Predicting the Top 25 Defenses in College Football for 2017 (Bleacher Report)

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It will come as no surprise that Alabama is No. 1 on our list of the top defenses for the 2017 college football season, but it may be shocking that there are only two other SEC teams in the top 25 with the Crimson Tide. Rather, the ACC dominated the metrics with eight teams making the cut.

Based on where each team ranked nationally in 2016, it was given a score ranging from 0-10 in three categories: yards allowed per play, points allowed per game and turnovers forced. Those three scores were summed and then multiplied by a factor determined by the number of returning defensive starters. Hat tip to Phil Steele for projecting all those numbers in February.

The idea was to then sort the resultant total from top to bottom and list the top 25 defenses from there, but it ended up being more of a rough guide than a concrete hierarchy. After all, we had to also take into consideration players returning from injury and how difficult it will be for each team to replace the starters it lost.

In the end, though, all four teams from last year's College Football Playoff landed in the top 10 as they attempt to defend their way back to another national semifinal.

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Honorable Mentions

LSU Tigers

The most surprising omission of the bunch, LSU came up just short due to a combination of too much roster turnover and not enough turnovers forced. The five team leaders in total tackles from last season are all gone, and star player Arden Key sat out spring practices for personal reasons.

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25. Appalachian State
24. Wake Forest
23. Western Michigan
22. Indiana
21. NC State
20. Virginia Tech
19. Army
18. Utah
17. Minnesota
16. Boston College
15. Northwestern
14. BYU
13. Tulane

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12. Florida Gators

What Makes Them Dangerous

Save for one dud against Tennessee, Florida's pass defense was second to none. Take out the 319 yards and four touchdowns that Joshua Dobbs threw against the Gators and they didn't allow an opposing team to throw for 250 yards or two scores in any game. Three of the key pieces of that secondary were second-round draft picks last month, but they still have Duke Dawson, Marcell Harris and several other guys ready to make the leap.

Room for Improvement

The rush defense was either a brick wall or Swiss cheese. In four of 13 games, the Gators held the opposition below 50 yards; but in seven of the other nine games, they gave up at least 170 rushing yards, including five games over 200 yards. Both in terms of sacks and tackles for loss, they were nationally in the middle of the pack.

2017 Projection

The Gators lost seven defenders to the NFL draft, leaving some serious questions at linebacker. But the biggest concern for this team's defense might be its own quarterback. Florida's anemic offense enabled its opposition to remain committed to the run. If redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks can lead the offense more efficiently than Austin Appleby and Luke Del Rio did in 2016, there's more than enough quality defense for the Gators to win the SEC East once again.

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11. Miami
10. Louisville
9. Washington
8. San Diego State
7. Clemson
6. Troy
5. Wisconsin

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4. Georgia Bulldogs

What Makes Them Dangerous

The sheer number of impact defenders that Georgia is bringing back from last season is just plain ridiculous. Of the 16 team leaders in tackles, defensive back Maurice Smith is the only one the Bulldogs lost. They were already 16th in the nation in total yards allowed per game. With an added year of conditioning and experience pretty much across the board, a leap into the top five hardly requires a stretch of the imagination.

Room for Improvement

It's great that the entire starting front seven is returning, but it was far from dominant last year. No player on the Bulldogs roster had more than 5.0 sacks and they had just 4.8 tackles for loss per game as an entire team. They didn't face LSU or Alabama, but they still gave up 24 rushing touchdowns and just a shade under 4.0 yards per carry.

2017 Projection

With 10 returning starters on defense as well as Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and Jacob Eason on offense, Georgia has a legitimate shot at bouncing back from an 8-5 season to compete in the College Football Playoff. At the very least, the Bulldogs appear to be the team to beat in the SEC East, as they dodge both LSU and Alabama in the cross-over games for a second straight year. Get out to a hot start with wins over Appalachian State and Notre Dame and the sky's the limit.

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3. Florida State
2. Ohio State

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1. Alabama Crimson Tide

What Makes Them Dangerous

In 30 games over the past two seasons, Alabama has allowed a total of 2,095 rushing yards. More than half of the teams in the country (74 of 128) gave up at least 2,095 rushing yards in just 12-14 games this past season.

Most teams would be in dire straits after losing the combined 63.5 tackles for loss that Jonathan Allen, Reuben Foster, Ryan Anderson and Tim Williams took to the NFL. But at Alabama, it just means former 5-star recruits like Da'Shawn Hand, Daron Payne, Rashaan Evans and redshirt freshman Ben Davis step into the spotlight.

Room for Improvement

It's almost impossible to find fault in Alabama's defense, but the special teams weren't so special. Despite not allowing a return touchdown, the Crimson Tide ranked 103rd in yards allowed per punt return and 79th in yards allowed per kick return.

2017 Projection

With Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ronnie Harrison and Anthony Averett all returning, Alabama might have the best secondary in the nation. We'll see how long it takes the Crimson Tide to start firing on all cylinders in the front seven after losing seven of their 14 top tacklers from last season, but there's no doubt they'll rank among the best defenses in the nation, as per usual.

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