And 7 of those points were due to a kickoff return for a TD, which had nothing to do with the defense at all.I'm trying to figure out what you base this on. Alabama played a much more difficult schedule, and they did play a common opponent.
TCU best West Virginia 31-30, Alabama beat West Virginia 33-23 and their defense was missing a key player. I'm not sure how on earth playing an easier schedule would have made Alabama's defense look worse...