While I don't think any of us are forgetting that our defense was good in the post season, I think sometimes the Cardale and Zeke explosion makes us overlook just how much a part the defense played in the championship run.
If not for the defense stepping up and becoming monsters out there, we wouldn't have been celebrating anything. When you think of all the turnovers we had in some of those games, especially the final 2, it was our defense that held it together and gave the offense another chance to put up points.
I offer up these 3rd down conversion statistics, that I found on the interwebz http://www.cfbstats.com/2014/team/518/thirddown/defense/gamelog.html
You can see the games we struggled defensively, and you can see just how big the defense was in those final 3 games. Bama and Oregon barely eclipsed Kent State in 3rd down conversion percentage.
Offense wins games, Defense wins Championships! Long live the Silver Bullets!