Top-3 defense? That's a bold claim for a team that hasn't been truly feared since the Tressel era. I've seen a hundred "schematic shifts" over the decades, and most of them fail because players win games, not chalkboards. You can play all the single-high you want, but if your corners can't survive on that island against the best in the MVFC, you're just giving up explosive plays. This reminds me of when we'd see a team try to get fancy against the old Baker Wildcats, and they'd get picked apart by a smart quarterback. A reactive defense that bends but doesn't break often finishes with a better record than an aggressive one that gets burned. Let's see how that new "identity" holds up in the fourth quarter in Brookings or Fargo before we crown them.