Question for the board.....

[Lumpy Chucklelips]

First 3 games.....whose defense has faced the better collective offensive teams, us or No. Miss?

Here are their rankings so far in Total Offense

USM 20
LSU 75
NW St 90

UT Martin 44
Fresno St 91
Bama 23

Keep in mind NW St and UT Martin are both FCS

Asking because I have some defensive numbers for comparison purposes between us and them. The threads about our tackling, lack of turnovers, etc. etc. got me to looking at this.

To stay on topic, the question again....whose defense has faced the better collective offensive teams, us or No. Miss?

[blacklistedbully]

I don't put much stock in those rankings, as they aren't versus common opponents. Especially with just 3 games played, it's not a reliable stat. Too many variables.

[Johnson85]

We've both faced one offense that matters. Out of those offenses, LSU is a better offensive team than Bama I think.

By the end of the season, lumping in the USM and Fresno States with the other teams will maybe balance out enough that looking at stats against them can provide some enlightenment when comparing two D's. But I dont' think they help at this point.

[Prediction? Pain.]

I agree with the others that it's a little early for comparing offenses' and defenses' national rankings. It'll be easier to compare when the bulk of the SEC schedule is behind us.

For what it's worth, though, Alabama and LSU are currently both in the top eight of the national offensive S&P+ rankings, while USM is 67th and Fresno St. is 100th. On a similar note, the current defensive S&P+ rankings have U. Miss. at 24 and us at 53. But again, that's based on a really small sample size.

[gravedigger]

Let me get this straight, lsu is the 75 th ranked offense and ut martin is 44th.

And usm is 20. Me thinks those numbers are a bit off.

[sandwolf]

Let me get this straight, lsu is the 75 th ranked offense and ut martin is 44th.

And usm is 20. Me thinks those numbers are a bit off.

UT Martin is an FCS team. And USM is averaging 41.3 points/game and 513.3 yards/game.....so I am not surprised that they are ranked that high.

[Alldawg]

Let me get this straight, lsu is the 75 th ranked offense and ut martin is 44th.

And usm is 20. Me thinks those numbers are a bit off.

Yep. Not sure you can compare much if anything based off those rankings. The season is way to young to be comparing defensive units. After 4 or 5 SEC games, lets talk

[sandwolf]

First 3 games.....whose defense has faced the better collective offensive teams, us or No. Miss?

Here are their rankings so far in Total Offense

USM 20
LSU 75
NW St 90

UT Martin 44
Fresno St 91
Bama 23

Keep in mind NW St and UT Martin are both FCS

Asking because I have some defensive numbers for comparison purposes between us and them. The threads about our tackling, lack of turnovers, etc. etc. got me to looking at this.

To stay on topic, the question again....whose defense has faced the better collective offensive teams, us or No. Miss?

If your goal is to make the argument that our defense is as good or better than theirs, then I feel like this is probably a wasted effort.....I am pretty confident in saying that their defense is substantially better than ours, regardless of what the stats say. Yes, Bama put up a bunch of yards and a bunch of points on them......but they also ran over 100 plays and were in catch up mode for the majority of the game. I would love to have their defense (with their defensive coordinator) suited up in maroon.

[Coach007]

We have faced better talent over all. Stouter offenses too.

[msstate7]

I think om's defense is better than ours, but I don't think their defense is as good as last year's. If tony Connor doesn't heal right and quickly, it could be much worse than last year's

[Really Clark?]

If your goal is to make the argument that our defense is as good or better than theirs, then I feel like this is probably a wasted effort.....I am pretty confident in saying that their defense is substantially better than ours, regardless of what the stats say. Yes, Bama put up a bunch of yards and a bunch of points on them......but they also ran over 100 plays and were in catch up mode for the majority of the game. I would love to have their defense (with their defensive coordinator) suited up in maroon.

I'm interested to see how much Tom Allen helped Womack. They had a great defense last year and it's too early to know what they will be this year. His defenses were normally average since he left USM. Including his first two years at UNM. They were young though and that accounted for issues prior to last year. Since the LSU loss last year they are giving up 32.2 points per game against conference teams and TCU. It's a small sample I agree, of 5 games, but besides us (who left points on the board last year) every one of those teams have scored right at their season scoring avg against them.

[Percho]

I do not know if there is such a thing as a great defense in this day and age.

[Liverpooldawg]

We have both faced one real team. We lost at home, barely. They won on the road, barely. They got every bounce in that game. There were no bounces in ours.