Coach Elko is succeeding in recruiting defense. Previous coaches struggled especially at LB.
The question is can a power running game with defense win in an offensive minded era?

Pundits like Cowherd would say no.
I can't think of where a defensive that dominated and won the ring since Alabama.

If it can be done, this seems like the season to do it.

Michigan won it 2 years ago with a power running game and stout defense.

An effective power running offense is nice, but you've still got to be somewhat dangerous in the passing game or opposing teams will just load up 8 in the box and dare you to pass. That's pretty much what teams have been doing to A&M since Jimbo was here. A&M just hasn't had the passing game(or deep pass threat) to force teams to back off.

What about Ohio State last year? They were first in both scoring and total defense. In contrast, they were 14th in scoring offense and 30th in total offense.

If you look at total/scoring defense vs offense, more playoff teams show up for defense than offense. It's still safe to say defense wins championships.

There was a period in the late 10's where changes to the rules let offense outpace defenses for a while, but the adjustments seem to be in and the last couple nattys have been wone by teams stronger on defense than offense.

No, not with defense alone.

Quote:

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What about Ohio State last year? They were first in both scoring and total defense. In contrast, they were 14th in scoring offense and 30th in total offense.

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That is still good offense.

I feel like we will need a QB that can make plays at a high level. Reed is still young so the jury is still out.

Aggie Dad 26 said:

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I feel like we will need a QB that can make plays at a high level. Reed is still young so the jury is still out.

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This seems like a make or break year for him. He is in year 3. Time to show something.

Sure a defense can win championships.

Just not ours apparently.

Coach Sark at t.u. said in a recent interview that the most important thing for
QB Arch Manning to work on this summer is his "Intermediate range" passing accuracy
and his RPO "decision making" to force the defense to cover the whole field & team.

Running the ball successfully is one part of it, but if you are not consistent in the
Intermediate range passing success, you will not win a championship.

Guess what our Marcel Reed is also probably working on. The Same Thing.

winning with defense and the running game is like drawing to an inside straight

it can be done -- but that's the hard way.

elite QB and/or elite WR's is the best way -- the easiest path to the title

4 said:

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Sure a defense can win championships.

Just not ours apparently.

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I can literally hear you saying this

If Cowturd says no, then the answer is assuredly yes.

Hubert J. Farnsworth said:

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Michigan won it 2 years ago with a power running game and stout defense.

An effective power running offense is nice, but you've still got to be somewhat dangerous in the passing game or opposing teams will just load up 8 in the box and dare you to pass. That's pretty much what teams have been doing to A&M since Jimbo was here. A&M just hasn't had the passing game(or deep pass threat) to force teams to back off.

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2023 Michigan was an anomaly, not a standard to chase after.

If our schedule ever consists of Nebraska, Minnesota, Rutgers, Michigan St., and Indiana, and we have a Conner Stallions-level fanatic stealing the signs of our difficult opponents, maybe then we can talk about winning a bunch of games with just a good run game and great defense.

This won't be possible in the SEC for the foreseeable future.

Law Of The Quad said:

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Coach Elko is succeeding in recruiting defense. Previous coaches struggled especially at LB.
The question is can a power running game with defense win in an offensive minded era?

Pundits like Cowherd would say no.
I can't think of where a defensive that dominated and won the ring since Alabama.

If it can be done, this seems like the season to do it.

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Cowherd is probably the single dumbest analyst on earth. Start your investigation there.

I'll repeat it again but Coeherd once claimed that Greg Oden was a better first overall pick over Kevin Durant because Kevin Durant had a low bench press total so that proved he would not be durable enough, and his body wouldn't hold up to the the rigors of of the NBA. I was driving in my car and almost got in a wreck at the sheer stupidity of that statement.

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. Cowherd may be wrong on a bunch of stuff, but this particular claim has to stand on its own merits, and it seems to have legs

Paul Pierce Ag said:

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Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. Cowherd may be wrong on a bunch of stuff, but this particular claim has to stand on its own merits, and it seems to have legs

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Can you elaborate on those merits?

OSU just won the title with the following stat lines.

Passing
OSU 231
ND 255

Rushing
OSU 214
ND 54

What is the primary discrepancy that jumps out to you? I'm no Colin Cowherd, but my amateur analysis tells me that OSU literally just won a title based on stuffing ND's run game on defense and running over them on offense.

