Alabama Defense has "Bend Don't Break" Mentality against Cincinnati

ARLINGTON, Texas — For the third time in seven College Football Playoff appearance, the Alabama defense kept the opponent out of the end zone.

With the 27-6 win over Cincinnati Friday night, the 2021 defense joins the 2015 (38-0 over Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl) and 2017 (24-6 over Clemson in the Sugar Bowl) Crimson Tide defenses in that feat.

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young said the defense's performance gave him confidence to go out and perform on offense.

"The defense played tremendously the entire night," Young said. "From first snap to last snap, those guys were flying around, making a lot of plays, and you could see what they allowed against a really good offense. That’s huge for us."

It was the third time this season Alabama kept a team from scoring a touchdown. Mississippi State and New Mexico State never reached the end zone against the Crimson Tide.

The Bearcats drove down the field on their opening possession of the game down to the Alabama nine. The Crimson Tide caused two straight incompletions and then a loss on third down to force Cincinnati to settle for the field goal.

On the opening drive of the second half, Cincinnati got into the Alabama red zone, but once again the defense stepped up to hold it to a field goal.

Alabama linebacker Christian Harris said the defense has a "bend don't break" mindset whenever they get into the red zone.

"It’s tough sometimes however you get down there, whether it’s giving up a big play or a big catch or having a penalty," Harris said. "But once you get down there, you can’t let them into the end zone. I think it’s something a lot of defenses pride themselves on, and we definitely do as well. It definitely gets tough down there, but that’s something that we work on."

The defense allowed only 218 total yards and six points to a team that came in averaging 38.8 points and over 400 yards per game. It was the fifth time this season Alabama has held an opponent under 220 yards.

For most of the game, the Cincinnati offense couldn't even move the ball because of the pressure of the Alabama front seven. The Crimson Tide had six sacks and six pass breakups. Many of the breakups came as deflections at the line of scrimmage, including two from senior captain Phidarian Mathis.

"Everybody up front did a really great job of trying to close the pocket and with the low ball flight, keeping their hands up and batting balls with those short passes coming out quick because they know the pressure’s coming," Harris said. "Our front seven definitely did a really great job with that today."

Will Anderson Jr. had two sacks while Mathis, Dallas Turner and DJ Dale each added a sack. Christian Harris had half a sack himself. Anderson was named the 2021 Cotton Bowl defensive MVP.

Harris said that the defense's confidence has continued to develop in the second half of the season, but for the defense and team as a whole, the job's not finished yet. Alabama will face the winner of the Orange Bowl between Michigan and Georgia on Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.

"We gotta enjoy this win for 24 hours, and then see who we’re playing in the national championship and get ready for that," Harris said. "But I definitely think we’re locked in. We’re ready."

This story will be updated.