'They’re buying in': This defense is why Ohio State hired Jim Knowles

By Michael Cohen
FOX Sports College Football Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The crux of what unfolded at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, where an undefeated Ohio State team remained that way following a 54-10 throttling of Iowa, can be distilled to two scenes along the Buckeyes’ bench early in the first quarter.

Act I: A sheepish group of offensive linemen sat quietly in a semicircle of chairs near midfield, their egos momentarily bruised by what happened on the last offensive snap. Quarterback C.J. Stroud had fumbled when a beautiful twist by Iowa sprung linebacker Joe Evans for a free run at the Heisman Trophy favorite. Evans flung himself at Stroud for a hit that forced a fumble; then he scooped up the loose ball and scampered 11 yards for a score. The offensive line bore the expletive-laden wrath of an assistant coach for failing to pick up the looping rusher.

Act II: A cavalier group of defensive linemen bubbled with delight in its own semicircle of chairs along the sideline, their confidence swelling after what unfolded on the Hawkeyes’ three opening drives. The Buckeyes had intercepted quarterback Spencer Petras on the first play from scrimmage before forcing a three-and-out the next time Iowa’s offense took the field. Their ruthlessness continued one possession later when edge rusher Zach Harrison dislodged the football while flinging Petras to the turf. The defensive line snickered amid retellings of its dominance on the field.

Separated by five minutes of game time, the scenes captured the tenor of a game for which the final score was somewhat misleading. The 54 points were the most surrendered by an Iowa program revered for its defense since the turn of the century, but Ohio State’s offense only chugged to life in the third and fourth quarters. Instead, Saturday’s shellacking belonged to an OSU defense that allowed just 158 total yards, forced six turnovers, racked up five sacks, knocked Petras out of the game and personified the kind of complementary football head coach Ryan Day envisioned last December when he plucked Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State to be the new defensive coordinator.   

"It started right from the get-go," Day said. "I thought we were aggressive. I thought Jim called a great game. The guys played well. They ran to the ball, created turnovers, played hard, played physical and didn’t let up the whole game." 

The 57-year-old Knowles arrived in Columbus after a wildly successful defensive overhaul in Stillwater from 2018-21. He dragged the Cowboys from 112th in total defense during his first season to 82nd in 2019, then 44th in 2020, then fourth in 2021 behind Wisconsin, Georgia and Minnesota at 297.9 yards per game. The Buckeyes finished 59th each of the last two years under former defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, now the cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator at Cincinnati.

Knowles shied away from watching too much film on last year’s Ohio State defense, so he could form fresh opinions as players learned his scheme during the offseason. He preached the importance of viewing each opponent through an indiscriminate lens, regardless of record, to incubate an identity that blends confidence, aggression and the understanding that Ohio State can win with the help of its defense rather than in spite of it. The Buckeyes entered Saturday’s game ranked fifth nationally with an allowance of 253.5 yards per game. 

"They’re buying in," Knowles said. "It doesn’t matter what the score is or who we’re playing, we’re going to operate with a mentality of going out there and stopping them every time. If we’re playing with that kind of mentality and [the opposing] offense is struggling, you see us rise up. And a time is gonna come when we’re gonna need that mentality when the game is close."

They needed that mentality in the first half of Saturday’s game as Ohio State’s offense averaged 3.9 yards per play, misfired on six of its eight third-down attempts and settled for field goals on four drives that stalled within 30 yards of the end zone. Day told reporters the coaching staff knew "it was going to take time to crack" an Iowa defense allowing 8.9 points per game, so Knowles’ crew shouldered the load until the Buckeyes exploded with four consecutive touchdowns to bridge the third and fourth quarters.

The defense bookended the first half with interceptions from nickel back Tanner McCalister, who followed Knowles from Oklahoma State, and inside linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, who returned his 15 yards for a score that stretched the lead to double figures. In between was the sack-fumble for Harrison, two three-and-outs and a failed fake from Iowa punter Tory Taylor that gave Ohio State the ball on the Hawkeyes’ 34-yard line.

"Turnovers win games," Harrison said. "If you look at the turnovers and win percentages, it’s a fact. If you get turnovers, you win more games. So that’s something that we preach and take pride in."

Both the turnovers and win percentage swelled in the second half after Iowa replaced the hapless Petras with backup Alex Padilla. A fumbled quarterback-center exchange on Padilla’s first snap was recovered by the Buckeyes at midfield. Then Padilla threw an interception to McCalister on the Hawkeyes’ next possession.

When it finally ended, the team that calls Columbus home had forced six turnovers after generating only six takeaways all season. And the team with a long flight back to Iowa City had given it away six times after committing just six turnovers all year.

"The identity, the mentality of getting stops on third down, not giving up explosive plays, getting negative yardage plays, being aggressive — I think we saw that take a step today, you know?" Knowles said. "I’m hopeful in terms of the defense continuing to dictate the terms of the game. That’s the mentality that we want to have."

Read more:

• Three takeaways from Ohio State's win over Iowa
• Bo Nix continues to re-write his story, leading Oregon past UCLA
• Top plays from Week 8: Ohio State-Iowa, Clemson-Syracuse and more
• How UCLA, Oregon built themselves into Pac-12 contenders

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.