NCAA Football: Ten Teams with Biggest Talent Gaps in 2012 - jmik58's Blog

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NCAA Football: Ten Teams with Biggest Talent Gaps in 2012 Stuck

Posted on July 20, 2012 at 10:35 AM.

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To have a talent imbalance from one side of the ball to the other, you have to have talent in the first place. Considering that point, it's not necessarily a bad thing to find yourself on a list such as this.

So far this week I've highlighted my Top Five teams with the most talent on Offense and Defense, and a few weeks ago I released my opinion on what team had the most overall talent among their starters.

While some squads may look amazing on one side of the ball, it takes a balanced effort to push for a conference championship or -- better yet -- a national title.

Using my formula that values the recruit ranking of each starter (thank you, Phil Steele) plus on-field accolades, I've come up with rankings that help to assess the level of talent each team will field in 2012. Today, however, I want to push a little deeper. I want to share with you the ten teams with the biggest gap between talent on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

You may notice the offensive and defensive talent ranks I provide for each of the ten teams. This is not the measuring stick for balance I use. Instead, I stick to the raw rating itself calculated in my formula. For the sake of simplicity and brevity I'm leaving that data out and providing you with the ranking -- not rating.

Is it a bad thing to be on this list? Again, not necessarily. A team may be so loaded on one side that it skews the significance. The following ten teams don't necessarily reflect imbalance either. It will be interesting to note, however, if abundant talent on offense or defense correlates with more wins at the season's end.

Interpret the results as you wish, here are my top ten teams with the biggest talent gaps between offense and defense in 2012:

10. Alabama Crimson Tide

Starters' recruit rankings and accolades:

Offense: Top 100: (11) Top 50: (9) Top 10: (3) All-SEC: (2) All-American: (1) Awards: (1)

Defense: Top 100: (10) Top 50: (9) Top 10: (3) All-SEC: (0) All-American: (1) Awards: (0)

O-Talent Rank: #3 D-Talent Rank: #11
Talent Advantage: Offense

The Crimson Tide have as much skill on both sides of the ball as any team in the country, but the loss of key players on defense from last year's squad leaves them with something to prove on that side of the ball. The offense is more established including the return of Outland Trophy Winner, lineman Barrett Jones -- pushing their offensive ranking surprisingly high above one of the nation's best perennial defenses.

9. Michigan Wolverines

Starters' recruit rankings and accolades:

Offense: Top 100: (9) Top 50: (8) Top 10: (2) All-B1G: (2) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)
Defense: Top 100: (5) Top 50: (5) Top 10: (1) All-B1G: (0) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)

O-Talent Rank: #11 D-Talent Rank: #38
Talent Advantage: Offense

The Wolverines are stacked with some of the best offensive talent in all of the B1G, led by dual-threat quarterback Denard Robinson. Michigan has plenty of potential on defense to be good, but a lack of on-field accolades holds the raw talent steady and well behind the proven on-field ability of the offense going into the season.

8. Texas A&M Aggies

Starters' recruit rankings and accolades:

Offense: Top 100: (9) Top 50: (7) Top 10: (3) All-B12: (1) All-American: (1) Awards: (0)
Defense: Top 100: (4) Top 50: (1) Top 10: (0) All-B12: (0) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)

O-Talent Rank: #31 D-Talent Rank: #84
Talent Advantage: Offense

It looks like it might be a tough year for the Aggies when scanning the defensive side of the ball considering their new placement in the stingy SEC. Chances are their offense will be equalized by some of the best defenses in all the country, however their own defense could be in for a wake-up call. If I had to choose I'd want my strength to be the other way around. Texas A&M doesn't have that luxury in 2012.

7. LSU Tigers

Starters' recruit rankings and accolades:

Offense: Top 100: (9) Top 50: (8) Top 10: (5) All-SEC: (3) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)
Defense: Top 100: (10) Top 50: (8) Top 10: (3) All-SEC: (4) All-American: (3) Awards: (1)

O-Talent Rank: #4 D-Talent Rank: #1
Talent Advantage: Defense

As I mentioned in my introduction of this list, placement of a team here doesn't necessarily equate to a bad thing. The Tigers are a prime example of that. LSU has an incredibly talented offense, but per SEC elite standards, their defense is just that much more amazing talent-wise. Expect great things from the Tigers on both sides of the ball this year.

6. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Starters' recruit rankings and accolades:

Offense: Top 100: (8) Top 50: (7) Top 10: (0) All-B1G: (2) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)
Defense: Top 100: (9) Top 50: (7) Top 10: (1) All-B1G: (0) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)

O-Talent Rank: #6 D-Talent Rank: #20
Talent Advantage: Offense

The 'Huskers are another group the have the potential to take the nation by storm this season if the defense lives up to it's billing on paper. Nebraska has one of the nation's most talented group of offensive players, and the defense can right there with them if they put their recruit profiles to practice for some on-field domination.

5. Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Starters' recruit rankings and accolades:

Offense: Top 100: (7) Top 50: (1) Top 10: (0) All-CUSA: (4) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)
Defense: Top 100: (1) Top 50: (1) Top 10: (0) All-CUSA: (0) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)

O-Talent Rank: #29 D-Talent Rank: #103
Talent Advantage: Offense

It's about time a non-BCS school made it onto one of my lists! The only problem is that this isn't necessarily one of those moments you brag about. Granted the Golden Eagles have a great collection of proven talent on offense, but the defensive side of the ball makes even the most die-hard fan cringe a little.

4. Georgia Bulldogs

Starters' recruit rankings and accolades:

Offense: Top 100: (10) Top 50: (8) Top 10: (5) All-SEC: (1) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)

Defense: Top 100: (11) Top 50: (8) Top 10: (3) All-SEC: (2) All-American: (2) Awards: (0)

O-Talent Rank: #11 D-Talent Rank: #4
Talent Advantage: Defense

It's not very often that teams with as much talent as the 'Dawgs are thought of as a potential surprise team to win a conference. The SEC however, has a way of stacking up great teams to dilute the football waters when it comes to making an easy choice for best team among the bunch. Georgia certainly isn't a slouch on the offensive side of the ball, but their impressive ways led by two returning All-Americans sets their defense that much over the top in 2012.

3. West Virginia Mountaineers

Starters' recruit rankings and accolades:

Offense: Top 100: (7) Top 50: (5) Top 10: (2) All-BE: (3) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)

Defense: Top 100: (2) Top 50: (1) Top 10: (0) All-BE: (0) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)

O-Talent Rank: #20 (tie) D-Talent Rank: #102
Talent Advantage: Offense

West Virginia is going to be one of my favorite teams to follow throughout the year. I'm curious to see how their dominance in the Big East translates to the Big-12. However, I'm more curious to see how such a one-sided team can fare in a new conference that is believed to be superior to the Big East. The Big-12 is known as a pass-happy spread-em-out league that can be light on defense at times. The Mountaineers better hope that's the recipe for success because it's the only item on the menu they have for the 2012 campaign.

2. Texas Longhorns

Starters' recruit rankings and accolades:

Offense: Top 100: (10) Top 50: (10) Top 10: (5) All-B12: (0) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)

Defense: Top 100: (11) Top 50: (11) Top 10: (6) All-B12: (4) All-American: (1) Awards: (0)

O-Talent Rank: #13 (tie) D-Talent Rank: #2
Talent Advantage: Defense

Texas looks to be back and in a big way in 2012. The offense is relatively unproven but loaded with talent. They'll have plenty of time to get acclimated, however, as the defense looks to be one of the best in the entire nation if their talent and experience have anything to say about it.

1. Clemson Tigers

Starters' recruit rankings and accolades:

Offense: Top 100: (10) Top 50: (5) Top 10: (2) All-ACC: (4) All-American: (1) Awards: (0)

Defense: Top 100: (9) Top 50: (4) Top 10: (3) All-ACC: (0) All-American: (0) Awards: (0)

O-Talent Rank: #1 D-Talent Rank: #36
Talent Advantage: Offense

The Tigers shouldn't necessarily be ashamed to be at the top position of this list. They do hold the top spot as my team with the most offensive talent, and relatively speaking they have a very solid defensive collection of talent for what they'll face in the ACC. The biggest hurdle for Clemson will be translating their immense amount of raw ability on the defensive side into award-winning results. I definitely think it's something the Tigers can pull off, but if the offense starts to sputter, will the inexperience and youth of the defense be able to make a statement and a step towards national prominence?

Justin Mikels is a staff writer for Operation Sports. Follow him on Twitter @long_snapper.

Comments

# 1 marginwalker12 @ Jul 20

"The defense is relatively unproven but loaded with talent."

They basically return the same secondary and front line to what was an elite defense last year. The only thing that is unproven in the linebacker corp. What a cop out statement. They held teams under 100 yards rushing, which was first in the Big 12. And only they had the 4th best defense in the country over the last 4 weeks.

# 2 marginwalker12 @ Jul 20

*Texas (characters)

# 3 jmik58 @ Jul 20

@marginwalker12 That was supposed to say offense. Definitely a type-o. Now fixed.