Quinshon Judkins, Jeremiah Smith highlight AP All-College Football Playoff team

Ohio State’s run to its first national championship in a decade enabled the Buckeyes to capture the Associated Press’ All-College Football Playoff team.

Since only four teams have actually won any playoff games this season — Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas and Penn State — all but one of the players on the overall playoff team come from those four schools.

With some defenses running 4-3 schemes, others using 3-4 and still others using a base nickel defense, AP has all the bases covered by having a defense with four linemen, four linebackers and five defensive backs.

With that said, here’s a look at this year’s AP All-College Football Playoff team:

QB Will Howard, Ohio State

Howard completed more than 75% of his passes for 1,150 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions in four playoff games. He was given a nickname Offensively most valuable player of the championship game after going 17 of 21 for 231 yards with two touchdowns and rushing for 57 yards on 16 carries in Winning 34-23 Above Notre Dame.

RB Trevion Henderson, Ohio State

Henderson caught two touchdowns in each of Ohio State’s first two playoff victories and then caught a pass behind the line of scrimmage and turned it into a 75-yard score for the Buckeyes. 28-14 Cotton Bowl victory Over Texas. He finished the playoff game with 36 carries for 265 yards and four touchdowns, as well as eight catches for 149 yards and one touchdown.

RB Quinchon Judkins, Ohio State

Before the championship game, the overall playoff squad featured one of Penn State’s two standout running backs — Nicholas Singleton or Kaytron Allen — to pair with Henderson. But Judkins earned his way onto the team with his standout performance against Notre Dame. He ran for 100 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries while also catching two passes for 21 yards and a touchdown. Judkins finished the playoffs with 255 yards rushing and seven total touchdowns (6 rushing and 1 receiving).

WR Matthew Golden, Texas

Texas was on the verge of elimination from the playoffs before Golden made a 28-yard catch on a fourth-and-13 overtime play of the game. 39-31 Peach bowl Quarterfinal win over Arizona State. He totaled 11 receptions for 249 yards to go along with that touchdown in three playoff games. This included seven receptions for 149 yards against Arizona State.

WR Jaden Greathouse, Notre Dame

Greathouse totaled just 359 receiving yards in Notre Dame’s first 14 games before topping the 100-yard mark in each of the Fighting Irish’s last two contests. He caught seven passes for 105 yards and had a 54-yard touchdown run with 4:38 remaining in Notre Dame’s 27-24 Orange Bowl win over Penn State. He then had six receptions for 128 yards — including touchdowns of 34 and 30 yards — to spark Notre Dame’s run to the championship game.

WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State

The Associated Press All-America second-team selection capped off his exciting freshman season by catching 19 passes for 381 yards and five touchdowns in four playoff games. He scored twice in a 42-17 first-round win over Tennessee and followed that up by making seven receptions for 187 yards and two more scores in a 41-21 Rose Bowl rout of previously undefeated Oregon State. Smith caught five passes for 88 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame, and his 56-yard catch on a third-and-11 play set up a crucial field goal.

T Tyler Warren, Penn State

The John Mackey Award winner as best tight end in college football scored twice in Penn State’s 31-14 Fiesta Bowl win over Boise State. Although Penn State didn’t catch any passes from its wideouts in the Orange Bowl, Warren hammered the Nittany Lions’ offense by catching six passes for 74 yards and running for 21 yards on two carries. He totaled 16 receptions for 171 yards and three carries for 27 yards in three playoff games.

All-purpose Cam Schatebo, Arizona State

Skattebo, an AP All-America first-team running back, sparked Arizona State’s Peach Bowl comeback by rushing for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, catching eight passes for 99 yards and even throwing a 42-yard touchdown pass.

OL Kelvin Banks, Texas

Banks, a first-team AP All-America selection, allowed one quarterback rush and zero sacks in Texans’ three playoff games, according to Pro Football Focus. He had a PFF overall block rating of over 75 in 38-24 first-round wins over Clemson and against Ohio State. He had an 86.4 pass blocking rating in the semifinal loss to the Buckeyes.

OL Carson Heisman, Ohio State

After playing center in 2023, Heisman moved to left guard this season to make room for Alabama transfer Seth McLaughlin. But after McLaughlin injured his Achilles tendon in November, Heisman returned to center and helped open up plenty of holes for Henderson and Judkins throughout the playoffs.

OL Donovan Jackson, Ohio State

Jackson made the AP All-America team as a second-team guard, but moved to left tackle when Josh Simmons suffered a season-ending knee injury in October. He didn’t allow a single sack in any of Ohio State’s four playoff games, according to PFF.

