From Darren Everson of the Wall Street Journal:

USC 2008 is as elite as defense gets. The Trojans aren’t merely tops in most defensive statistics. Their 3.4 yards-per-play average is miles ahead of the field. To put this figure into perspective: The 1997 Michigan defense, the Charles Woodson group generally regarded as the most dominating defense of recent years, allowed 3.7 yards per play. And that predated the spread of the spread offense.

USC: The Best Team, Not the Most Deserving [WSJ.com]