Lot of hate on the defense, and while im solidly in the fire Coombs camp, leaders are starting to emerge from the defense, when theyre allowed on the field.  The defense is going to give up points, but they seem to be coming through when we need them to.

Things to keep in mind

1. The defense made stops on the first two, and last three drives against Oregon.  We just werent able to score on more than 4 of our 13 possessions.

2. The defense looked to get off to a slow start against Tulsa but kept them out of the endzone for 44 minutes.

3. The first TD given up by the defense was after Stroud fumbled and Tulsa got to start on the wrong side of our Block O.  The two Tulsa drives preceeding we didnt let them cross it

4. The defense held when Tulsa had the ball in the fourth and was looking to tie it 

5. The defense scored as many TDs on Tulsa as Stroud.

Good news is we have the leaders on defense, if we can keep them on the field, we might have something resembling a competent big ten defense. Our defense is young, so some of these blunders arent a surprise.  But that they show up when its crunch time (against inferior opponents) gives me optimism that their ass is in the right place: above a fire

Bad news is we need a leader on the offensive side.  As experienced as a lot of our guys are, it doesnt help matters when their time on the sidelines are consoling dudes making turnovers