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Jim Knowles explains how his Ohio State defense displayed toughness vs Notre Dame

On3 imageby:Sam Gillenwater•09/09/22•

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Matt Parker | Lettermen Row

Jim Knowles’ impact was felt immediately on the Ohio State defense in their opener against Notre Dame. The Buckeyes held the Fighting Irish to just 10 points in Knowles’ debut in Columbus. With that Top-5 matchup in their rearview, Knowles wants that to be a foundational performance for the team on that side of the football.

Knowles spoke on the OSU defense after the win Saturday night. He said what he thought was most impressive was his player’s toughness in the run game.

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“I thought they definitely displayed toughness, and that’s physical and mental,” said Knowles. “Controlled the line of scrimmage, the running game, back able to perform under duress to fit the different runs.”

Knowles’ defense stifled the Irish in several facets during the game. In the run game, they held four rushers to just 76 yards on 30 attempts. Tyler Buchner did little better in the passing game with a 10/18 day for 177 yards. With only one rushing score allowed at the start of the second quarter, they only got better as the game progressed.

The offense is always going to be the story with Ohio State, especially this season. However, the defense had to step up big due to a slow offensive start to the season for the Buckeyes and they did for Knowles in the prime-time matchup.

“I think when anybody looks at a defense, you’re gonna say toughness, right? To me, that’s all part of the confidence,” Knowles said. “Fans, Coach Day, and everybody wants to see whatever it takes to get our offense going, but the defense is going to be tough. They’re going to be there. I know he believes in that and this is a great first showing that we can build on.”

The Ohio State faithful needed to see this kind of performance during the opener. Jim Knowles was brought to Columbus for a reason and he proved himself right away. Even when the offense started slow, the defense arguably won them the day. That’s all Ohio state can continue to hope for overall as they keep their season going on next weekend against Arkansas State.