Cover Story: Walking up to the tipping point

"Defense wins championships."
 
"Games are won and lost in the trenches."
 
If you’re a football fan — at any level — you’ve heard both statements more times than you can count — and for good reason.

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Kyle Field, Texas A&M dropped another high-profile home game because the Aggie defense was carved up yet again and because, surprisingly, the upstart Auburn Tigers decisively won both lines of scrimmage.