I guess all things are relative, but you have to consider that we had a QB that could not even throw the ball because of a broken rib. We were totally one dimensional and their number 1 ranked rushing defense could not stop Mark and Trent. When you score 30 points on what is supposed to be a very good defense with only 58 yards passing, you can't call that good, IMO.
That being said, I think Muschamp is a very good coordinator, but he just doesn't strike fear in me as being unstoppable. I think Malzahn's scheme will always result in a defense that wears down as the year goes along. People seem to forget that AU's defense looked pretty dang good earlier this year, but seemed to flame out down the stretch. That has happened pretty much every year that Gus has been at AU as OC and HC. AU's defense in the Bowl games usually look much better than they did late in season because I think a month of rest helps them get their legs back under them.
In fact, I'd argue that it actually happened to us a little bit down the stretch under Kiffin's faster paced offense. We gave up a lot of yards against MSU and AU this year and actually struggled some with Western Carolina, and that is not typical for us. Even last year, we held AU to over 100 yards less (less than 400 yards of total offense) than they had put in their last 5 or 6 games prior to that. I just hope we can get by Missouri and let our guys get rested up for the playoffs.
I am dead serious .
