Jim Knowles seemed to catch the Scarlet Knights off-guard with a unique game plan tailored just for them.
While watching the tape of Ohio State's win last weekend in Piscataway, I thought of Nolan Ryan and DeVonta Smith.
Coombs' full-time successor, Jim Knowles, was given a clear mandate to modernize the approach of the OSU defense upon his arrival. Yet although there was more pre-snap disguise in his first season a year ago, Knowles largely relied upon aggressive, single-high man-coverage and a plethora of blitzes with the players he inherited.
Throughout the first half, the Rutgers offense was treated to a steady diet of safety blitzes, as Sonny Styles, Josh Proctor, or Jordan Hancock shot through an interior gap as ends Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau set the edges. Most often, the cornerbacks manned up outside receivers while a free safety roamed in the middle of the field behind the blitz.
This interior player doesn't simply crash through his gap, instead, he stays back behind the nose tackle who tries his best to occupy a double-team. The offensive line executing the combo block has a more difficult time determining which player should climb to the second level and which should stay with the nose, keeping the linebacker free for an extra beat to mirror the running back being funneled in his direction.
While the blitzing safety was most often Styles or Proctor, with the other dropping deep as the free safety, Knowles had a way of bringing his third safety, Jordan Hancock. Lined up in the slot most often, Hancock would fire through the B-gap while Eichenberg blitzed through the A next to him.
The Buckeyes started looking sloppy after spending over 11 minutes on the field during the third quarter. Following Hancock's interception and Proctor's injury, the Scarlet Knights began to pop some chunk plays as the tired defense failed to execute as consistently.
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