Ad Disclosure
With a motto and a coordinator nicknamed the “Minister of Mayhem,” Florida boasts one of the top defenses in the country.
They play by the motto “ball down” which means the Gators are ready to go whenever the referee puts the ball down.
Defensive coordinator Geoff Collins’ unit has at least four projected NFL draft picks and is ranked No. 20 in the country in total defense.
But that ranking makes the Gators just fourth in the SEC in that category.
Through five games, the Gators had 18 sacks, but defensive line coach Chris Rumph was looking for more.
“We probably should have 25,” Rumph told the Miami Herald.
It’s a common refrain across the league as teams struggle to find creases offensively. Teams at or near the bottom of the league such as Missouri and Vanderbilt have made a name for themselves on defense.
“That’s what the SEC is known for — pretty solid front-seven boxes,” Georgia OL Kolton Houston told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We know we’re going to get that every week. Vanderbilt doesn’t get enough credit for how good they are on defense, either. So everybody in the SEC is pretty dang good in the front seven. So we know we’ve got to come to work every week.”
While offense reigns in conferences such as the Big XII, where five teams are scoring more than 40 points per game led by the nation’s Nos. 1 and 2 scoring teams Baylor (61.1) and TCU (50.1), solid defense remains a fixture in the SEC, which has only one team (Ole Miss) in the top 10 in scoring and only two more (LSU and Mississippi State) in the top 40.
On defense, four SEC teams (Missouri, Vanderbilt, Alabama and Florida) rank in the top 18 in fewest points allowed.
The physical nature it takes to stop the run is common across the SEC where five defensive units rank in the top 21 in the country: Alabama, LSU, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Florida.
Florida coach Jim McElwain has compared his unit to the 2009 Alabama defense, which was second nationally in virtually every major statistical category en route to the national championship.
Comparing this year’s SEC defenses to units of years gone by is not done only in Gainesville. Alabama LB Ryan Anderson has visions of being remembered among historic defenses.
“We want to go down history as one of the good ‘Bama defenses, we can do it right here,” Anderson told AL.com after the Tennessee game when the Crimson Tide had five sacks to give them 27 for the season, which leads the SEC and is sixth in the country.
Alabama coach Nick Saban said not having to blitz is a key.
“I really think what’s allowed us to do more this year is the fact that we have a really good front and they’ve affected the quarterback with four guys rushing,” Saban recently said on the set of SEC Nation. “We really haven’t had to pressure a lot.”
Several SEC defenses have done it with either first-year coordinators, or other assistants, including LSU defensive line coach Ed Orgeron.
The Tigers have only allowed three touchdowns in SEC play. Their conference opponents have averaged only 83 rushing yards per game rushing while scoring only three total three TDs. The Tigers also have 13 sacks, eight more from a year ago at the same time.
Entering Saturday’s game against Georgia, Florida has 21 sacks through seven games. Six of those came against Kentucky QB Patrick Towles.
But Alabama provided the most impressive defensive performance in its victory over Texas A&M. The Tide returned three interceptions for touchdowns and added 12 tackles for a loss, six sacks and three QB hurries.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
