The SEC annually features some of the toughest defenses in college football, and that is one of the primary reasons the conference brings home the national championship more often than not.

In the past few years, Ole Miss and Mississippi State have generally played up to the reputation of the conference’s strength on defense, though the former has become a shell of its former “Landshark” self, while the latter has become one of the better defenses in the conference.

What’s the story heading into 2018? Who has the better defense? Let’s take a look.

Run defense

Ole Miss: This is without question the Rebels’ biggest defensive concern heading into 2018. It wasn’t so long ago that the Rebels “Landshark” defense, particularly against the run, was downright fearsome.

In 2014, they led the country in scoring defense, allowing just 13.8 points per game. In 2015, they were No. 23 against the run, allowing 127.1 yards per game. Then the wheels fell off, and seemingly overnight the once-vaunted defense became one of the worst nationally, particularly against the run. Last year they reached unfathomable depths of ineptitude, allowing 34.6 points per game (No. 109 nationally), 245.3 rushing yards allowed per game (No. 123) and 459.5 total yards (No. 115).

Now the run defense must replace their three best players, LB DeMarquis Gates and DEs Breeland Speaks and Marquis Haynes.

Despite losing two All-SEC defensive ends, there’s reason for optimism the line should be in decent shape. They return both starting defensive tackles in Josiah Coatney and Benito Jones, who didn’t play nearly as poorly last year as the cumulative rushing stats might indicate. Both have futures of playing on Sundays. At DE, Victor Evans, Ryder Anderson and Qaadir Sheppard present an athletic and high upside pass rushing tandem. Evans tallied 5 TFLs in just 5 games due to injury and had a big spring. Anderson has prototypical length at 6-6 and has really improved his functional strength and likewise had a big spring filling in for the injured Sheppard. When healthy, Sheppard has some pass rushing intrigue due to his twitch and explosiveness off the line.

While there’s optimism for the line, there’s complete and total uncertainty at linebacker. They lost by far their best LB in Gates and are also replacing Taylor Polk, who, despite athletic shortcomings, was serviceable. The Rebels will have to find a starting tandem between Detric Bing-Dukes, Josh Clarke, Willie Hibbler, Donta Evans, Mohamed Sanogo and Zikerrion Baker. There’s a mixture in that group of raw and unproven talent (Clarke and Evans), former big-name prospects who are desperately trying to avoid bust status (Bing-Dukes, Hibbler), and niche players who might be better suited for situational downs (Sanogo, Baker).

The Rebels should have a decent line that will do its part in stopping the run, but they desperately need some guys to emerge at linebacker. It doesn’t matter who it is, but they have to get better play from the unit than they did last year, and now must do so without the best player from that squad.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs don’t have the concerns the Rebels do in terms of stopping the run, as the unit from last year, which was fourth in the SEC with 131.6 yards per game, returns nearly everyone in 2018.

The defensive line boasts one of the most talented starting lineups in all of college football. DE Montez Sweat emerged as one of the premier pass rushers in the country and finished with 10.5 sacks and was also strong against the run, racking up 15.5 TFLs. DT Jeffery Simmons was a force of nature at the nose, providing the ability to both collapse the pocket from the inside but also wreaking havoc against the inside run and finished with 5 sacks and 12 TFLs. Both will again contend for All-American status this fall, and both could be first round picks next spring.

Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

Gerri Green is making the move from OLB to DE in the new 4-2-5 front, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t play the edge as effectively from a 3-point stance as he did from a 2-point stance. He finished last year with 5 sacks and 11 TFLs. Opposite Simmons on the inside will be Cory Thomas or Braxton Hoyett, two big body seniors who are stout against the run.

The linebacking unit isn’t as deep as they’d probably like it to be, but there’s talent at the top. Leo Lewis returns after starting 12 games last year, which was a noticeably down year for him after a fantastic freshman campaign in 2016, when he was named to a bevy of Freshman All-American teams. You have to think the off-the-field distractions last year played a big role in his performance, however, so there’s reason to think with most of that in the rearview he’ll once again find his groove. He’s a very talented player with huge upside, particularly against the run.

Opposite Lewis will likely be Erroll Thompson, who really came on strong when Dez Harris went down with injury and finished the year with 46 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 5.5 TFLs, being named to the SEC All-Freshman team. He’s a very reliable tackler, especially between the tackles. The first guy off the bench to replace those two will be Willie Gay, the former highly ranked 4-star prospect who saw quite a bit of time in reserve as a true freshman last year.

Depth behind those three is a bit of a question, and they’ll look for someone from the pool of Tim Washington, Alec Murphy, Tyler Dunning and Sh’mar Kilby-Lane to step up and provide solid depth.