OL Nolan Rucci, Penn State

Penn State’s left tackle has allowed no sacks and only one quarterback hurried in three playoff games, according to Pro Football Focus. PFF rated Rucci over 70 overall in each of Penn State’s playoff games.

Emil Wagner, Notre Dame

This right tackle provided stability to a Notre Dame offensive line that has dealt with multiple injuries during this playoff run. He has allowed just one sack in four playoff games, according to PFF.

D. L. Abdul Carter, Penn State

Carter, an AP All-America first-team selection and AP Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, injured his shoulder against Boise State but returned for the semifinals and collected five tackles and a sack against Notre Dame while playing hurt. He also had three tackles and a sack against SMU.

DL Danny Dennis Sutton, Penn State

Dennis Sutton totaled 4.5 sacks in Penn State’s three playoff games. He collected two sacks and forced a fumble against Notre Dame, threw one sack against Boise State and had 1.5 against SMU.

DL Jack Sawyer, Ohio State

Sawyer provided one of the most memorable plays of this playoff by getting a strip sack and returning a fumble 83 yards for a crucial touchdown against the Texans. He also had 2 sacks against Oregon and 1.5 against Tennessee.

DL JT Tuemolo, Ohio State

Tuimoloau totaled 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in Ohio State’s four playoff games. He had two sacks against both Tennessee and Oregon, 1.5 against Texas and one against Notre Dame.

LB Drake Bowen, Notre Dame

Bowen has had eight tackles in each of Notre Dame’s last two games, and also forced a fumble against Ohio State. He had 1.5 tackles for loss in Notre Dame’s 27-17 first-round win over Indiana and had six total tackles and a half a tackle for loss in the Irish’s 23-10 Sugar Bowl win over Georgia.

LB Jack Kiser, Notre Dame

Notre Dame’s sixth-year senior linebacker collected six tackles, a sack and forced a fumble against Georgia. He followed that up by recording a team-high 10 tackles against Penn State.

LB Cody Simon, Ohio State

Simon totaled 38 tackles in Ohio State’s four playoff games. He had 12 tackles in the first-round win over Tennessee and had 11 tackles plus two sacks against Oregon.

LB Sonny Stiles, Ohio State

Styles had nine tackles — three for loss — as well as a sack and a forced fumble against the Texans. He also recorded a sack against Notre Dame.

DB Jahidi Barron, Texas

Barron, an AP All-America first-team player, assisted in a coverage scheme that limited Smith to one catch for 3 yards in Texas’ semifinal loss to Ohio State. He had 11 tackles against Arizona State. He broke up two passes against Clemson and earned a 78.5 overall rating from PFF for that game.

DB Caleb Downs at Ohio State

This first-team AP All-America safety boosted Ohio State’s secondary throughout the postseason. His interception with less than two minutes left in the game thwarted Texas’ last-ditch hopes of a comeback in the Cotton Bowl semifinals.

DB Leonard Moore, Notre Dame

The freshman stepped into a featured role after a season-ending injury to preseason AP All-America second-team selection Benjamin Morrison and developed into Notre Dame’s best cornerback. PFF gave him overall defensive ratings of 76.4 against Indiana and 78.5 against Georgia.

DB Xavier Watts, Notre Dame

Watts, a first-team AP All-America safety, made an interception in the red zone that prevented Indiana from taking an early lead in their first-round playoff game at Notre Dame. PFF rated him 70 or higher in three of Notre Dame’s four contests.

DB Zackie Whitley, Penn State

Whitley had two interceptions in the playoff game – one against Boise State and one against Notre Dame. He collected 16 tackles and a sack against Notre Dame. He made seven tackles and broke up a pass against SMU.

K Mitch Jeter, Notre Dame

Jeter had a 27-yard field goal attempt bounce off the left upright in the fourth quarter of the championship game, but he also helped Notre Dame reach that point by making a 41-yard tie-breaker with seven seconds left in the Orange Bowl. Jeter went 7-of-9 on field goal attempts in the playoffs, including 6-of-6 from 40-49 yards.

B. James Rendell, Notre Dame

Rendell’s 41.5 playoff batting average may not seem particularly impressive on the surface, but he hit seven of his 13 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and didn’t have a single touchdown.

KR Jayden Harrison, Notre Dame

Harrison’s 98-yard return early in the second half in the Sugar Bowl was the best return of anyone in this playoff game.

Associated Press report.

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