Ohio State Coach Provides Extra Motivation For Michigan State Game

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles provided his defense with extra motivation.

Sep 2, 2023; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles watches warm ups prior to the NCAA football game at Indiana University Memorial Stadium. Ohio State won 23-3. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Following the Ohio State Buckeyes' 49-14 win over the Marshall Thundering Herd last week, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was not happy. His defense did not play up to the standards that he was expecting and he did something to make that very clear.

Not only did he refuse to name a Defensive Player of the Game, he spoke to the media about not seeing a single player that deserved the recognition for their effort.

As shared by Chase Brown of Eleven Warriors, Knowles dropped some blunt honest truth.

“You got to speak truth. While we had some Champions, we had no one that we thought really showed a Silver Bullet of the Game performance.”

Those words will sting for Ohio State's defense. He was very openly unhappy with how the team performed.

Looking ahead to this coming week's game against the Michigan State Spartans, Knowles has provided some extra motivation. His defense will bring just a little extra to shut down their coordinator's criticism.

Our own Anthony Moeglin took a look at Knowles' statement. Take a look at what he had to say about the situation:

As Moeglin shared, the Buckeyes will be going up against a middle of the pack offense. Michigan State doesn't do anything exceptionally well on the offensive side of the ball.

Aidan Chiles will be the starting quarterback for the Spartans and he has thrown seven interceptions this year. Ohio State will have a huge opportunity to add to that total.

Putting pressure on Chiles will be a priority and capitalizing on mistakes in the secondary will back that up. There is no reason why the Buckeyes shouldn't force a couple of turnovers throughout this game.

On the running side of things, Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams has rushed for 271 yards on 49 carries and Nate Carter has 207 yards on 47 carries. They are solid running backs, but they're not big-time threats.

To start off Big Ten play, the Ohio State defense should have a strong performance. The added motivation of Knowles' recent comments should help fire the team up to come out strong.