ATLANTA -- Defending national champion Alabama completed seven passes against Washington on Saturday night, its lowest total of the season.
The Crimson Tide were penalized 11 times, their second-highest total in a game this season, and they converted only four of 14 third-down plays, matching their fewest this season.
Yet No. 1 Alabama still rolled past No. 4 Washington 24-7 in a College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl in the Georgia Dome to move within one victory of winning its fifth national championship in the past eight seasons.
The Crimson Tide's defense is that stinkin' good.
And that's exactly why Alabama will win another national title, this time in a rematch from last season against No. 2 Clemson in the Jan. 9 CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T in Tampa, Florida.
While it might be a stretch to say this Alabama team is among the greatest in college football history because of its freshman quarterback and inconsistent offense, its defense is certainly one of the best to ever step on the field.
And, yes, it might be the best defense in Alabama history, which would be saying a heck of a lot.
Even though the Crimson Tide's offense endured their worst performance of the season, the team's defense manhandled Washington on the sport's biggest stage. The Huskies might have kept it close for a while, but it never felt like the Pac-12 champions really had a chance to actually win the game.
Alabama's defense is too big, too strong and too fast.
"They kind of are what we thought they were," Washington coach Chris Petersen said. "Really, really elite championship defense and, you know, good players across the board."
After Washington scored the game's first touchdown midway through the first quarter, its offense didn't cross midfield again until the game's final two minutes. Alabama's defense held the Huskies to only 194 yards of offense, 44 rushing, and the Tide sacked Huskies quarterback Jake Browning five times.
"It was disappointing we didn't move the ball better," Petersen said. "We've studied every snap that they've had this year, and the tape doesn't lie when you watch that much tape. I mean, that's as good a defense as there is out there in college football, and they played like it."
Moments before halftime, Alabama's defense scored as many points as the UW offense on linebacker Ryan Anderson's 26-yard interception returned for a touchdown. It was the Crimson Tide's 15th non-offensive touchdown of the season, which is the most by an FBS team in at least the past 20 seasons.
"That's what they do," said Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson. "I'm not surprised by that at all. It's the best defense in America. You might sneak a touchdown in there every once in a while, but you aren't going to get many, trust me."
After Alabama won its 26th consecutive game and 16th straight against a ranked foe, the only lingering question is whether freshman Jalen Hurts and the Tide's offense will play better than they did against Washington in 10 days.
Hurts, who is trying to become the first true freshman quarterback to lead his team to a national championship since Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway in 1985, looked uncomfortable for maybe the first time since he fumbled his first collegiate snap against USC in the Sept. 3 opener.
Hurts nearly threw an interception on his first attempt against Washington and finished 7-for-14 passing for 57 yards. He was sacked three times and ran 19 times for 50 yards.
"I don't know if he was really pressing," said Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin. "You know, I think he would be the first to tell you that he didn't play great today. But, again, like I said all week, this is a big stage and he's still a true freshman and this is a really good defense that gives people problems."
Despite Hurts' struggles, he didn't turn the ball over against Washington. He never made a big mistake, even though he never seemed to find a rhythm.
"It didn't make much sense to take a bunch of chances because [Washington] gets momentum off of turnovers," Kiffin said. "If you don't get them turnovers, you don't give them short fields, it's hard for them to score. The one good thing he did is he did not throw it to them."
Kiffin, who is leaving after the national title game to become Florida Atlantic's head coach, joked earlier this week about being left behind by Alabama's team buses again -- the same thing happened when he was the head coach at USC. After the way Kiffin called the first half, I wouldn't blame Alabama coach Nick Saban for not letting him on the team plane to Tampa. Saban was worried about Kiffin already having one foot out the door, and his play selection was perplexing to say the least.
For whatever reason, even with Alabama's passing game struggling, Kiffin seemed reluctant to let tailbacks Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris take the game over in the first half. Scarbrough averaged 8.9 yards per carry in the first 30 minutes; Hurts averaged 3.6 yards per pass attempt.
In the second half, Harris and Scarbrough combined to run for 157 yards. Scarbrough set an Alabama bowl record with 180 yards on 19 attempts, and his 68-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter put away the Huskies for good.
"That's what we do and that's what worked -- running the ball," said Alabama tight end O.J. Howard. "I think we did that more in the second half."
Even on a night when the Crimson Tide weren't at their best, they were still the better team on the field.
"It feels good for now," Harris said. "We're not satisfied and we know we've got one game left against a great team. It wasn't our goal just to win this game. We want to win another national championship."
If the Crimson Tide win yet another title, it's going to be because of their defense.