Scarlet Sunrise: Jim Knowles nominated for Broyles Award

COLUMBUS — Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has overhauled the Buckeyes defense since the game against Oregon, in which the Buckeyes gave up 32 points in a loss.

He’s now up for the Broyles Award, which is handed out to the country’s top assistant coach, because of the job he has done with this defense.

Knowles has completely turned the Ohio State defense around in three years with the program, taking a hapless unit and turning it into the best defense in the country for the last couple of years — and especially this season.

The Buckeyes are currently (courtesy of Tony Gerdeman):
No. 1 nationally in scoring defense (10.7 points per game allowed)
No. 1 in total defense (241.7 yards per game allowed)
No. 2 in yards per play (4.1)
No. 3 in rush defense and yards per carry (90.0 yards per game allowed / 2.7 yards per carry allowed)
No. 4 in passing yards per game allowed (151.7)
No. 1 in red zone touchdown percentage (36.0%)
No. 1 in scrimmage plays of 40/50+ yards allowed (2 allowed / 1 allowed)

The players are very good, but so is their defensive coordinator. Knowles is getting some recognition for the work he has done at Ohio State. He’s up for the Broyles Award after being a finalist for it at Oklahoma State in 2021.

Caleb Downs named finalist for Thorpe Award, Bednarik Award

Ohio State superstar safety Caleb Downs isn’t putting up the same numbers he did last year at Alabama, when he had 107 total tackles and was a Freshman All American for the Crimson Tide.

But Downs is clearly one of the best defensive players in college football this fall, and his impact reaches far more than just the hard numbers. On Tuesday, Downs was named a finalist for the Bednarik Award, which has been given annually to the top defensive player in college football since 1995. He’s also a finalist for the Thorpe Award, given annually to the top defensive back in all of college football.

Downs has 50 total tackles, six tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and three pass breakups for the Buckeyes this season. He’s one of the leaders of the unit. He also flashed his elite ability as a punt returner Saturday against Indiana, when he had a 79-yard touchdown on special teams in the biggest game of the season.

ICYMI: Buckeyes beat Green Bay in nonconference action

COLUMBUS — Ohio State continues to plow through its mid-major portion of the nonconference slate. The latest win came Monday night over Green Bay inside the Schottenstein Center. And the Buckeyes scored more than 100 points for the second straight game after doing it Friday night against Campbell.

Final score: Buckeyes 102, Green Bay 69.

Bruce Thornton led all scorers with a game-high 25 points on a historic night for the talented guard. He crossed the 1,000-career point mark in just his 76th career game with the Buckeyes, who improved to 5-1 on the season with the lone loss coming at Texas A&M. Thornton was certainly the star of the game, but he wasn’t alone.

Thornton was one of seven Buckeyes in double figures scoring the basketball. Evan Mahaffey and Micah Parrish and Devin Royal each had 10, Sean Stewart had 11, John Mobley Jr. had 14 and Meechie Johnson had 17 for the Buckeyes in the win. Royal had 11 rebounds to notch a double-double for Ohio State, too.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 3 days

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