Remember the debate over whether SEC defenses were highly-ranked because of the bad offenses, or whether the offenses were bad because of the strength of the defenses?
Well, now that the SEC has evolved as an offensive league, with a greater variety of schemes, we have an answer. The league’s offenses were just bad before, but now they have improved. As a result, the defensive numbers have gone down.
Only three SEC teams are in the current top 20 in total defense. LSU is No. 2, Auburn is No. 8 and Vandy is No. 14.
Compare this to 2004, when five teams were in the top 20 (and four were in the top eight), and 2005 when six teams were in the top 20 in total defense (and four were in the top nine).
What’s the reason for all this? In my opinion, this is due to the improvement of SEC offenses across the board. You have spreads at LSU and Florida. Kentucky’s offense is wide open. South Carolina is passing the ball. Alabama is airing it out. Arkansas has an oddball scheme that can confuse a defense. Tennessee got better offensively with David Cutcliffe. Overall, more and more teams are spreading their players out and taking chances down the field. The result has been an offensive bonanza for the league.
Further data:
In 2004, only three teams averaged over 400 yards of offense per game. In 2005, only one team averaged over 400 yards per game.
In 2007, that number has increased to six.
In 2005, only one SEC team averaged over 30 points per game. In 2004, two SEC teams averaged over 30 points per game.
In 2007, SEVEN SEC teams are averaging over 30 per game.
I think an offshoot of this offensive revolution is the introduction of parity to the league. Kentucky beats LSU, Mississippi State beats Auburn, South Carolina beats Georgia, Alabama crushes Tennessee, Florida falls to Georgia and so on.
The end result, in my book, is that the SEC is truly the nation’s best conference from top to bottom.
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