Pete Carroll Is Brilliant

He exposes one of the fallacies inherent in "sports statistics":

SEC adherents are particularly proud that the conference boasts seven of the nation's top-26 defenses in scoring and yards allowed.

Ah, but here we enter the whole defensive chicken-and-egg debate, and Carroll can't resist a brief observation.

He notes that six Pac-10 teams rank in the nation's top 20 in scoring. Only one SEC team and two Big 12 teams rank in the top 25.

"That statement alone -- it's ridiculous that the [Pac-10] offenses are that good," Carroll said. "It isn't about the defenses. It's the offenses that are so proficient."

Ergo: USC's defense looks vulnerable because it plays in the Pac-10, and Alabama and Texas' defenses look good because they don't.