The Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off a national championship win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. After losing to their bitter rival Michigan Wolverines for the fourth straight season, many counted the Buckeyes out.
However, the team rallied together and went on one of the most dominant runs in recent memory. Ohio State trounced the Tennesee Volunteers, Oregon Ducks, and Texas Longhorns en route to the championship, with the only Longhorns posing any real threat.
After such a dominant display of offense, defense, and special teams to end the year, the vibes and atmosphere around Columbus were at an all-time high, unfortunately, things around the program took a sharp turn for the worse on Sunday.
On a day when the team and school were celebrating in Ohio Stadium, news broke that is going to alter the program substantially moving forward and threaten the program’s ability to sustain its dominance.
“Sources: Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is finalizing a three-year deal to become the new defensive coordinator at Penn State. It averages $3.1 million over three years,” reported ESPN’s College Football insider Pete Thamel.
Sources: Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is finalizing a three-year deal to become the new defensive coordinator at Penn State. It averages $3.1 million over three years. pic.twitter.com/fdI7ajMx4o
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 26, 2025
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“James Franklin fishguts Ohio State fans on their day if celebration. It’s glorious,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“What r the chances that Luke fickell would leave for Ohio State dc job,” one fan wanted to know.
“I don’t know when PSU fans or brass will see it but I think this is as good of chance as any. With Knowles and Kotelnicki you have two of the top Coordinators in the business. It won’t be their fault they don’t win. It will always be Franklin,” one fan added.
It’ll be interesting to see who the Bucks get to replace Knowles.
