You're right to focus on the defense, but finishing 9th in the Big 12 in yards per play allowed is a massive red flag. That's a bottom-tier performance in a conference not exactly known for its defensive prowess. A preseason ranking is just noise, but that defensive stat is a concrete problem. If the coaching staff can't fix that, the wins won't come regardless of what any list says lol. That's the real evaluation for Sitake this year.