The Athletic's Top 25 teams since 2000

ericd7633 said:
I think 2002 OSU is hurt by them beating alot of avg teams by single digits that year. I know off the top of my head the games against Illinois and Purdue came down to the wire (The Musberger call on that OSU TD is an all-time great). But they did have a shit ton of NFL guys on that team.
Click to expand...

2002 Ohio State probably could beat anyone on this list on a given day but also could lose to a sub .500 Purdue or Illinois team, a very interesting team.
 
ericd7633 said:
I agree the defenses were not great, but that was offset by having very good offenses. Overall they finished with 4 out of the 10 teams ranked, which was more than the B1G and Big East and the same as the Big 12. Plus, like I said had to play ND OOC.
Click to expand...
Yep, and that cuts both ways. Which is why I don’t put much stock in Total Offense/Total Defense category at all.

If you regularly play against poor offenses your defensive stats can look good. And if you have an explosive offense your defense is on the field longer and their stats aren’t as good. If your offense plays ball control your defensive stats also look better. If you play shitty defenses all the time your offense looks better.
 
ericd7633 said:
I think 2002 OSU is hurt by them beating alot of avg teams by single digits that year. I know off the top of my head the games against Illinois and Purdue came down to the wire (The Musberger call on that OSU TD is an all-time great). But they did have a shit ton of NFL guys on that team.
Click to expand...
2002 OSU is basically the inverse of 2019 LSU. They had a couple of elite level offensive players (Clarett, Gamble, Jenkins) and then just some other guys who were good but not great, similar to the 2019 LSU defense. My main point, though, is the fact that 2002 Miami may have been the best of the 2000-2002 Miami teams, and had they won the title I think they'd be ranked accordingly, but OSU beat them down on the biggest stage. If OSU had even a remotely decent playmaker at QB they would likely be recognized as a top 5 team of all-time.
 
osubuckeye89 said:
2002 Ohio State probably could beat anyone on this list on a given day but also could lose to a sub .500 Purdue or Illinois team, a very interesting team.
Click to expand...
The 2002 Buckeyes were talented and gritty. I mean that as a compliment. I saw that team play Cincinnati @ PBS in an incredibly fun game that season (on Oktoberfest Weekend). I NEVER liked Ohio State much until I saw them in that game - which was one of my favorite all-time CFB games I have seen in person.
 
osubuckeye89 said:
2020 Bama is actually the closest to a truly dominant team but they'll never get that full credit because of the circumstances surrounding that season

They won ever game besides the SEC title game by 15 or more points.
Click to expand...
2020 Bama would also get mopped by any team on this list due to the circumstances of the covid season.
- star players opting out the full season for the draft
- limited practices during the offseason trying to figure out if we were having a season
- players missing games for any hint of the flu

2020 Bama dominance is not necessary apples to apples to other seasons
 
TaikoTiger said:
2020 Bama would also get mopped by any team on this list due to the circumstances of the covid season.
- star players opting out the full season for the draft
- limited practices during the offseason trying to figure out if we were having a season
- players missing games for any hint of the flu

2020 Bama dominance is not necessary apples to apples to other seasons
Click to expand...
bro that offense was a machine.. I get the covid asterisk but if it were just a normal season, they clearly would have won it all again.
 
Thiefery said:
bro that offense was a machine.. I get the covid asterisk but if it were just a normal season, they clearly would have won it all again.
Click to expand...
Najee Harris and Devonte Smith are studs but the offensive numbers Bama was putting up was inflated from bad defenses in CFB across the board
 
Speaking of bad defenses. At .39 DFEI, 2020 Bama defense is dead last of the teams mentioned.
On an average year, this is barely reaching the top 25 of defenses in CFB
 
TaikoTiger said:
Speaking of bad defenses. At .39 DFEI, 2020 Bama defense is dead last of the teams mentioned.
On an average year, this is barely reaching the top 25 of defenses in CFB
Click to expand...

2019 LSU was 33rd in points allowed per game and 31st in yards allowed per game

I think the only D on this list worse was 2010 Auburn (53rd PPG, 60th YPG) A top 25 defense is elite compared to that.
 
osubuckeye89 said:
2019 LSU was 33rd in points allowed per game and 31st in yards allowed per game

I think the only D on this list worse was 2010 Auburn (53rd PPG, 60th YPG) A top 25 defense is elite compared to that.
Click to expand...
And it wasn't like Ole Miss and Florida (Mullen, Trask) were horrible offenses either.. (They scored the most points on Bama that season.)
 
osubuckeye89 said:
2019 LSU was 33rd in points allowed per game and 31st in yards allowed per game

I think the only D on this list worse was 2010 Auburn (53rd PPG, 60th YPG) A top 25 defense is elite compared to that.
Click to expand...
2019 LSU (.57 DFEI) : Would be a top 5 defense in 2020
2010 Aub (.40 DFEI) : Just edging out Bama

Thiefery said:
And it wasn't like Ole Miss and Florida (Mullen, Trask) were horrible offenses either.. (They scored the most points on Bama that season.)
Click to expand...
The nice thing about FEI or SP+ is that it's opponent adjusted, so it already does that work for us.
So 2010 Auburn maybe was 60th in YPG but was 4th in defensive SOS that season
2019 LSU is 31st in YPG but was 2nd in defensive SOS
2020 Bama 32nd in YPG but was 14th in defensive SOS

Lack of practice and off-season really killed defenses in 2020.
Bama may have been the best team that year but would get smoked if they line up against any team on this list
 
TaikoTiger said:
2019 LSU (.57 DFEI) : Would be a top 5 defense in 2020
2010 Aub (.40 DFEI) : Just edging out Bama


The nice thing about FEI or SP+ is that it's opponent adjusted, so it already does that work for us.
So 2010 Auburn maybe was 60th in YPG but was 4th in defensive SOS that season
2019 LSU is 31st in YPG but was 2nd in defensive SOS
2020 Bama 32nd in YPG but was 14th in defensive SOS

Lack of practice and off-season really killed defenses in 2020.
Bama may have been the best team that year but would get smoked if they line up against any team on this list
Click to expand...

You mean the same SP+ that had BAMA as a top 5 team in its final rankings after this last season? Yea sorry but no.
 
2004 Auburn beats 2004 USC.
 
osubuckeye89 said:
You mean the same SP+ that had BAMA as a top 5 team in its final rankings after this last season? Yea sorry but no.
Click to expand...
You can use what ever you want to use. They're still the worst defense on this list and stat pad against bad defenses in 2020
 
osubuckeye89 said:
Imagine If a 12 team playoff started in 1998 instead of the BCS, I'd guess the winner in a lot of years would be different than what it ended up.
Click to expand...
BYU doesn’t win a natty and Alabama loses about 8.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top