Defense is dying

[JustBlues]

I wish that defense would return to the college game. This has been an awful year for defense. I am watching the sugar bowl and even alabama doesn't look like they have a defense tonight. Sigh.

[Titles 'R Us]

I saw signs during our season that we were developing a pretty good one. Should be even better next year.

[Rebchuck18]

Florida State appears to play defense and Michigan State does for sure, but it has been a weird and bad year for SEC defense.

[3rdR8Bromance]

No wonder Slive & the SEC office want Bama in the BCS title game – they don't show up, otherwise. And Kouandjio was holding like a big dog, on the forced fumble. Couldn't happen to a better coach, team, and fanbase. I'm all for the SEC, but seeing that team lose, in a situation where the Birmingham folks can't pull enough strings, to push them over the top, feels a little like 'poetic justice.'

[JustBlues]

No wonder Slive & the SEC office want Bama in the BCS title game – they don't show up, otherwise. And Kouandjio was holding like a big dog, on the forced fumble. Couldn't happen to a better coach, team, and fanbase. I'm all for the SEC, but seeing that team lose, in a situation where the Birmingham folks can't pull enough strings, to push them over the top, feels a little like 'poetic justice.'

the last time that they weren't in the title game, they absolutely destroyed Michigan State.

[Rebchuck18]

To say that Bamas dominance comes from the SEC offices is very Starkville.

[JustBlues]

To say that Bamas dominance comes from the SEC offices is very Starkville.

I'm not much for conspiracy theories. The Bama fans here say that there is a conspiracy against alabama. People elsewhere say there is a conspiracy for alabama.

[3rdR8Bromance]

Conspiracy?? It's not a conspiracy; it's right in your friggin' face. I didn't say their dominance was due to SEC 'tampering,' (they are genuinely outstanding, and the 3 recent MNC's are evidence to that effect) but if you can't see that they get the benefit of preferential calls, w/in the SEC, you're simply not paying attention. How many (marginal) calls would it have taken, last night, for that game to go the other way? There were a coupla Sooner touchdowns, @ the sidelines, that could have been 'overturned,' a la Doyle Jackson, and voila! – another Bama victory, or overtime, @ worst. If you wish to defend that, and accept it as "that's just the way it is," so be it. The fact is, Oklahoma wanted it more, last night, and finished w/ a time-consuming drive, a strip for a defensive touchdown, and a successful onside kick. Bama got that rump spanked, to the tune of a 31 point swing (vs. pre-game spread), and I, for one, have no remorse, regardless of what it 'says about the SEC.'

FTR, you're right, J/B — I did enjoy the Michigan State takedown, in '11 (I reserve a special place of disdain, for the B1G). So they've only actually 'pooped the bed' twice, in three opportunities, w/ Saban @ the helm.

[Old Sardis]

To say that Bamas dominance comes from the SEC offices is very Starkville.

It is also very true. I really enjoyed seeing Bama's long "touchdown" called back for a block in the back. That's actually a signature of Saban's special teams & is almost never called against them in the SEC. think 2 years ago, I counted 8 blocks-in-the-back committed on one play in the Bama-Ole Miss game, and to the officials credit, they called the last one, ticking off the yardage from the point of infraction at the 10, making the "risk" worth approximately 85 yards. (The first foul had happened behind the line of scrimmage.)

I've known SEC officials for years (mostly MBB) & if you don't think the conference office has heavy input, you need to set up shop in Colorado, because the stuff you're smoking is pretty good. The conference exists to make money for member schools & if that means fudging like hell to keep a "storied program" at the top of the pile, that's called money talking.

What I took away from last night's debacle is: (a) Saban should have never let his wife look at houses in Austin, no matter how much more he was able to weasle out of Alabama for it, (b) the Alabama team has a sense of entitlement the size of Nebraska, and (c) Ole Miss did it's share to hold up the conference, even Johnny Football reached way down deep to hold up the conference, and Nick Saban burned three timeouts contesting touchdowns instead of getting his O-Line to block.

All this said & returning to the OT, hot offense sells prime time ratings & ads. Defense wins games. Ask the Landsharks. And ask TAMU next year when they get it on without their one-man team.

(Obviously, I'm not an A&M fan :-p )

[A10Rebel]

a good crop of QB's in the SEC this year will do that. Don't worry, offense will be in decline in 2014 for a few SEC teams. Georgia, TAMU, and LSU come to mind.