Bob Stoops is Blasting the SEC Again, this Time About the Defenses

"“Just a few years ago, we had all the quarterbacks,” Stoops said. “And now, all of a sudden, we can play a little better defense and some other people can’t play defense. “Funny how people can’t play defense when they have pro-style quarterbacks over there, which we’ve had. They’re all playing in the NFL right now.”"

After being told that the SEC currently has 3 quarterbacks (4 Murray, 5 Manziel, 6 Mettenberger) in the top 10 in the country in passing efficiency, Stoops replied with:

"“How’s that happening playing all those SEC defenses?” Stoops asked the reporters. “I still don’t know how A&M was third in the country in total offense and scoring offense playing all those SEC defenses. I have no idea how that happened. “Oh, they’ve got a quarterback, that’s right.”"

While Stoops has a point, he is also missing the point. The SEC was eviscerated by the NFL draft – the SEC had 63 players drafted, the Big 12 just 22 – with a record number of defensive players being drafted. This year, there was bound to be a slight drop in defensive standards in the SEC, but with 4 quarterbacks having Heisman-like seasons things appear worse than they actually are.

Also, Bob seems to be forgetting that Ole Miss, just shut out by Alabama, put up 44 points on a Big 12 defense.