A new list by Bill Connelly of ESPN* attempted to rank the Top 50 defenses in college football history. Here are the questions he asks and the criteria he uses to create his verbatim.
What’s more impressive …
A. Allowing 1.3 points per game in 1939, as Tennessee did under Bob Neyland during one of college football’s lowest scoring ebbs?
B. Allowing 5.2 points per game in 1972, as Michigan did under Bo Schembechler?
C. Allowing 13.0 points per game in 2016, as Alabama did under Nick Saban during maybe the most offense-friendly season ever?
Below are my attempts at answering exactly that. Adjusting for opponents, tempo (where applicable) and my own personal whims, here are what I view as the 50 best defenses in the history of top-division college football.
I’m going to be a completely honest, dear reader. I disagree with almost every entry on this list. If you create a list of the greatest defenses in the sports history, I don’t care what criteria you use; the 2001 Miami Hurricanes must be included, not just in the Top 25 but at the top of the whole darn list. The 2001 Canes defeated five ranked teams and gave up an average of 9.75 PPG with three shutouts. The Caines also had nine players from that defense drafted in the first round over multiple drafts.
Below is the Top 25 as listed by Bill Connelly of ESPN*. Scroll down to see which Husker defense made the list and where they rank among some of the greatest of all-time.