How can Alabama get back to the apex of college football? SDS’ very own Chris Walsh is laying out a five-part series on how the Crimson Tide can become college football’s premier team once again.

Reclaiming the crown series:

It was the breakthrough year of the no-huddle in the age of hurry-up offenses, and the University of Alabama football team was far from having the only defense that struggled to make key stops.

There’s no denying that 2013 was a season for offenses in the Southeastern Conference, especially with there being so many veteran quarterbacks like Johnny Manziel, Aaron Murray, AJ McCarron and Zach Mettenberger.

Yet even though those quarterbacks have moved on the number of teams in the league trying to speed things up continues to rise.

“Last year was an anomaly,” said Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com, who still believes that defense wins championships.

“I think we have to redefine what good defense means,” he continued. “It used to be if you held someone to under 17 points you were a pretty good defense. Now it’s under 21 on average, is what I’m talking about.

“It’s about holding teams out of the end zone or keeping them from making big plays, getting that difference-making nose guard, or end, or Jadeveon Clowney, or somebody like that who can make big plays. I think there’s so much talent dispersed on both sides of the ball, but so much of its seems to going to the offenses that it’s tilted against the defenses.”

Last year’s numbers back that up. Conference-wide, the 14 teams combined to average 31.7 points, 432.5 yards of total offense, and 197 rushing yards per game, all league records since it expanded from 10 to 12 teams in 1992. Passing yards just missed at 235.5, topped only by the 245.1 in 2001.

Correspondingly, their statistical defensive counterparts were all the highest the league had seen: 24.8 points, 379.8 total yards, 161.0 rushing, and 218.7 passing.

Similarly, Alabama uncharacteristically yielded 628 total yards at Texas A&M, 348 passing yards to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, and 296 rushing yards at Auburn, resulting in its two losses and a near-miss on the road.

In the four “major” categories (total defense, pass-efficiency defense, rushing defense and scoring defense), which Alabama led the nation in each during the 2011 season, the Crimson Tide had some of its worst national rankings since Nick Saban’s first year at the Capstone in 2007.

 
Year  TotalPE     RushScore
2007  31      38      28      27
2008  T3      14      2       7
2009  2       2       2       2
2010  5       6       10      3
2011  1       1       1       1
2012  1       7       1       1
2013  5       26      7       4

Alabama also had its worst showing in turnovers gained, ranking tied for 80th in the nation out of 123 teams, and in third-down defense – which may have been the statistical key to the season as the Crimson Tide defense couldn’t get off the field when it needed to the most.

Going back to those previously mentioned games and Texas A&M converted 62.5 percent of its third-down opportunities against Alabama(5 of 8), Auburn was 53.3 percent (8-15), and Oklahoma 46.7 (7-15). LSU was at 58.3 percent, but lost to the Crimson Tide anyway.

Overall, opponents converted 61 of 176 opportunities, or 34.7 percent, which in turn led to more opportunities and points. In 13 games last season Alabama defenders were on the field for 771 plays, resulting in 3,725 yards, and averages of 4.83 yards per play and 286.5 per game.

For a little perspective consider that in 2011 opponents converted 45 of 184 third-down opportunities, for 24.46 percent. The Crimson Tide defense was only on the field for 720 plays, during which it gave up 2,287 yards, 3.32 per snap and 183.62 per game.

Here’s the difference on the scoreboard: In 2011 opponents scored just 12 offensive touchdowns, compared to 21 last season.

Alabama’s third-down defense
Year,National rank
2007  73
2008  3
2009  T6
2010  12
2011  1
2012  13
2013  24

Granted, comparing any defense to the 2011 Crimson Tide may be unfair as it’s on the short list for best ever, Alabama’s coaches have no problem doing so.

“We kind of have a standard here at Alabama,” defensive coordinator Kirby Smart said during one of his few media sessions last year as Saban assistants are usually off-limits to reporters. “A lot of people think our standard is to be first in the SEC, be first in the country, first in our red zone and run defense. We really don’t go by that motto.

“We go by be the best Alabama defense there’s been. We compare ourselves to the last five years of Alabama defenses. When you do that, last year’s defense was not exactly up to par, not exactly spectacular. We put in a lot of work to improve on defense.”

Two crucial factors in 2013 were the struggling pass-rush and no consistency at cornerback, where four players made their first starts: Cyrus Jones (five), Eddie Jackson (four), Bradley Sylve (three), and Maurice Smith (one).

“We’ve not gotten the consistency we want out of that position, and we don’t have the depth that we’ve had in the past,” Smart said at the Sugar Bowl. “So it’s been a struggle.”

But help is on the way.

In addition to the Crimson Tide having a lot of depth on the defensive line led by sophomore A’Shawn Robinson, Smart is back coaching the safeties during practices after spending the past few seasons handling the interior linebackers. The move stemmed from former defensive coordinator Kevin Steele’s return to coaching, while Bo Davis is back overseeing the defensive line following a three-year stint at Texas.

“We just weren’t aggressive off the ball,” said sophomore defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson, who missed nearly all of last season with a knee injury. “This year we’re just more aggressive and firing out. I think we’re going to get to the quarterback a lot more this year.”

Meanwhile, if sophomore linebacker Reuben Foster can stop hurting himself with his vicious tackles during scrimmages, and defensive lineman Jarran Reed (currently suspended) and linebacker Dillon Lee can get out of Saban’s doghouse after DUI arrests, the rest of the front seven could be scary good. Even without them there’s still Trey DePriest, Reggie Ragland, Jonathan Allen … you get the idea.

“The big thing that stands out, they do a great job,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said about Alabama’s defense. “You usually have to earn what you get. They make you earn it. They got very good players at each position.”

Combined with some older cornerbacks competing with some extremely talented freshmen (Tony Brown and Marlon Humphrey), and standout junior safety Landon Collins, and Alabama’s defense may not start off looking like one of Saban’s best, but it could potentially end up that way.

“We were young at the time,” Collins said. “We had to see what everyone had to put on the table. Everyone knows what’s going on, everyone knows what to do.

“We have to teach the younger guys. It puts less pressure on the safeties, the defensive linemen and the linebackers, when you have two corners who are capable and reliable.”

Even if things don’t initially click as well as hoped the defense will still likely be among the nation’s best if for no other reason than it’s led by Saban and Smart.

Over the past three seasons the Crimson Tide has held opponents to seven or fewer points 20 times, while no other SEC defense has more than eight. Alabama also had three shutouts last year, and 10 since 2011.

Consequently, Dodd is picking Alabama to win the conference title.

“I think they’ll be right there,” he said.