Ryan Day, Jim Knowles Acknowledge Philosophical Changes to Coaching Styles

The Buckeyes' defense is relying more heavily on raw talent than exotic blitzes to create pressure. Day wants the team to strive for better consistency across the board.

Ohio State won it's first two games against a team that ran the triple option and an FCS opponent that wanted to throw the ball within two seconds of snapping it (after they milked the play clock as far as they could). Tuesday afternoon, Ryan Day and Jim Knowles both admitted that Saturday's game against Western Kentucky will present an entirely different kind of challenge.

With Kyle McCord now officially leading the offense, Ohio State is settling into it's offensive identity for the season. They looked much more comfortable attacking through the air against the Penguins, given a bit more experience from McCord. That said, Ohio State hasn't seen a team with the kind of offensive air-raid philosophy probably since Michael Penix Jr. and the Indiana Hoosiers came to a carboard-cutout filled Horseshoe in 2020. Jim Knowles wasn't in charge of the Silver Bullets at that point, but he certainly saw plenty of pass-heavy offenses in the Big 12.

Knowles made a couple of notable admissions to reporters on Tuesday around his coaching adjustments away from an ultra-aggressive defense in order to give his secondary a better chance to prevent big plays from leaking over the top. That was OSU's Achilles heel in 2021 and 2022 in losses to Oregon, Georgia and twice to Michigan.

Brendan Gulick and Anthony Moeglin discuss what the heard from both coaches on Tuesday and why it matters as the Buckeyes set the tone for the remainder of the season.

It's all straight ahead on Wednesday morning's edition of the Buckeye Breakdown podcast!

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