Are SEC defenses that good, or its offenses that bad?

	Georgia's Quentin Moses and Will Thompson celebrate a Moses sack during the Bulldogs' win over Tennessee on Oct. 8. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
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I spent last weekend in Athens, Ga., working on a story about Georgia defensive end Quentin Moses, who leads the SEC in tackles for loss (12.5) and ranks second in sacks (7). Not much was expected this season from Moses and his defensive mates -- though the unit returned seven starters from 2004 -- because it had lost coordinator Brian VanGorder, as well as three of its biggest stars in free safety Thomas Davis, linebacker Odell Thurman and All-America end David Pollack (the man Moses replaced). In spite of those losses, Georgia's Junkyard Dawgs D is having an outstanding season, ranking fifth in the nation in scoring defense.

While in town, I talked at length with Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez and defensive ends coach Jon Fabris, who both told me their players take tremendous pride in defying preseason expectations.

The Bulldogs aren't the only team in the SEC bolstered by a great defense these days. Five other teams from the conference are also among the nation's top 15 in scoring defense: Alabama (3rd), Auburn (4th), Tennessee (10th), Florida (11th) and Ole Miss (13th). That's a bit of a surprise coming from the region that produced the Fun 'n Gun offense, as well as a sizable share of the game's great quarterbacks, from Peyton Manning all the way down to Joe Namath. It's even more surprising given that several SEC teams, most notably Florida and LSU, have done well in recent years recruiting offensive talent.

What in the name of Bill Arnsparger is going on here? Obviously, there are some fine defensive minds in the SEC. It's no accident that Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron, who was behind some outstanding front fours at USC, has the Rebels playing inspired D. But that can't be everything; the conference has an abundance of talented offensive coaches as well.

It's no secret that many SEC teams have struggled offensively this season. Florida's spread-option has sputtered. Tennessee hasn't found a way to get its running and passing games to work together. Alabama, which showed real explosiveness in its first five games, has gone into a funk since the loss of play-making wideout Tyrone Prothro. LSU's offense seems to fade in and out and Georgia's attack looked pretty tame against Arkansas last week after quarterback D.J. Shockley went down with a sprained left knee. It comes as no surprise to me that not one of the six SEC teams in the top six in scoring defense ranks among the country's top 20 scoring offenses. The best of the bunch is Auburn (24th). The rest looks like this: Georgia (36th), LSU (46th), Florida (53rd), Alabama (79th), Tennessee (105th) and Ole Miss (110th).

But is it because the defenses are dominant or the offenses are inferior? We may not know for a month or more. It will be interesting to see what happens during bowl season, when some of these teams will face schools from other conferences -- say, the Pac-10 -- who are capable of scoring points in bunches. Perhaps LSU's victory over Arizona State last month was an indicator of things to come, but after the Sun Devils' loss to Stanford I now question how true a measure that game might have been.

A vote for Penn State

Speaking of defense, Penn State's stellar play on that side of the ball can carry the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten title. Penn State hosts Purdue this week and then welcomes Wisconsin. While quarterback John Stocco and running back Brian Calhoun have been helping the Badgers pile up yards and points, they've yet to encounter anything like the Penn State D. If the Nittany Lions win those two games, they still have to beat Michigan State in East Lansing in order to win out. They might lose that game, but I wouldn't bet on it -- not if the conference title is on the line.