Daily briefing: On defense vs. offense, Cincinnati and the tougher-than-you-think Sun Belt
Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:
Big Ten has 4 of the top 5 in scoring defense? Yawn.
There was a time when the Big Ten would have been celebrated for having four of the top five teams in scoring defense. That time is not now, not when the rankings – and the rules – tilt toward offensive football. No. 18 Illinois leads the FBS, allowing only 8.9 points per game, followed by No. 1 Georgia (9.1), Iowa (9.8), Minnesota (11.7) and No. 4 Michigan (12.1). No. 2 Ohio State is 10th (15.7). The top five teams in scoring offense? The Buckeyes (48.8), No. 3 Tennessee (47.7), No. 8 TCU (45.8), No. 6 Alabama (45.0), and No. 11 Oklahoma State (44.3). I used to wonder what the coaches of the mid-20th century, the ones who believed in the third-down punt as strategy, would make of what college football has become. Then I realized they would adjust and still beat the pants off everyone. Coaches like winning more than defense.
Cincinnati deserves more credit
Remember Cincinnati? Made the playoff last season? The Bearcats (5-1 overall, 2-0 in the AAC) have resumed their place on the wrong side of the double standard regarding Group of 5 teams. With five consecutive wins, a team that began the season in the rankings and lost only to a ranked team has zoomed all the way to … 21st. If I still had a ballot, I would have UC a few spots higher. I know Cincinnati had nine players go in the 2022 NFL Draft, behind only Georgia (15) and LSU (10), but I find it hard to believe that a team that has won 25 of its past 26 regular-season games has so little street cred. Keep an eye on Cincinnati and No. 25 Tulane. They play on Thanksgiving Saturday, and there’s every chance they’ll play again for the AAC championship the following Saturday. Memphis beat Cincinnati on consecutive Saturdays in 2019, and Stanford beat UCLA in consecutive weeks in 2012.
The Sun Belt deserves more credit, too
I see you, Clay Helton. Georgia Southern won at Nebraska in Week Two. Saturday, the Eagles forced four turnovers and knocked off then-No. 25 James Madison 45-38. Georgia Southern has played four ranked teams in Statesboro in its history and beaten two of them (No. 25 Appalachian State in 2018 was the other). The bigger story here is that the Sun Belt has progressed to the point that it’s more than a couple of really good teams and a bunch of others. In the East, we all assume that Coastal Carolina and JMU are the best, yet both have division losses – visiting Old Dominion dominated Coastal 49-21 on Saturday. In the West, South Alabama (5-1 overall, 2-0 in the league), whose only loss came by a point at UCLA, is the last team with an unbeaten conference record. The Jags play in-state rival Troy on ESPNU on Thursday night, and then watch out. South Alabama’s two crossover division games? At Georgia Southern on November 5 and Old Dominion on November 26.