In another thread, I've posted the Stanford-relevant rankings on Phil Steele's lists of the best positional situations in college football. Seeing that he has Stanford LBs #5 in the nation, Stanford DBs #14 in the nation, and Stanford DL #18 in the nation puts in stark relief for me how killer our defense should be this year. While this is just one man's opinion (albeit probably one of the more informed and objective takes we'll get), I think it gives us some insight into how defenses nationally stack up this year. As a back of the envelope stab at how elite defenses stack up, I thought I'd aggregate the unit rankings for the teams that made all three of Steele's defense lists:
1. Alabama: #1 DL, #1 LB, #2 DB (4)
2. LSU: #7 DL, #8 LB, #1 DB - (16)
3. Washington: #27 DL, #6 LB, #3 DB (36)
4. Stanford: #18 DL, #5 LB, #14 DB (37)
5. Florida State: #8 DL, #12 LB, #21 DB (41)
5. Ole Miss: #12 DL, #4 LB, #25 DB (41)
7. Ohio State: #15 DL, #10 LB, #18 DB (43)
7. TCU: #16 DL, #17 LB, #10 DB (43)
9. UCLA: #14 DL, #25 LB, #5 DB (44)
9. Tennessee: #4 DL, #16 LB, #24 DB (44)
9. Florida: #6 DL, #29 LB, #9 DB (44)
12. Michigan State: #17 DL, #3 LB, #26 DB (46)
13. Texas A&M: #3 DL, #33 LB, #13 DB (49)
14. Texas: #25 DL, #14 LB, #11 DB (50)
15. Oklahoma: #19 DL, #31 LB, #4 DB (54)
16. Michigan: #10 DL, #39 LB, #8 DB (57)
17. Clemson: #11 DL, #22 LB, #32 DB (65)
18. San Diego State: #26 DL, #15 LB, #33 DB (74)
19. Auburn: #21 DL, #34 LB, #22 DB (77)
20. Northwestern: #39 DL, #23 LB, #16 DB (78)
21. Wisconsin: #29 DL, #9 LB, #46 DB (84)
22. Miami: #20 DL, #35 LB, #30 DB (85)
23. Iowa: #31 DL, #40 LB, #17 DB (88)
24. Boston College: #36 DL, #24 LB, #34 DB (94)
25. Mississippi State: #33 DL, #30 LB, #45 DB (108)
Special mention: Utah had #2 DL, #6 DB, and wasn't mentioned in the top 40 LB. To my mind, even a very uncharitable stab at Utah's LB corps would give Utah a top 20 defense nationally, if not higher.
Not elite but certainly interesting to Stanford is Kansas State having the #38 DL and #50 DB. They are probably a top 40 defense nationally.
USC was not among the top 40 at DL but was #19 at LB and #6 at DB. I'd peg them as potentially cracking the top 20 defenses.
Let those rankings sink in a bit. For all the talk about how our third DL or second ILB might not be up to the standards we'd hope for, an objective look at teams across the country pegs us as a top 5 defense in the nation. This has the potential to be the best defense in the history of our program if things click. Even if things don't click, I think the sub 19.5 points per game number Hulk and I have conservatively thrown out there looks like a very good bet.
As for our competition, note that since we don't have Utah on our schedule and the defenses for Notre Dame and Oregon appear down the only phenomenal defenses we're likely to face are Washington and UCLA and USC is the only other arguably elite one. I think it's a good year for us to have offense be the side of the ball with more question marks. McCaffrey and the other weapons should be better than all but a few defenses we face, even if the QB and OL play is poor. Couple that with one of the top five defenses in the nation on paper and you see why I'm bullish. If QB and OL play are actually good, I think this is a serious playoff contender.
1. Alabama: #1 DL, #1 LB, #2 DB (4)
2. LSU: #7 DL, #8 LB, #1 DB - (16)
3. Washington: #27 DL, #6 LB, #3 DB (36)
4. Stanford: #18 DL, #5 LB, #14 DB (37)
5. Florida State: #8 DL, #12 LB, #21 DB (41)
5. Ole Miss: #12 DL, #4 LB, #25 DB (41)
7. Ohio State: #15 DL, #10 LB, #18 DB (43)
7. TCU: #16 DL, #17 LB, #10 DB (43)
9. UCLA: #14 DL, #25 LB, #5 DB (44)
9. Tennessee: #4 DL, #16 LB, #24 DB (44)
9. Florida: #6 DL, #29 LB, #9 DB (44)
12. Michigan State: #17 DL, #3 LB, #26 DB (46)
13. Texas A&M: #3 DL, #33 LB, #13 DB (49)
14. Texas: #25 DL, #14 LB, #11 DB (50)
15. Oklahoma: #19 DL, #31 LB, #4 DB (54)
16. Michigan: #10 DL, #39 LB, #8 DB (57)
17. Clemson: #11 DL, #22 LB, #32 DB (65)
18. San Diego State: #26 DL, #15 LB, #33 DB (74)
19. Auburn: #21 DL, #34 LB, #22 DB (77)
20. Northwestern: #39 DL, #23 LB, #16 DB (78)
21. Wisconsin: #29 DL, #9 LB, #46 DB (84)
22. Miami: #20 DL, #35 LB, #30 DB (85)
23. Iowa: #31 DL, #40 LB, #17 DB (88)
24. Boston College: #36 DL, #24 LB, #34 DB (94)
25. Mississippi State: #33 DL, #30 LB, #45 DB (108)
Special mention: Utah had #2 DL, #6 DB, and wasn't mentioned in the top 40 LB. To my mind, even a very uncharitable stab at Utah's LB corps would give Utah a top 20 defense nationally, if not higher.
Not elite but certainly interesting to Stanford is Kansas State having the #38 DL and #50 DB. They are probably a top 40 defense nationally.
USC was not among the top 40 at DL but was #19 at LB and #6 at DB. I'd peg them as potentially cracking the top 20 defenses.
Let those rankings sink in a bit. For all the talk about how our third DL or second ILB might not be up to the standards we'd hope for, an objective look at teams across the country pegs us as a top 5 defense in the nation. This has the potential to be the best defense in the history of our program if things click. Even if things don't click, I think the sub 19.5 points per game number Hulk and I have conservatively thrown out there looks like a very good bet.
As for our competition, note that since we don't have Utah on our schedule and the defenses for Notre Dame and Oregon appear down the only phenomenal defenses we're likely to face are Washington and UCLA and USC is the only other arguably elite one. I think it's a good year for us to have offense be the side of the ball with more question marks. McCaffrey and the other weapons should be better than all but a few defenses we face, even if the QB and OL play is poor. Couple that with one of the top five defenses in the nation on paper and you see why I'm bullish. If QB and OL play are actually good, I think this is a serious playoff contender.
