As Gib notes, Destiny was the buck for Auburn and USC. That turned out to be a good decision, since Auburn was breaking in a new QB/offense and USC was coached by a meathead. Both tried to win the game by running, and if that is what you are going to do, Destiny as the buck made perfect sense.
On the other hand, as Ed suggests, against a passing team (or even a running team that can pass competently) I can think of other strategies that are more likely to pay dividends.
Others may disagree, but personally I think it is in general easier to recruit to a 4 man front than a 3 man front. DE types are plentiful, and you need essentially the same DT's either way. The nose can effectively be played by a short DT if he is built correctly, and that widens the field a bit, but the guys with the right personality don't grow on trees. If we were not so well suited to recruit Poly players, I would think that a 4 man front would be an easy choice. But when coach Joe can bring in a legitimate nose candidate every year, the 3-4 starts to look a lot more realistic.
This year, Grinch is playing with the cards he has been dealt. I find the question of whether he chooses to go with 4 or 5 DB's to be very interesting, and I look forward to seeing what situations he chooses to address with a nickel.