The Bulldogs shouldn’t have any problem against the run this fall with such a loaded defensive line and talented LB corps. After finishing 28th nationally against the run last year, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them jump into the top 20 this fall.

Edge: Mississippi State

Pass defense

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs returns a deep and talented secondary in 2018 with most of the pieces intact from a unit that finished 12th nationally with just 174.7 passing yards allowed per game.

At outside CB, they’ll return a very talented trio in the form of Cam Dantzler, Jamal Peters and Chris Rayford. Dantzler has the highest upside and gave tantalizing glimpses of becoming an All-SEC caliber cover corner as a freshman last year, and at 6-2 possesses ideal length. Peters (below) is enormous for a CB at 6-2, 220, and while he’s shown inconsistencies in coverage, his physicality and presence is hard to duplicate. Rayford has shown the most consistency in coverage and is also a major asset on the Bulldogs special teams, as well.

Credit: John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports

Brian Cole, who played WR at Michigan before making a position switch at junior college, is expected to man the all-important NB position in the new 4-2-5 defense Bob Shoop is installing. Coaches raved about him in the spring and he has shown elite athleticism and playmaking ability.

Both starters at safety return in the form of Johnathan Abram and Mark McLaurin, the latter of whom finished tied for most INTs in the SEC last year with 6. The two also finished 1 and 2 on the team in tackles and combined for 8.5 TFLs. Despite their impressive production, they took a lot of gambles in coverage and while that produced some big plays, they also gave up their share of big plays, and both missed far too many tackles last year.

Overall, the secondary has a very intriguing pool of veteran talent. I really like their group of corners – Rayford is a rock and if Peters improves his consistency and Dantzler continues maturing, they’ll be able to give Shoop confidence to predominantly rush just four guys up front, which will allow for a ton of different looks in the backend.

Ole Miss: While the Rebels’ run defense was a sieve last year, the pass defense wasn’t nearly as bad, finishing 52nd nationally with 214.2 passing yards allowed per game. That’s not great by any stretch, but when compared to the run defense, it’s practically elite.

Like the Bulldogs, the Rebels return a very talented trio of CBs in the form of Myles Hartsfield, Ken Webster and Javien Hamilton.  Hartsfield followed up a Freshman All-American campaign of 2016 with another strong year in 2017, finishing with 42 tackles and 2 INTs. He has shown the most athletic upside of the group. Webster was once thought to be a potential first-round pick prior to destroying his knee in the 2016 season opener. Despite the gruesome injury, he has slowly come back to become a very consistent and heady cover corner. Hamilton tied for the team lead in INTs last year with 3 and was terrific defending the deep ball.

Vernon Dasher, who played linebacker at Coffeyville CC last year, is expected to win the job at NB, where he should be an interesting fit. He shouldn’t have any problems defending the outside run and covering backs out of the backfield, though it’ll be interesting to see how handles man coverage in the slot.

The Rebs return 3 starting-caliber safeties in Zedrick Woods, Jaylon Jones and C.J. Moore. Woods started 11 games last year and finished fourth on the team in tackles with 64. He might just be the most reliable tackler of any DB in the SEC heading into the year. Jones was a Freshman All-American in 2016 at CB and has transitioned well to FS, becoming reliable and versatile in coverage.  Moore (below) also has experience starting at both CB and FS and tied Javien Hamilton for the team lead in INTs last year.

Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Considering the depth in the secondary and the versatility numerous players offer, don’t be surprised to see them move guys around quite a bit. Jaylon Jones will likely get some snaps at CB. C.J. Moore will likely see some time at NB.

Overall, the pass defense should be the strength of the Ole Miss defense. There’s a lot of experience returning to the secondary and they offer a lot of flexibility, and despite the loss of the two best pass rushers from 2017, there’s reason for optimism the Rebs should be able to generate some form of a pass rush, both from the inside and out.

With that said, the edge still goes to Mississippi State in terms of pass defense, largely because their defensive line is going to force opposing QBs to get rid of the ball in about 2 seconds.

Edge: Mississippi State

Overall, the best defense is …

Clearly, Mississippi State has the better defense overall. The Bulldogs have one of the best defensive lines in the country that features two likely first-round picks, have talent (though not a lot of depth) at LB and return nearly everyone that formed a pass defense ranked 11th nationally last year.

Really, the only way their defense doesn’t play like an elite unit is either injuries start piling up early on or Bob Shoop falls apart calling plays.

The Rebels on the other hand, are replacing two All-SEC DEs and are completely rebuilding at LB. The secondary should be OK, but they’re going to be put in a lot of compromising situations if they front seven doesn’t get the pass rush going.

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