Solid, old school defense is the calling card for all four teams left in the national championship hunt

AUSTIN, Texas – The expanded College Football Playoff has a distinctly vintage feel: Stifling defenses have carried the last four teams still in the hunt for a national championship.

If you want an insult, look elsewhere. The defense, with All-Americans spread throughout the lineup, is the talk of the semifinals. Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Notre Dame rank among the top eight defenses nationally this season.

No. The 8 seed Buckeyes (12-2) face the No. 5 Longhorns (13-2) in the Cotton Bowl. The Buckeyes are No. 1 in total defense and scoring defense. Texas is ranked third and fourth.

The Orange Bowl game between No. 7 Notre Dame (13-1) and No. 6 Penn State (13-2) features a defense that shut down Georgia and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, the nation’s top running back, in the quarterfinals. .

Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard, who was 0-3 against Texas when he was at Kansas State before transferring, summed up the Longhorns’ defense this way: “They’ve got some guys, man,” Howard said.

Guys really. Everywhere.

Longhorns senior cornerback Jahdae Barron won the Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back. Edge rusher Colin Simmons has a team-high nine sacks and won the Shaun Alexander Award as the nation’s top freshman.

Barron leads a deep, experienced and physical team that has punished receivers and solidified a defense that has produced 23 consecutive turnovers, the longest streak in the country.

In the quarterfinal win over Arizona State, safety Michael Taaffe’s late-game catch on receiver on the final drive of regulation was reviewed for targeting before it was ruled legal, and Andrew Mukuba sealed the win with a near-goal-line interception in a double-overtime thriller that finished 39-31, the most points Texas has allowed this season.

“I think our defense has been tremendous all year,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “As far as football goes, hey, we don’t play flag football, man. This is not seven on seven. This is tackle football. We believe in playing physical football. We try to do it the right way within the rules.”

Next up for the Texas secondary is trying to bring together the Buckeyes’ flashy wide receiver, Jeremiah Smith.

“You know, that kid can ball. He is a great player. Strong, strong ability. He’s a big threat,” Barron said. “He is a physical player and I will have to be physical.

Ohio State can also bully opponents, with tight ends JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer and All-American safety Caleb Downs on the back end. The Buckeyes allowed just 12.1 points per game, just one 300-yard passer and two 100-yard rushers all season.

When top-seeded Oregon beat Ohio State in the middle of the season, Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel had a clean pocket all afternoon. In the Rose Bowl rematch, the No. 8 Buckeyes sacked him eight times, two each by Tuimoloau and Sawyer.

“When we’re working and we’re at a high level, it’s hard to do anything to us,” Buckeyes defensive tackle Tyleik Williams said. “The most violent team, the team that plays the fastest, executes the most and exceeds its game plan the most will win this game.”

Notre Dame and Penn State will bring their style of violence to South Florida. Bowl. Both units rank in the top 10 in total defense and scoring defense.

After rolling past Indiana in the first round, the No. 7 seed Irish held No. 2 Georgia to 62 yards and 10 points. Notre Dame forced two turnovers and stopped the Bulldogs on all three of their fourth-down attempts, most notably at the Irish 10 with just under 10 minutes remaining.

And they did so despite being without standout defensive tackle Rylie Mills, who sat out the playoffs with a knee injury in the quarterfinal win over Indiana.

The Irish defense is still centered around safety Xavier Watts, a two-time AP All-American, who has six interceptions this season.

Penn State ranked fifth nationally against the run this season, allowing just 101 yards per game. In their quarterfinal win over Boise State, the Nittany Lions held Jeanty to a season-low 104 yards and forced an early fumble.

Penn State took a hit in that game when All-American linebacker Abdul Carter, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, left early with an unspecified upper-body injury and did not return.

Carter leads Penn State with 11 sacks and is second among all FBS players with 21 1/2 tackles for loss this season. Nittany Lions coach James Franklin seemed optimistic Carter could return this week, even if he didn’t say he would.

“At this point, I don’t think there’s anything stopping him from playing,” Franklin said.