Ryan Day gets brutally honest about former OSU DC Jim Knowles before Penn State game

Ohio State coach Ryan Day is soley focused on beating Penn State this Saturday to keep the Buckeyes unbeaten.

But Day recognizes the weirdness of having to face his former defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, who departed for State College from Columbus in a blockbuster offseason coaching move following the Buckeyes' national title win against Notre Dame in January.

"There hasn't been much communication," Day said of his relationship with Knowles at his weekly presser. "He did a great job when he was here, helped us win a national championship and kind of left it at that. You know, we had to go make a replacement and move on from there. That's kind of how it is. It was abrupt, but we certainly respect the work that he did when he was here."

Ryan Day discusses his relationship with Jim Knowles and his decision to leave Ohio State to become Penn State's defensive coordinator this offseason. pic.twitter.com/mXr8aSkMVb
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Despite the Nittany Lions remaining in the thick of their fallout from now-former coach James Franklin's firing and the season-ending injury to quarterback Drew Allar, Day said he expects Penn State to play fast, physical and angry as it seeks one of college football's biggest upsets this Saturday (noon ET, FOX) in Columbus.

Ryan Day said he and his coaching staff have told the team it needs to take Penn State seriously despite its record.

"I don't think there are many teams in the country that have more talent than Penn State has," Day said. "Sure, (the season) hasn't gone the way they wanted it…
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"I don't think there are many teams in the country that have more talent than Penn State has," Day said. "Sure, (the season) hasn't gone the way they wanted it to, but that doesn't change that they still have really good players."

The Nittany Lions were AP preseason No. 2 and were picked by many college football pundits to make a deep playoff run, with some suggesting a national title berth was possible.

"When you looked at this game a few months ago, it was an absolute matchup game," Day said. "That has not changed. It's still the same players other than the quarterback, and our guys know that, they understand that. They know that it's about us; it's not about our opponent."

Day says NFL-type talent on both sides of the ball makes them a team the Buckeyes would be foolish to overlook.

"We'll focus on our preparation, but you need to know your opponent, and these are very, very talented players," Day said. "They have a lot of NFL players, and we know they have really good coaches. All of that is gonna lead into a huge matchup game for us on Saturday."

The Buckeyes haven't suffered defeat against Penn State since 2016, having won the last eight head-to-head meetings while posting a 14-2 home record through their last 16 contests since Oct. 1993.