You guys need to step away from the talent comparisons and look at the schematics for a second.
Plant didn't get raped because of STA's talent, they got raped because they came into that came with a horrible scheme on defense. Schematically they never even gave themselves a chance. You can't cover STA's slot WR's with a Safety on an island, 9 yards off, with no help underneath from the Linebackers. That's the equivalent of playing Cover-0. STA picked this apart all game. It doesn't get much worse than Plant's intermediate pass defense against STA. I was baffled. They gave STA everything they wanted and took away nothing.
I moved to the West Coast from South Florida in August. One thing I've noticed about many programs on this side of the state is that they're far behind when it comes to the passing game. (specifically defending the pass) Teams just don't throw the ball over here like they do in Broward and Dade County, thus many of the defenses aren't caught up to speed. The look that Plant gave STA on defense, I've seen it numerous times since I've been over here. Don't get me wrong, there are some teams on this side that throw the ball well, but EVERYBODY in South FLA spreads it out and chucks the ball, so most of the defenses have a better understanding of how to line-up properly against it. Truthfully I think the defenses on this side are a little bit behind. And for that reason I think there's quite a few teams from South FLA that would beat Plant.