Link: Kirby Smart Reflects on Ohio State Loss

selmaborntidefan said:

The 2011 defense gets dissed on some websites with the claim that "they didn't play an offense ranked above 73rd." But some context is necessary.

1) Penn State imploded when the Sandusky scandal broke on November 5th (coincidentally the same day we lost to LSU). Penn State is usually good - it isn't our fault their offense was terrible.

2) We held Arkansas to fourteen points. In their other SEC games EXCEPT LSU (17 points) and Alabama (14) plus the bowl game against TOUGH competition Arkansas AVERAGED 38.25 points per game. They got held 24 points below that. That's good, I don't care who you are.

3) Florida got held to ten points. In other SEC/bowl games (again excluding LSU and Alabama), they averaged 22 ppg. They were held TWELVE below average against good opponents.

4) Vandy was shutout. I'll use Vandy for the whole year except Elon in the opener. They averaged 30.2 ppg. We held them THIRTY points below average.

5) Ole Miss had one touchdown against us. In their other games against decent foes (sans us and LSU) they scored 18.5 ppg, meaning we held them ELEVEN points below their average.

6) We held Tennessee to six points. In their other games against decent foes (no Montana, Buffalo, or MTSU), the Vols averaged 17.7 ppg so we held them to ELEVEN points below their average.

7) We held LSU to nine points and about 250 yards in our loss on 11/5. LSU averaged FORTY PPG against decent foes NOT named Alabama. We played them twice and held them to THIRTY-ONE points below average and FORTY points below average.

If you combine LSU's eight-plus quarters on Alabama, their offense that averaged 40 ppg scored 9 total points - and 3 of those were in extra time when they began at the 25-yard line.

8) We held MSU to 7 points. LSU held them to six. Their other decent foes yielded and average of 22.1 ppg. So we held MSU to FIFTEEN points below average.

9) We held Ga Southern to 21 points (but remember that 7 was on a kickoff return). Granted, it is hardly a fair comparison but GSU averaged 36.2 ppg. They scored 41 on Elon and Vandy scored 45 on Elon.....a reasonable argument could be made that GSU could have beaten Vandy. GSU scored 50 on Furman and Florida scored 52.

The point? We still held GSU 15 ppg below average.

10) Auburn had zero offensive points but scored 14. In other games against decent foes (not including LSU or us), Auburn averaged 27.2 ppg. So we held them THIRTEEN below average.


The pundits can say what they want but has there EVER been ANY defense in the history of college football that held EVERY SINGLE OPPONENT to DOUBLE DIGITS below their average? Not just below the average but in every case at least 11 points below. Every great defense is going to have a day when they give up some scores. They'll miss coverages or fall down, it's gonna happen.

Consider 1995 Nebraska, considered by many the greatest team of all-time. Their defense gave up 28 points to Arizona State in a blowout. ASU averaged 29.4, so they got right at what they usually got. Oklahoma St averaged 19 ppg against decent foes and scored 21 - MORE THAN THEIR AVERAGE - on Nebraska.

And none of us would say that Nebraska team was not an excellent team.

What about 1991 Washington? Wazzu averaged 24.3 ppg and scored 21, so even that great Huskies team couldn't do the double digit hold.


It might have happened back pre-1960, which is not even a remotely fair comparison. So yeah, Alabama faced no offense ranked above 73rd. But then again.....might the fact that several of those teams ranked so low because they had to play BOTH ALABAMA AND LSU, whom had elite defenses? The fact those teams all scored at least 11 ppg higher proves that indeed that's exactly why it was. And remember - if you count ALL games (like those junk teams) then it runs the ppg up enough that we probably didn't hold ANY team to LESS than 15 ppg below their average.


2001 Miami? FSU averaged 32.4 ppg and got 27 on Miami, a differential of five points. Pitt scored 21 in a year they averaged 23.3. In fact, THREE other teams held Pitt to fewer points than Miami did.


When I investigate this stuff, I never know what the data is going to show. But in EVERY CASE of everything I've ever looked into about the 2011 defense, the results are absolutely mind-boggling no matter how many times it happens. Chalk it up to the tornado, the coaching, all of it, SOMETHING!!! That team was from another solar system.

Oh and remember something else - we had so many of those games well in hand early that SECOND AND THIRD-STRING defensive players were in for entire halves and yet we still held those teams to way below average. Folks, it is mind-boggling and jaw dropping to put it mildly.



One more stat, this one courtesy of Mike Greenberg the morning after we beat LSU - Alabama NEVER trailed after the first quarter of ANY game that year except the LSU loss......and never trailed post-first quarter until the final play of that game.

Unreal.


EDITED TO ADD:

Ok, I made an honest mistake. Penn St averaged 16.8 ppg and we held them to 11. So there was one opponent we did not do that to. I forgot to do the math at that point in time. It kind of stinks because if we don't give up that TD with the reserves in late (where they made it 11), they fall as well. My bad.

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