After winning the national championship last season with the Ohio State football program, Jim Knowles made the decision to leave the Buckeyes and head for Penn State. It was a decision that was clearly money motivated, as he is now the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college football.
Despite that massive check, the Nittany Lions have lost two straight games thanks to poor defense. Knowles' unit gave up 30 points and 424 yards against the Oregon Ducks last week. On Saturday, Penn State gave up 42 points to winless UCLA en route to an embarrassing loss.
Fans of the Ohio State Buckeyes have been quick to celebrate Knowles' failure, especially after he had some unsavory comments to ESPN after he left Ohio State. Still, Buckeye fans should feel a little bad for the amount of blame that Knowles is getting for one big reason.
Ohio State football fans should feel bad about fans piling on Jim Knowles
Knowles has always needed more than one year to get his defensive system working well. The same was true in 2021 when Knowles took over with the Buckeyes. That season saw Ohio state give up several big plays throughout the season. The Buckeyes still made the CFP.
They made the CFP because Knowles had a good head coach and a good offense on his team. He has neither with the Nittany Lions. James Franklin has a history of failing in big games, and Knowles is getting an outsized amount of blame. Knowles is still a very good coach.
Should Ohio State fans feel super bad about all of the hate Knowles is getting? No. He left Ohio State on his own volition, deciding that Penn State was a better program to coach. Fans should dislike him. Even so, the first-year DC is getting too much of the blame for the losses Penn State has suffered.
Matt Patricia and Ryan Day should still take a victory lap. He seems to be a better hire than Knowles was for Penn State. Penn State's season already looks over, while Ohio State is the best team in the country.