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Jim Knowles' defenses by the numbers at Ohio State, Penn State
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- Jim Knowles' defenses by the numbers at Ohio State, Penn State
Tennessee hired defensive coordinator Jim Knowles following the 2025 regular season. He was Penn State's defensive coordinator in 2025 after serving in the same capacity at Ohio State from 2022-24.
Tennessee played against Ohio State and Knowles in the College Football Playoff during the 2024 season.
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"Hiring Jim Knowles was our top priority from the start of this process," fifth-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. "Jim has a proven track record of developing elite defenses that play with an edge, and we got to see that first-hand during the 2024 College Football Playoff.
"His defenses are always physical, well prepared and can adapt quickly in-game against today's complex offenses. He's a competitor, a winner and someone who will get the most out of our players in practice and on game day. We are thrilled to welcome Jim to Rocky Top as he helps us chase championships."
Following Knowles being hired by Tennessee, Vols Wire looks at his defenses by the numbers from 2022-25 in the Big Ten.
More: 2026 Tennessee football schedule, opponents, game dates
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Jim Knowles' defenses by the numbers at Ohio State, Penn State
More: Jim Knowles' ties with David Cutcliffe
Jim Knowles' defenses ranked nationally, turnovers, sacks each season
| Year |
Total defense |
YPG |
INT |
FR |
Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 |
No. 34 |
334.3 |
6 |
7 |
28 |
| 2024 |
No. 1 |
254.6 |
10 |
9 |
53 |
| 2023 |
No. 3 |
265.4 |
7 |
4 |
28 |
| 2022 |
No. 14 |
321.5 |
11 |
7 |
34 |
More: Josh Heupel details Jim Knowles being 'top priority' at Tennessee
2025 Penn State, 6–6 (3–6 Big Ten)
| Opponent |
Yards allowed |
|---|---|
| Oregon (L, 30-24 2 OT) |
424 (248 passing, 176 rushing) |
| at UCLA (L, 42-37) |
435 (166 passing, 269 rushing) |
| Northwestern (L, 22-21) |
282 (163 passing, 199 rushing) |
| at Iowa (L, 25-24) |
313 (68 passing, 245 rushing) |
| at Ohio State (L, 38-14) |
480 (316 passing, 164 rushing) |
| Indiana (L, 27-24) |
326 (218 passing, 108 rushing) |
| at Michigan State (W, 28-10) |
229 (128 passing, 101 rushing) |
| Nebraska (W, 37-10) |
318 (187 passing, 131 rushing) |
| at Rutgers (W, 40-36) |
533 (338 passing, 195 rushing) |
*Games against Power Four opponents
All opponents on third down against Penn State: 67-of-161
All opponents on fourth down against Penn State: 14-of-30
All opponents red zone attempts-scores: 37-of-44 (26 touchdowns)
2024 Ohio State, 14–2 (7–2 Big Ten), national champions
| Opponent |
Yards allowed |
|---|---|
| at Michigan State (W, 38-7) |
246 (199 passing, 47 rushing) |
| Iowa (W, 35-7) |
226 (110 passing, 116 rushing) |
| at Oregon (L, 32-31) |
496 (341 passing, 155 rushing) |
| Nebraska (W, 21-17) |
273 (152 passing, 121 rushing) |
| at Penn State (W, 20-13) |
270 (150 passing, 120 rushing) |
| Purdue (W, 45-0) |
206 (108 passing, 98 rushing) |
| at Northwestern (W, 31-7) |
259 (201 passing, 58 rushing) |
| Indiana (W, 38-15) |
153 (68 passing, 85 rushing) |
| Michigan (L, 13-10) |
234 (62 passing, 172 rushing) |
| Tennessee (W, 42-17) |
256 (104 passing, 152 rushing) |
| Oregon (W, 41-21) |
276 (299 passing, -23 rushing) |
| Texas (W, 28-14) |
341 (283 passing, 58 rushing) |
| Notre Dame (W, 34-23) |
308 (255 passing, 53 rushing) |
*Games against Power Four opponents
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All opponents on third down against Ohio State: 80-of-229
All opponents on fourth down against Ohio State: 20-of-28
All opponents red zone attempts-scores: 23-of-38 (16 touchdowns)
2023 Ohio State, 11–2 (8–1 Big Ten)
| Opponent |
Yards allowed |
|---|---|
| Indiana (W, 23-3) |
153 (82 passing, 71 rushing) |
| at Notre Dame (W, 17-14) |
351 (175 passing, 176 rushing) |
| Maryland (W, 37-17) |
302 (196 passing, 106 rushing) |
| at Purdue (W, 41-7) |
257 (134 passing, 123 rushing) |
| Penn State (W, 20-12) |
240 (191 passing, 49 rushing) |
| at Wisconsin (W, 24-10) |
258 (164 passing, 94 rushing) |
| at Rutgers (W, 35-16) |
361 (129 passing, 232 rushing) |
| Michigan State (W, 38-3) |
182 (88 passing, 94 rushing) |
| Minnesota (W, 37-3) |
159 (89 passing, 70 rushing) |
| at Michigan (L, 30-24) |
338 (182 passing, 156 rushing) |
| Missouri (L, 14-3) |
331 (128 passing, 203 rushing) |
*Games against Power Four opponents
All opponents on third down against Ohio State: 54-of-191
All opponents on fourth down against Ohio State: 10-of-18
All opponents red zone attempts-scores: 21-of-28 (13 touchdowns)
2022 Ohio State, 11–2 (8–1 Big Ten)
| Opponent |
Yards allowed |
|---|---|
| Notre Dame (W, 21-10) |
253 (177 passing, 76 rushing) |
| Wisconsin (W, 52-21) |
296 (104 passing, 192 rushing) |
| Rutgers (W, 49-10) |
187 (80 passing, 107 rushing) |
| at Michigan State (W, 49-20) |
202 (195 passing, 7 rushing) |
| Iowa (W, 54-10) |
158 (81 passing, 77 rushing) |
| at Penn State (W, 44-31) |
482 (371 passing, 111 rushing) |
| at Northwestern (W, 21-7) |
285 (79 passing, 206 rushing) |
| Indiana (W, 56-14) |
269 (119 passing, 150 rushing) |
| at Maryland (W, 43-30) |
402 (318 passing, 84 rushing) |
| Michigan (L, 45-23) |
530 (278 passing, 252 rushing) |
| Georgia (L, 42-41) |
533 (398 passing, 135 rushing) |
*Games against Power Four opponents
All opponents on third down against Ohio State: 56-of-187
All opponents on fourth down against Ohio State: 12-of-17
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All opponents red zone attempts-scores: 27-of-29 (18 touchdowns)
*Stats provided by Ohio State and Penn State
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Jim Knowles' defenses by the numbers each season
