelo Blackson, Ben Bradley, Jeffrey Whitaker (returning from injury) and LaDarius Owens to give Auburn another great D-line rotation. Linebackers Cassanova McKinzy and Kris Frost are All-SEC candidates at linebacker. Justin Garrett, who sat out last season with a foot injury, and Robenson Therezie give coordinator Ellis Johnson two great options at the “Star” position. Senior DBs Jonathon Mincy and Jermaine Whitehead anchor at secondary that’s welcomed top JUCO signee Derrick Moncrief, a rangy safety with good striking ability, to the mix. Corner/safety Joshua Holsey, a solid cover man, also returns after a knee injury forced him to miss most of last season. He sat out the spring however for more or less precaution.
4. Mississippi State: This may be a surprise to some, but the Bulldogs played well defensively down the stretch last season (gave up 34 points in final three games) and they have a lot of talented players returning, most notably middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney, the team’s leading tackler, outside linebacker Matthew Wells, defensive backs Taveze Calhoun, Justin Cox and Kendrick Market and former five-star defensive end Chris Jones, who lead the team with 10 quarterback hurries as a true freshman. The aforementioned players should form the core of a very sound Mississippi State defense.
5. Georgia: New coordinator Jeremy Pruitt will have plenty to work with in his first season as Georgia’s defensive play-caller. There is uncertainty surrounding the status of safety Tray Matthews, linebacker James DeLoach and defensive lineman John Taylor due to an off-field incident, but the Bulldogs return of a lot talent and experience to a defensive unit that was wildly inconsistent a year ago. Linebackers Ramik Wilson (led the SEC in tackles) and Amarlo Herrera are fantastic, and Jordan Jenkins (if he’s used as an end or linebacker) and Ray Drew (end) can get after the quarterback. The secondary is an area of concern due to the dismissal of star safety Josh Harvey-Clemons and the status of Matthews, but Corey Moore is back as are up-and-comers Damian Swann and Shaq Wiggins — and that’s Pruitt’s coaching specialty.
6. Florida: As long as Will Muschamp is on the sidelines in Gainesville, it’s almost a certainty that Florida will field a solid defense. Although the secondary took a hit with the loss of cornerbacks Marcus Roberson and Louchiez Purifoy and safeties Jaylen Watkins and Cody Riggs, the return of talented corner Vernon Hargreaves III and Jabari Gorman eases that attrition. The front seven, led by pass-rushing ace Dante Fowler and linebackers Antonio Morrison and Michael Taylor, who finished one-two on the team in tackles, could be special if a compliment to Fowler is found.
7. Ole Miss: Ole Miss finished seventh in the league in scoring defense (23.7 ppg) in 2013 and it will be a better unit in year two of the Hugh Freeze era. But it’s likely the Rebels will finish right where they were a year ago considering they’ll have to square off against the high-scoring West powers. Robert Nkemdiche will play tackle and end, but he’s at his best off the edge. The secondary, which includes Antonio Conner, Cody Prewitt and Trae Elston, is one of the best in America. Conner is an absolute beast. Prewitt and Elston are scrappy players that don’t mind contact.
8. Missouri: Replacing the pass rushing prowess of Michael Sam and Kony Ealy will be nearly impossible to do in one season. The loss of second-team All-SEC cornerback E.J. Gaines will be tough to replace as well. However, the Tigers return five starters from a unit that led the conference in takeaways (32). Senior tackles Matt Hoch and Lucas Vincent, along with talented end Shane Ray, should combine to give Missouri a solid D-line, an important unit in the run-heavy SEC. The return of safeties Braylon Webb and Ian Simon help stabilize the loss of Gaines.
9. South Carolina: The losses of defensive linemen Jadeveon Clowney, Kelcy Quarles and Chaz Sutton will be tough to overcome for the Gamecocks. But enough talent and experience returns at linebacker and in the secondary for South Carolina to field a quality unit.
10. Tennessee: The return of tackling machine A.J. Johnson and Curt Maggitt from injury is the good news. Replacing the team’s top five defensive linemen is the bad news. The Vols will need a lot of young guys to step up if they hope to field a competitive defense this fall.
11. Vanderbilt: Vandy will shift from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 attacking style under new head coach Derek Mason, but the Commodores have to rebuild their entire secondary and must replace defensive line standout Walker May. Adam Butler and Vince Taylor are players to watch up front and linebacker Nigel Bowden has a lot of ability.
12. Kentucky: Mark Stoops will build a quality defense at Kentucky before too long but this year won’t be the year. He does have big, rangy pass rusher in Za’Darius Smith and a veteran secondary back in year two however.
13. Arkansas: The Razorbacks gave up 30 points per game last year and lost their top three defensive linemen, including pass rushing ace Chris Smith, so that doesn’t bode well for the 2014 defense.
14. Texas A&M: The Aggies were flat-out awful on defense a year ago. They must improve against the run (allowed 222.3 yards per game on the ground) if they expect to finish anywhere other than last in the SEC in scoring defense for the second straight season.
For my predictions on scoring offenses click here:
Follow Matt on Twitter @MattLowe777
