I Hate You, John Crist: Is Florida or LSU the real 'DBU' of college football?

The first of 14 spring games in the SEC is Saturday, as South Carolina will play its annual Garnet and Black affair at noon.

Since their basketball team made one of the most unexpected runs to the Final Four in tournament history, the Gamecocks actually moved kickoff up a few hours in order to accommodate the 6:09 p.m. tip against Gonzaga.

USC is a dark-horse candidate to make some noise in the East this season. On the offensive side of the ball, the skill positions are in great shape with quarterback Jake Bentley, running back Rico Dowdle, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end Hayden Hurst. The return of linebacker Skai Moore could rejuvenate the defense, too.

While Florida is the two-time defending champion and Georgia has more position-by-position talent, the ‘Cocks are in a better spot to compete on a weekly basis than they were a year ago. What a time to be alive in Columbia.

Here are some of my favorite comments from this past week. LSU fans in particular were in the mood to split hairs.

While Derrick Henry’s stats in 2015 may have been more prolific than Herschel Walker’s in 1981, to say that they were definitively better is wrong.

Henry had 15 outings to compile his monstrous totals, but Walker only had 11 because schedules were shorter then, there were no conference championship games and bowl numbers were yet to be included in yearly totals.

In terms of per-game averages, Henry carried the ball 26.3 times for 147.9 yards over the course of his record-breaking season. Walker, on the other hand, averaged 35 carries and 171.9 yards each and every Saturday. Even if Henry scored 1.9 touchdowns to Walker’s 1.6, college football features much more scoring now that it did a generation ago.

Walker actually had more yards rushing that season than his quarterback, Buck Belue, had passing (1,603). Henry, conversely, had Jake Coker throwing for almost twice that figure (3,110). Simply speaking, Henry had help. Walker didn’t.

It’s incredibly difficult to compare eras because the game evolves, but Henry will never evoke the memories that Walker does.

Courtesy of SDS reader “Scrambles,” who sent me some info on this topic, I’d like to add the following facts to the DBU discussion.

Florida has had six defensive backs selected in the first round of the draft, while LSU can only claim four. Additionally, the Gators currently boast 10 DBs on NFL rosters. The Tigers have just eight at this point.

Ignoring what they’ve gone on to do in the pros, UF has seen 15 defensive backs earn All-American status. The Bayou Bengals are 40-percent behind with nine.

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Moving on to team stats, since the 2008 campaign — so nine full seasons — Florida has surrendered an average of 178.9 yards passing per game. LSU has given up 188.4. In that same time span, the Gators have held 15 opponents to under 100 yards passing. The Tigers managed to do that only seven times. UF has been under 150 yards allowed 33 times. The Bayou Bengals are at just 18.

If pass rushers are usually measured by sacks, then defensive backs are often similarly judged by interceptions. In the last nine years, Florida has recorded 122 INTs to LSU’s 97. Even more impressive, the Gators have almost twice as many pick-sixes (19-to-10) as the Tigers.

My apologies, but this was “I Hate You, John Crist” material indeed.

Part of Florida coach Jim McElwain’s job is to defend his players at all costs. That’s what he was doing with Teez Tabor.

After Tabor failed to shine during his workout at the Scouting Combine, there was a lot of pressure on him to look better at his Pro Day. Unfortunately, he didn’t. Everyone focused on his miserable 40-yard dash time of 4.77 seconds.

Pure speed is necessary to play any of the skill positions in the NFL, although it can sometimes be overrated. When you watch Tabor on tape, he doesn’t give the impression that he’s slow. Throughout the 2015 season, I was on record saying that Tabor was actually better than his counterpart, Vernon Hargreaves, who eventually went in Round 1.

Nevertheless, McElwain’s comment did come off as a bit silly. “On a double-move here and there, he might have got beaten,” he said later in the discussion. Well, double moves do count, coach. Those usually go for touchdowns, too.

One thing’s for sure: Tennessee’s wide receivers weren’t afraid of Tabor. They have the photographic evidence to back it up, as well.

While your fear of Alabama having too many cooks in the kitchen is understandable, I wouldn’t worry too much about that.

Remember, Dan Werner and Chris Weinke both have “offensive analyst” on their Crimson Tide business card. The NCAA only allows teams to have so many coaches on staff. Neither Werner nor Weinke will be coaching players directly. Their job, like Steve Sarkisian’s before Lane Kiffin’s departure, is to assist with game-planning and such.

That being said, just like you, I believe said game plan needs to revolve around the running game much more so than it did a year ago. There are simply too many quality ball carriers on the roster, including quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Bo Scarbrough adds a different element to this team — a borderline unstoppable one, really — when he’s 100 percent, which admittedly isn’t very often. Damien Harris ran for the quietest 1,037 yards in recent memory. Joshua Jacobs flashed when given a chance. Early-enrollee freshman Najee Harris may be the best of the bunch one day.

Like I wrote previously, Nick Saban is more innovator than copycat. I think he should slow his offense down, not speed it up.

John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.