Ask any coach in the nation about the importance of defense and they will tell you “a good defense is the best offense”, “defense wins championships” and every other cliche in the book. For coach Paul Rhoads, a former defensive coordinator himself, that statement reigns true. 

So when the Cyclones began the season with only six returning starters on a young defense, there was no shortage of questions to be answered. 

“We’ve got areas that are a concern for us with the defensive tackle being right at the top of the list, unproven Mike [middle] linebackers added to that list and a group of safeties that haven’t played a snap of defense,” Rhoads said the week before the team’s first game. “We’ve got unproven areas that we’ve got to get out there and start mixing it up with other folks, and it will quickly unfold to see if we are improving.”

And it did unfold quickly — just not the way Rhoads was hoping.

FCS powerhouse North Dakota State dismantled the young defense to the tune of 506 total yards and 34 points. The Bison could run, they could pass and they controlled the game in every aspect from the second quarter on.

From the outsider’s point of view, it looked like it was going to be a long season in Ames. But after just one game, linebacker Jevohn Miller saw something that gave him confidence that the unit wouldn’t continue to struggle the whole season.

“There’s going to be a lot of improvement that you guys are going to see over the next week coming up to the next game,” Miller said after NDSU. “We’ve got a lot of young guys where that was the first time seeing any action out there and there were signs of us being a great defense and we’ve just got to push through it.”

And they did just that against Kansas State, holding the Wildcats to two tough touchdown drives and two field goals through three quarters before Jake Waters led a 12-point fourth quarter comeback to win. Highlighted by impressive fourth down and 2-point conversion rushing stops, the defense looked like a different unit than the one that allowed 300 yards on the ground to an FCS team.

So what was the difference? A shake-up with the linebackers switched Miller from weak side to middle linebacker with Luke Knott and Drake Ferch by his side. Mitchell Meyers moved from left end to the defensive tackle position, which worried Rhoads so much before the season started, creating increased pressure on the inside with his speed.

The changes increased in the team’s sack total from three in the first two games to 10 by the fifth game. The Cyclones went from averaging 2.5 tackles for loss in the first two games to 5.7 tackles for loss over the next three.

“We’re getting from an experience standpoint,” Meyers said. “I think we’re getting better with our run fits and our pass rush from a defensive line standpoint.”

And that’s not even mentioning a defensive secondary that has picked off four passes in its last three games, not allowing a passing play longer than 42 yards against two of the best deep-threat passing teams in the nation in Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Despite allowing more than 33 points per game — No. 97 in the nation — the Cyclones have held each of their high-scoring opponents under their scoring average since the North Dakota State game. As the top-heavy schedule starts to ease up even just slightly, Rhoads thinks the defense will start seeing the results they’ve being waiting for in the win column.

“As I said after the North Dakota State game … this football team will improve as much as any that we’ve coached from game one to game 12 and the defense is showing that with their improved performance,” Rhoads said. “Our level of competition is the highest in college football… I’m very hopeful in the next seven games that it’s going to pay off.”