BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Every college football season provides moments that shed light on whether a team is championship-worthy or not. We saw two of those in Week 3 by LSU and Oklahoma.
With cowbells clanging Thursday night in Starkville, LSU led Mississippi State 9-6 entering the fourth quarter. Then Jarrett Lee, the once-maligned quarterback as a freshman, and LSU's power running game with Spencer Ware wore down the Bulldogs. LSU outgained Mississippi State in total yards 128 to 59 in the fourth quarter.
"We played the No. 1 team in the country, which I'm sure they are," Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen told reporters afterward.
What We Learned in Week 3
1. Defense is back in vogue. Auburn captured the national championship in 2010 without a great defense by defeating up-tempo and high-scoring Oregon. The question quickly became: Do teams now have to produce high-scoring offenses to win it all? This year, a pattern is emerging at the top of the polls: Elite defense matters again. No. 1 Oklahoma ranks 20th in scoring defense and just shut down Florida State. Meanwhile, No. 2 LSU is tied for 15th in scoring D; No. 3 Alabama is second; No. 5 Stanford is seventh; No. 6 Wisconsin is tied for fourth; and No. 8 Texas A&M is tied for ninth. Because of what Auburn accomplished last year, it's foolish to completely write off a team such as No. 9 Oklahoma State (76th nationally at 27 points per game). And offense will always continue to matter. But so far, Auburn's national championship last season looks more like an anomaly than a new trend.
Week 4 Questions
1. Can Arkansas' receivers beat Alabama's secondary? Finally, Alabama heads into the SEC schedule for some real competition and it's a compelling matchup. Arkansas' eighth-ranked pass offense (346.7 yards per game) faces Alabama's fifth-ranked pass defense (114.7 yards per game). Arkansas lost star running back Kniles Davis to a season-ending injury in the preseason. How much will Davis be missed to provide balance to the offense and a play-action threat? Ronnie Wingo, Davis' replacement, ran for 109 yards and two scores Saturday against Troy. Bobby Petrino's offense vs. Nick Saban's defense is compelling because of how well-coached both of those units tend to be. Saban and Petrino have met four times in the SEC. Petrino, as Auburn's offensive coordinator, beat Saban's LSU 31-7 in 2002. But since coming to Arkansas, Petrino's offenses have never scored more than 20 points against Saban. The Razorbacks lost all three games: 49-14, 35-7 and 24-20. Each year, Petrino gets a little closer.
Click here for linkLots of good discussion here, including previews of upcoming matchups.
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