Offense will need to put up 17 points and chew up a lot of clock
It's possible a very good defense with the bare minimum of help from offense could get a Natty.
Winning a natty requires winning 4 games in a row The offense is going to have to help out a little

Yes, a great defense with at least an average offense or an elite offense with a good defense can win a national championship. Winning a national championship requires winning 3 or 4 consecutive playoff games.

Thanks Copilot

It's four in a row
CCG then 3 in the playoff
Or four In a Row because lose the ccg and no bye

Paul Pierce Ag said:

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Hubert J. Farnsworth said:

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Michigan won it 2 years ago with a power running game and stout defense.

An effective power running offense is nice, but you've still got to be somewhat dangerous in the passing game or opposing teams will just load up 8 in the box and dare you to pass. That's pretty much what teams have been doing to A&M since Jimbo was here. A&M just hasn't had the passing game(or deep pass threat) to force teams to back off.

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2023 Michigan was an anomaly, not a standard to chase after.

If our schedule ever consists of Nebraska, Minnesota, Rutgers, Michigan St., and Indiana, and we have a Conner Stallions-level fanatic stealing the signs of our difficult opponents, maybe then we can talk about winning a bunch of games with just a good run game and great defense.

This won't be possible in the SEC for the foreseeable future.

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Georgia just won the sec with the 37th ranked total defense and the 51st total offense

You don't need to be elite on offense to win the sec

My two cents… winning with an elite defense and running game isn't considered cool any more, and that's the primary reason we don't see it as much. It started with outlawing head hunters, where now average offensive talent can shine without the fear of god.

interesting though...

Georgia scored 30 or more points in 10 games

have to be able to win shootouts in the SEC -- there will be some

AGDAD14 said:

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My two cents… winning with an elite defense and running game isn't considered cool any more, and that's the primary reason we don't see it as much. It started with outlawing head hunters, where now average offensive talent can shine without the fear of god.

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Cool or not, its still, and always will be, the recipe to win a championship at all levels of football.

NyAggie said:

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Paul Pierce Ag said:

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Hubert J. Farnsworth said:

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Michigan won it 2 years ago with a power running game and stout defense.

An effective power running offense is nice, but you've still got to be somewhat dangerous in the passing game or opposing teams will just load up 8 in the box and dare you to pass. That's pretty much what teams have been doing to A&M since Jimbo was here. A&M just hasn't had the passing game(or deep pass threat) to force teams to back off.

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2023 Michigan was an anomaly, not a standard to chase after.

If our schedule ever consists of Nebraska, Minnesota, Rutgers, Michigan St., and Indiana, and we have a Conner Stallions-level fanatic stealing the signs of our difficult opponents, maybe then we can talk about winning a bunch of games with just a good run game and great defense.

This won't be possible in the SEC for the foreseeable future.

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Georgia just won the sec with the 37th ranked total defense and the 51st total offense

You don't need to be elite on offense to win the sec

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That doesn't answer the question of the OP. Georgia didn't win the national championship.

Aggie Dad 26 said:

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I feel like we will need a QB that can make plays at a high level. Reed is still young so the jury is still out.

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Forever young …

I seem to remember Georgia having some pretty stout defenses during their recent championships. You know, the kind of defenses that have 5-6 guys drafted in a single draft.

If you have a truly great defense and an offense that can manage 30 ppg on average then you have a shot at a title imo.That's roughly top 50 in scoring offense. Does that require a really good offense … not really … but an offense competent enough to take advantage of field position and turnovers and tired opposing defenses provided by said great defense. It's a complementary game .

I think perhaps the inverse is also probably true. If you have a really really good scoring offense and a top 50-ish scoring defense you also have a shot .

halfastros81 said:

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If you have a truly great defense and an offense that can manage 30 ppg on average then you have a shot at a title imo.That's roughly top 50 in scoring offense. Does that require a really good offense … not really … but an offense competent enough to take advantage of field position and turnovers and tired opposing defenses provided by said great defense. It's a complementary game .

I think perhaps the inverse is also probably true. If you have a really really good scoring offense and a top 50-ish scoring defense you also have a shot .

