Not today but I think your straw argument about rankings telling the story is wrong. Is this what you do, spend hours going back on a message board and question opinions?
Largely due to a miscalculated coaching decision to let Penn State run as much as they wanted. If we call that game the same way in the second half on offense and defense, it's a whole different ball game. We were basically playing prevent defense for most of the second half, you're going to give up yards that way if the opposing team is willing to run, and Penn State was.
I think @Husker in WI provided solid reasoning above. In addition, yards don't matter to this staff as they gave up outrageous stats at UCF. The key difference between then and now is that our offense couldn't hold a candle to the way UCF was able to score points.
I think you're missing the point. The plan is not to play surrender defense (s/o Bob Diaco) but to have an aggressive defense with high pressure in hopes of securing turnovers. The structure and philosophy is the same as Alabama. Defend between the tackles well, forcing runs out and try to prevent deep passes. In order for it to work, they need a high scoring offense that controls the game. Failure on the offensive side almost assuredly will lead to defensive failure as more plays and possessions lead to more risk or defensive miscues.
