CFU Week No. 5 — "Got Defense?"

It's no secret that offense gets all of the praise. All of the love. All of the attention. Those amazing one-handed grabs and spectacular bursts off the line make the highlight reels and take up most of SportsCenter's top ten plays.

They get all of the Heisman love.

In fact, you'd have to go back to 1997 to find the last time a defensive player, Michigan CB Charles Woodson, won the Heisman. I should add that he also played receiver and returned punts.

Before Woodson, Ohio State's Vic Janowicz who split time at halfback and safety won it in 1950.

Before that, Notre Dame DE Leon Hart who also played tight end in 1949.

Before that, Yale DE Larry Kelley in 1936.

And that's it.

In its 72 year history, the most prestigious award in college football has gone to an offensive player 68 times.

Looking at that, you'd never know it, but defense is more important than those people who vote for the Heisman think, much more. Consider the Louisville Cardinals.

Brian Brohm is one of the most touted QBs of the season. And he is good. He's managed 1,697 passing yards, second highest in the nation. He's even been mentioned in the Heisman talk. But his 18th ranked team just lost to an unranked and formerly winless Syracuse team. Why? No defense. In fact, just two weeks earlier Middle Tennessee put up 42 points and 554 yards on what Louisville calls its defense.

A struggling defense can give a team a scare and a coach a heart attack. Just ask the Gators and Urban Meyer who despite the electric Tim Tebow and stacking up 507 offensive yards only barely got past Ole Miss by six points. Nebraska could also testify to that, edging Ball State by only a point.

Defense also keeps teams in games. Just ask Steve Spurrier whose Gamecocks held LSU to just 70 passing yards and lost by only two scores against the second ranked team in the nation.

And for a struggling offense, defense can certainly win games. Just ask Michigan whose solid defense made up for offensive mistakes, giving their offense chance after chance to score. They managed two touchdowns, enough to beat No. 10 Penn State.

In the end, it's not about offense or defense. It's about balance.

USC, who put up 509 yards and held Washington State to 247, is certainly balanced. As is Oklahoma, but not as much. The Hurricanes are back on the radar having played a very balanced game against Texas A&M. And even West Virginia played some defense against East Carolina, either that or East Carolina's offense is just that bad.

Defense may be old school. It may not be as exciting or high scoring. But it is necessary to win games, which is, of course, what the fans want their teams to do.

And while the offense might have sold the tickets and brought the fans to the stadium, they aren't sitting in those seats chanting "DE-FENSE!" for nothing.

—R. Cooper