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That's the answer

You need to be really good at either offense or defense and then at least above average to good at the other

Our 2012 team was the best in the country at the end of the year and we were elite on offense and above average on defense, not great but competent enough to get a decent amount of stops

qb
offensive line
defense

in that order wins championships most consistently defense can assist in winning championships but no one dimensional team is going to win a natty with just a great defense.

rootube said:

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Paul Pierce Ag said:

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Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. Cowherd may be wrong on a bunch of stuff, but this particular claim has to stand on its own merits, and it seems to have legs

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Can you elaborate on those merits?

OSU just won the title with the following stat lines.

Passing
OSU 231
ND 255

Rushing
OSU 214
ND 54

What is the primary discrepancy that jumps out to you? I'm no Colin Cowherd, but my amateur analysis tells me that OSU literally just won a title based on stuffing ND's run game on defense and running over them on offense.

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The stats I dug up don't 100% back up my argument, so I shouldn't take as big a stand as I was.

But from what I found for per-game averages for the whole season of the previous several national champions is this (I think it's more indicative than just the championship game):

Team | Avg Passing Yds | Avg Rushing Yds | Ratio of the previous 2 values

2024 OSU | 263.0 | 166.4 | 1.58
2023 Michigan | 213.7 | 169.1 | 1.26
2022 Georgia | 295.8 | 205.3 | 1.44
2021 Georgia | 251.9 | 190.9 | 1.32
2020 Alabama | 358.2 | 183.5 | 1.95
2019 LSU | 401.6 | 166.8 | 2.41
2018 Clemson | 279.0 | 248.2 |1.12
2017 Alabama | 193.4 | 250.6 | 0.77
2016 Alabama | 210.3 | 245.0 | 0.86

Definitely some anomalies here, like 2020 Alabama didn't play a 12 game schedule like the others, OSU played more top-level teams this past year via the extended playoffs, etc.

But yeah, it seems you're right, it's still possible to win natties with just defense, a good run game, and an average passing attack.

Though I will say there is correlation between high-end passing attacks and better overall offense. The most convincing national champions had better passing attacks, which appear to have opened up a great ground game. I'd still rather us try to become like 2022 Georgia than 2023 Michigan.

That 2023 Michigan championship team had two 1st round draft picks at QB (10th McCarthy) and TE (10th Loveland). Three 3rd round picks - RB Corum, OL Zinter, and WR Wilson, and six other offensive players were taken in the lower rounds in the '24 and '25 drafts.

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/2024/10/05/michigan-um-washington-football-2024-nfl-draft-michael-penix-jr-jj-mccarthy/75444417007/#

https://247sports.com/college/michigan/longformarticle/seven-michigan-players-selected-in-2025-nfl-draft-mason-graham-colston-loveland-others-launch-nfl-careers-249327681/amp/

They might not have needed to put up huge numbers, but they were supremely talented on that side of the ball.

Flavius Agximus said:

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Aggie Dad 26 said:

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I feel like we will need a QB that can make plays at a high level. Reed is still young so the jury is still out.

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Forever young …

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Lol

I'm a fan of his. I wanted to see him be the starter before the 24' season kicked off. Technically he hasn't played a full season of college ball as a starter but that's getting into excuses territory. I'll agree with the other poster that said this will be his make or break season. He's got an above average ceiling and maybe more. This coaching staff needs to bring that out of him

Guy12 said:

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What about Ohio State last year? They were first in both scoring and total defense. In contrast, they were 14th in scoring offense and 30th in total offense.

If you look at total/scoring defense vs offense, more playoff teams show up for defense than offense. It's still safe to say defense wins championships.

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I think the top 10 are scoring 28-35 ppg so rank doesnt tell the whole story. Statistically, you need to put 4+ tuddies on the board per game. Be intersting to see what OSU ppg was in the #14 spot.

I believe we are in an era that requires a bit more balance. Feels like the pendulum has swung from defense wins championships (creation to late 90's/early 2000's?) to offense wins championships (2000 ish to 2015?) and now on to something new which feels like solid/balanced offense and lock down defense. That's how I would lean. Having a generational QB goes a long way but Im not sure we will see that as much as we used to. College defenses have evolved closer to NFL defenses over the last decade give or take (thank you SEC).

You might also consider that in today's college football with the unlimited transfer portal that a team with a heavy dose of transfers may put up pedestrian stats offensively or defensively early in the season as the team gels. But then could turn it on down the stretch. So long as they don't lose too much while they are coming together, they could still win it all without the definitive season stats to back up either side of this argument.