Ohio State senior defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (97) is pulled up by senior linebacker Sonny Styles (0) and junior linebacker Arvell Reese (8) after celebrating his sack on Penn State quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer (17) during the game Saturday at Ohio Stadium. The No. 1 Buckeyes defeated the Nittany Lions 38-14. Credit: Sandra Fu | Managing Photo Editor
The last time defensive coordinator Jim Knowles stepped inside Ohio Stadium, he helped the Buckeyes knock Tennessee out of the first round of the College Football Playoff on Dec. 21, 2024, en route to a national championship.
In his return, he watched his new team, the Penn State Nittany Lions, get schooled by an offense that Knowles’ scheme could not stop.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day didn’t think the Buckeyes had extra motivation to face off against their old coordinator.
“When the season started and when I was looking ahead, I thought maybe that would come into play, but it just didn’t,” Day said. “I don’t think any of our coaches or players were distracted by that.”
Knowles was hired as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator in 2021, and he transformed the Buckeyes into the top-ranked unit in yards and points allowed in 2024.
Entering Saturday, the Buckeyes were No. 1 in those same statistics, now under defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
Prior to Saturday, the Nittany Lions’ fifth-ranked pass defense had only once this season given up over 200 yards passing, in their 30-24 loss to Oregon on Sept. 27. Quarterback Julian Sayin ultimately gashed Penn State’s secondary for 316 yards and four touchdowns.
“We certainly weren’t going to reengineer our offense based on the team that we were going against,” Day said.
Despite the matchup against the former coordinator, safety Caleb Downs thought that the team did not prepare differently to face Knowles.
“It doesn’t matter,” Downs said. “There’s going to be people on the other side of the field every game, and the fact that he was over there, we just knew that he was going to try to do the best for his team, as we’re going to try to do the best for our team.”
As a Sayin touchdown pass to wide receiver Jeremiah Smith gave Ohio State its commanding 38-14 lead with 9:43 left in the fourth quarter, the jumbotron showed Patricia and Knowles side-by-side. Knowles was lustily booed by Buckeye fans.
Jeers turned to cheers for Patricia.
A year ago, Knowles helped design the game plan that powered a title run. This time, he could only watch as the Buckeyes executed a masterpiece of their own without him.
