Alabama's 2012 defense may not be as good as 2011, but then again Notre Dame's offense scores a little more than half of what 2011 LSU did, too.
Furthermore, the November offense improved by playing bad defenses like BC and Wake. It took three overtimes to score 20 points against Pitt.
And this use of Oklahoma as a standard is amusing. OU has a QB with a mental problem (once he messes up) and who throws first. Keep in mind despite the one-sided stats the game was close until the final 3 minutes.
And it's one thing to say "we can cover Yeldon, Lacy, AJ and Cooper" - its another to say you can handle all four at the same time. Plus if you're gonna talk about Kelly & lower level playoffs, don't you mention Saban's record with 2 weeks to prep or in title games including SEC title?