Jim Knowles says all three levels of Ohio State's defense failed to deliver against Oregon and that he's 'got to do a better job coaching.'
It's beneficial for the Buckeyes to have a bye week after their loss at Oregon, because their defense might need a bit of soul-searching."Got to do a better job coaching. That’s it. That’s the bottom line. We didn’t make enough plays. I didn’t think we were outstanding in any area," Knowles said."Felt like we were always behind. It was uncharacteristic. We got to learn from it.
Big plays cost Ohio State in that Peach Bowl, then were answered with a 2023 outfit that played safer and kept most of the action in front of it. But Oregon hit the Buckeyes for eight plays of 20 yards or more, six of them coming through the air. The two biggest, a 69-yard strike from quarterback Dillon Gabriel to wide receiver Evan Stewart and a 48-yard scoring bomb from Gabriel to wideout Tez Johnson, came over the head of Denzel Burke, the top cornerback on Ohio State's depth chart.
That was hard to tell watching Ohio State's defensive backfield on Saturday as Gabriel torched the team for 341 yards, going 23-of-34 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His 10 yards per attempt bested his season average of 8.7. "We didn’t execute. It’s coachspeak, but we didn’t execute," Knowles said. "We’re doing the same things, but when you play a better opponent, you have to raise level of our game. I just felt like our guys – we just need to coach them better. We need to get them in better positions, focus on the details and make sure that this loss doesn’t beat us twice. Fix the problems. Coach harder. Work harder.
Oregon running back Jordan James also broke off a 25-yard run, one of seven totes he had that went for 7 yards or more. He finished with 23 carries for 115 yards with a touchdown.
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