Ohio State Suffers 'Huge Blow' During Sunday's Celebration

01/26/2025 01:38 PM

Ohio State is celebrating its national championship season at The Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday. But the Buckeyes have suffered a "huge blow" during it.

Ryan Day's team, which defeated Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff national title game on Monday evening, has suffered a major loss to its coaching staff.

The Buckeyes are re-loading in a bunch of different ways, though according to a report, Ryan Day's coaching staff has suffered a major loss on Sunday.

Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is reportedly leaving the Buckeyes for the same job at Penn State. Knowles, who previously left Oklahoma State for Ohio State, is reportedly getting a massive raise to leave.

Two reliable sources have confirmed that Knowles is leaving. It's a "huge blow" for Ohio State's coaching staff heading into the 2025 season.

"Reliable sources confirm that barring last second change of heart, Jim Knowles is headed to Penn State. He has notified James Franklin that he'll accept their offer of well over $3 million to be highest paid coordinator in college football history. Knowles is from Philly," Toby Rowland reported on Sunday afternoon.

Reliable sources confirm that barring last second change of heart, Jim Knowles is headed to Penn State. He has notified James Franklin that he'll accept their offer of well over $3 million to be highest paid coordinator in college football history. Knowles is from Philly.

— Toby Rowland (@TRowOU) January 26, 2025

Knowles helped turn Ohio State's defense into one of the best in the country. The Buckeyes took down Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame in the four College Football Playoff games. Ohio State's defense, led by Knowles, paved the way for their championship run in a majority of the playoff games.

But Ohio State will now be losing its top defensive coach - to a premier rival. Penn State is paying up to land Knowles, who will look to build the Nittany Lions program into a championship-level one in 2025.

Ohio State and Penn State are both expected to be among the top teams in the country in 2025. This could make for quite a rivalry, too.