Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles met with media ahead of Saturday’s matchup between No. 4 Ohio State (11-1) and No. 1 Georgia (13-0) in Atlanta. talkingCredits: Zachary Riley | Photo Editor
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles considers the Buckeyes close to the pinnacle of college football, which propelled him into the defensive coordinator position last offseason.
Knowles had his first chance to coach in the College Football Playoffs in Oklahoma last season, but ultimately lost to Baylor in the Big 12 Championship Game. The CFP did not invite the Cowboys to the playoffs after their second loss of the season.
The standard year and year at Ohio State University is to compete for CFP berths and compete for national championships. Although he fell short of his two goals of beating Michigan or winning the Big Ten Conference championship this season, Ohio State still qualified for the playoffs and still has the national title. .
Knowles has reached the pinnacle he envisioned by joining the Buckeyes, but he doesn’t spend much time smelling the flowers. “It’s not my job,” he said.
“I thought we were here when I took the job,” Knowles said. “I knew this was going to happen, so I came all this way.”
Knowles and No. 4 Buckeyes will take on No. 1 Georgia in Saturday’s Peach Bowl, averaging about 492 yards per game and ranked eighth overall offense in the Football Bowl subdivision.
Stopping the Bulldogs’ momentum and keeping the offense stalling on the field, which has averaged 39.2 points per game in the regular season, is a priority for Knowles. He said he expected a “big challenge”, but believes the Buckeyes are accepting.
“Stoppage rate is very important to me and I think our staff takes it seriously,” Knowles said. So we’re talking about a lot of players trying to play at the next level. We’re talking about serious programs with consistency and variety.”
Criticism of the Buckeyes’ defense has lingered over the past few seasons, and a loss to Michigan in 2021 prompted head coach Ryan Day to make changes for better results.
Ohio State’s second straight loss against the Wolverines on November 26 was the result of explosive play as Michigan scored five touchdowns of 45 yards or more, including runs of 75 and 85 yards. Day said the foundation of coaching is one of what it takes to correct errors defensively.
No player wants to make mistakes on the football field. Day said he expects him to lead the coach to success. Knowles said it was “up to me” to fulfill his role as coach and that he would be held accountable if a player made a mistake.
“As a coach, I think it’s easy to say, ‘That guy blew this particular play,’ or, ‘He didn’t get it right, so I told him that.'” ,I did not do it. I didn’t do enough,” Knowles said. “If he didn’t come right into the game, he’d have to point his finger at me and I’d say ‘OK, what did I call you?’ why did i call it Why didn’t we finish that play? And those are the things that keep me up at night. ”
Knowles said Ohio State took steps to assess what was right and what was wrong with the loss at the end of the regular season, and Day said he saw progress toward Georgia’s game plan. He said that
“It’s a coach’s job to make sure he can be the most successful, and then it’s his job to play really hard,” Day said. “Certainly we have put together a good plan after taking a hard look at what happened in the previous game and the challenges facing this game.”
Knowles said reaching the CFP is one of “Ohio State’s expectations,” and Buckeye’s defense will be the focus.
For Knowles, he reached the pinnacle of college football (Ohio State and CFP), finally getting the Buckeyes back into the playoffs after they missed the playoffs a season ago.
The Buckeyes are looking to get their second chance this season, but Knowles is focused, he said. he has a job to do
“They need to know that they have a leader who believes in them and that we have great plans so they can play fast,” Knowles said.