Monday's Thoughts 4-19

Everyone says defense wins championships, but is that really true?

Alabama and Texas played for the national championship last season and both of them had a top defense. Alabama had the 2nd best total defense and Texas finished 3rd in total defense.

But looking outside of the title game, does a top defense always equal success? Here is a breakdown of the 2009 season and the top-25 total defenses.

- Of the 10 teams that participated in BCS bowl games, 7 teams had a top-25 defense. Oregon (35) Georgia Tech (53) and Cincinnati (67) didn’t.

- Out of the top-25 defenses, only two teams Army (16) and Arizona State (13) didn’t participate in bowl games.

- 8 teams won or played for their conference championship.

While having a top total defense doesn’t always mean that a team will contend for a championship, it shows however that the team will have a better chance of winning.

-Alabama’s “A-Day” or spring scrimmage proved one thing, they have a great backfield. With Heisman winner Mark Ingram returning for his junior year along with sophomore stud Trent Richardson, Alabama’s rushing attack should be better than the one last year which won a national championship. Both Ingram and Richardson ran for 100+ plus yards in the scrimmage picking up where they had left off from in the title game against Texas. Richardson, who rushed for 749 yards last season as a freshman, could very easily be better than Ingram down the road.

-Georgia appears to have eliminated one of their choices to start at quarterback this fall, in freshman Zach Mettenberger. Mettenberger was arrested over spring break in Georgia and was charged with possession of alcohol, underage alcohol consumption, and the possession of fake identification. Apparently that doesn’t fly under head coach Mark Richt and he has sent Mettenberger packing. Georgia is now stuck in a two quarterback dual between freshman Aaron Murray and senior Logan Gray.

-Speaking of off-field conduct, the bug seems to be flying around college football. Tennessee safety Darren Myles Jr. was charged with public intoxication, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest early Sunday morning at a local Knoxville bar. His status with the team is still pending.

-Ohio State signee Jamel Turner almost became the second football signee to die this offseason, as he was hit multiple times by gunfire outside his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. Turner was found in a car with two handguns and a bag of marijuana. He almost joined Notre Dame signee Matt James as being the second signee to die a tragic death before actually arriving on the school’s campus. It makes you really wonder; how much are these kids valuing their lives and a free education?

-Former Florida State and Rhode scholar Myron Rolle, has to be a feel good story when it comes to education and athletics. Sure, Rolle hurt his draft status by studying abroad for a year, but you have to cheer for him this weekend in the NFL Draft. Rolle has found the median in being a true student athlete and needs to become the image of the NCAA and college athletics, not the current image of academic scandals and low standards around football.

- A. Ivins