No need to overreact.
I like looking at stats, but you should know as well as I do that the overall stats don't tell the whole story. It is fair to evaluate a defensive performance differently given how and when they allowed the stats they allowed. A defense which surrenders 500 yards, 245 of which came in one quarter should be evaluated differently than a defense that allowed 500 yards of which 125 yards of it came in each quarter.
So, I took a look at the drives against our defense by Wyoming, Southern Miss, UCLA, and South Dakota State as well as the overall yards and points allowed. Big Plays are runs that went for 10 or more yards and passes that went for 15 or more yards.
Wyoming
1st Quarter:
133 yards (22.1%), 7 points (20.6%), 21 plays = 6.33 yards per play (-1.8) | Big Plays = 2 (9.5%), 50 yards (37.6%) | Adjusted = 19 plays, 83 yards = 4.37 YPP
2nd Quarter:
152 yards (25.2%), 7 points (20.6%), 20 plays = 7.6 yards per play (-0.53) | Big Plays = 5 (25%), 106 yards (69.7%) | Adjusted = 15 plays, 46 yards = 3.07 YPP
3rd Quarter:
128 yards (21.2%), 7 points (20.6%), 15 plays = 8.53 yards per play (+0.40) | Big Plays = 2 (13.3%), 32 yards (25%) | Adjusted = 13 plays, 96 yards = 7.38 YPP
4th Quarter:
190 yards (31.5%), 13 points (38.2%), 18 plays = 10.55 yards per play (+2.42) | Big Plays = 7 (38.9%), 165 yards (86.8%) | Adjusted = 11 plays, 25 yards = 2.27 YPP
Total: 602 yards, 34 points, 74 plays = 8.13 yards per play | Big Plays = 16 (21.6%), 353 yards (58.6%) | Adjusted = 58 plays, 249 yards = 4.29 YPP
Southern Mississippi:
1st Quarter:
134 yards (47.2%), 3 points (23.1%), 25 plays = 5.36 yards per play (+0.92) | Big Plays = 3 (12%), 68 yards (50.7%) | Adjusted = 22 plays, 66 yards = 3.00 YPP
2nd Quarter:
20 yards (7%), 3 points (23.1%), 12 plays = 1.67 yards per play (-2.77) | Big Plays = 1 (8.3%), 18 yards (90%) | Adjusted = 11 plays, 2 yards = 0.18 YPP
3rd Quarter:
54 yards (19%), 7 points (53.8%), 11 plays = 4.91 yards per play (+0.47) | Big Plays = 1 (9.09%), 15 yards (27.8%) | Adjusted = 10 plays, 39 yards = 3.9 YPP
4th Quarter:
73 yards (25.7%), 0 points (0%) = 16 plays = 4.56 yards per play (+0.12) | Big Plays = 2 (12.5%), 34 yards (46.6%) | Adjusted = 14 plays, 39 yards = 2.78 YPP
Total: 284 yards, 13 points, 64 plays = 4.44 yards per play | Big Plays = 7 (10.9%), 135 yards (47.5%) | Adjusted = 57 plays, 149 yards = 2.61 YPP
UCLA:
1st Quarter:
99 yards (19.6%), 3 points (7.3%), 20 plays = 4.95 yards per play (-1.35) | Big Plays = 2 (10%), 72 yards (72.7%) | Adjusted = 18 plays, 27 yards = 1.50 YPP
2nd Quarter:
107 yards (21.2%), 7 points (17.1%), 20 plays = 5.35 yards per play (-0.95) | Big Plays = 4 (20%), 78 yards (72.9%) | Adjusted = 16 plays, 29 yards = 1.81 YPP
3rd Quarter:
243 yards (48.2%), 28 points (68.3%), 22 plays = 11.04 yards per play (+4.74) | Big Plays = 7 (31.8%), 164 yards (67.5%) | Adjusted = 15 plays, 79 yards = 5.27 YPP
4th Quarter:
93 yards (18.4%), 3 points (7.3%), 18 plays = 5.17 yards per play (-1.13) | Big Plays = 1 (5.55%), 18 yards (19.3%) | Adjusted = 17 plays, 75 yards = 4.41 YPP
Total: 504 yards, 41 points, 80 plays = 6.3 yards per play | Big Plays = 14 (17.5%), 332 yards (65.9%) | Adjusted = 66 plays, 172 yards = 2.61 YPP
South Dakota State:
1st Quarter:
170 yards (36.5%), 17 points (85%), 20 plays = 8.5 yards per play (+1.86) | Big Plays = 7 (35%), 162 yards (95.3%) | Adjusted = 13 plays, 8 yards = 0.61 YPP
2nd Quarter:
103 yards (22.1%), 0 points (0%), 16 plays = 6.44 yards per play (-0.20) | Big Plays = 3 (18.7%), 49 yards (47.6%) | Adjusted = 13 plays, 54 yards = 4.15 YPP
3rd Quarter:
158 yards (34%), 3 points (15%), 26 plays = 6.08 yards per play (-0.56) | Big Plays = 4 (15.4%), 62 yards (39.2%) | Adjusted = 22 plays, 96 yards = 4.36 YPP
4th Quarter:
42 yards (9%), 0 points (0%), 8 plays = 5.25 yards per play (-1.39) | Big Plays = 2 (25%), 52 yards (124%) | Adjusted = 6 plays, -10 yards = -1.67 YPP
Total: 465 yards, 20 points, 70 plays = 6.64 yards per play | Big Plays = 16 (22.9%), 325 yards (69.9%) | Adjusted = 54 plays, 140 yards = 2.59 YPP
Ranking the games in order of defensive performance from best to worst:
1) Southern Miss
2) UCLA
3) Wyoming
4) SDSU
Make of those stats what you want to, I just put them out here for you guys.