The defense never rests.
No. 1 Alabama continues to pin its hopes of repeating as national champions on a nasty defense that controlled No. 4 Washington in a 24-7 victory at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Saturday.
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Ryan Anderson’s interception return for a touchdown with 1:13 left in the first half helped Alabama (14-0) open up a 10-point lead on Washington (12-2). Now the Crimson Tide have the chance to defend their national championship at the College Football Playoff championship game Jan. 9 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Here are five things we learned from the Crimson Tide’s big win:
1. Bo knows
Alabama’s Bo Scarbrough emerged as the hero with 19 carries for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
Scarbrough proved his value in two game-changing drives. The first came in a response to Washington’s TD drive in the first quarter. Scarbrough had three carries for 33 yards on the ensuing Alabama drive, including a powerful 18-yard scoring run that tied the game.
He struck again in the fourth quarter with a clutch run that set up the iconic play of the game. Scarbrough converted a third-and-9 run from Alabama’s own 3-yard line for a key first down. That set up a highlight-reel 68-yard touchdown run for a 24-7 lead.
It was a big-time performance by Scarbrough that helped offset a conservative game plan for freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts.
2. Defense does it
Anderson’s 26-yard pick-six provided the first turning point in the game. That gave Alabama a 17-7 lead and the unit its 11th defensive TD of the season.
The rest was business as usual. Washington took a 7-0 lead on its second drive of the game, but the defense put the clamps on quarterback Jake Browning the rest of the way. The Huskies couldn’t establish a running game, and six of their 14 possessions resulted in a three-and-out. The Huskies punted nine times.
Washington had 103 total yards in the first quarter. They had 91 yards the rest of the game.
3. Hurts good enough?
Hurts didn’t have his best game, but offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin’s conservative approach and hit-or-miss play-calling didn’t hurt the Tide this time. Hurts completed just 7 of 14 passes for 57 yards while rushing 19 times for 50 yards.
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Alabama’s best drive of the game came after the Huskies opened the scoring. The Crimson Tide responded with a nine-play, 78-yard drive. That included eight runs averaging 7.8 yards per carry. It was the perfect response and allowed Hurts to settle in. Despite the struggles, Hurts didn’t make the big mistake – the Tide recovered his lone fumble – and he led the Tide to a hard-earned victory against a tough Washington defense.
4. Turnover battle
Washington didn’t play awful, but coming into the game it thrived on winning the turnover battle with an FBS-best plus-21 margin. Alabama’s Jonathan Allen recovered a fumble, and Anderson had the game-changing interception. Minkah Fitzpatrick added an interception on the Huskies' last possession. Washington’s defense bottled up Hurts but couldn’t force the big mistake. Chris Petersen’s third year at Washington was a success, but Browning simply became the next quarterback to feel that Crimson Tide pressure. Alabama had five sacks.
5. The shot at 15-0
It wasn’t an all-out annihilation like last year’s Cotton Bowl against Michigan State, but the Crimson Tide are in position to become the first team in college football history to go 15-0 since 1899.
They’ve done that with a consistent approach, and there will be nitpicks along the way to the championship game. They will need a better performance from Hurts against Clemson, and Kiffin will be scrutinized closer than ever heading into his final game as Alabama’s offensive coordinator.
Still, Nick Saban is on the cusp of his fifth national championship with the Crimson Tide, and sixth overall. That was the goal. That was part of “The Process” all along.
