game all year is dismissing the fact they are part of the loss.
Against Utah, we were just outmatched. We weren’t going to win that game because the Utah defense was so much better than our offense. But the defense didn’t provide even the slightest resistance in the second half. We never even had the ball because the defense couldn’t get off the field. The defense was a part of that team loss.
Washington has the easiest day of football ever. We didn’t really even slow them down.
Toledo ran at will against us in the second half. Again, their halftime adjustments were “let’s just hand the ball off” and it worked. That’s horrible defense. They were a very real part of the team loss.
South Florida didn’t throw a single pass in the 4th quarter and beat us. Easily the most confusing defensive game plan and display of stubbornness by a coach I’ve ever seen. Horrible defense was a significant part of the team loss.
Liberty has 500 yards of offense because we played conservative, soft defense and allowed their QB time to find the open guys. We didn’t really try to disrupt their rhythm. We just hoped we would eventually get lucky. Bad plan. Bad coaching. Part of the team’s poor performance in a win.
It’s impossible to say the defense hasn’t been responsible for any losses. Of course they are. Along with the offense and special teams. It’s poor team play.