Ohio State DC Jim Knowles breaks silence on Oklahoma rumors ahead of the natty showdown

The Ohio State Buckeyes are preparing to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the National Championship Game. However, for the Buckeyes' defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, there are rumors that may be splitting his attention

In the last couple of days, Knowles has been linked with a move from Ohio State to the Oklahoma Sooners, to be their new defensive coordinator. On Saturday, Knowles responded to these rumors.

“Beat Notre Dame, that's all I'm focused on. These things happen, I guess, when you have success, players are making plays. My job is to put them in the best position. These things come up when you do well.”

Knowles has made limited mention of these rumors, choosing to focus on the Notre Dame game. This is no surprise, as the national championship game is a lot more important in the short term.

However, come Tuesday morning, when the dusk settles on the national championship game, this may be something that Knowles may want to start thinking about.

This season, he has been able to lead an Ohio State defense that has been strong. During their playoff run, the Buckeyes' defense has been overshadowed by the high-performing offense.

Things were different in their Cotton Bowl win over the Texas Longhorns. There, the defense stepped up and made the winning play (forced and then capitalized on a mistake from Longhorns' quarterback Quinn Ewers) to seal them a spot in the National Championship

However, having potentially achieved everything that he could with Ohio State, if they are to win on Monday, there is a chance that Knowles could move on. He could then work his magic on an Oklahoma side that very much struggled this season on all sides of the ball.

Jim Knowles on Ohio State's defense

Jim Knowles has also spoken about the talent in the Ohio State defense. Focusing on the veteran players, Knowles told On3.com:

"(This veteran defense) makes my job easier for sure. Great players, with experience, who are also really good people and want to be coached."

The Buckeyes defense is stacked with talent. This season, the likes of Cody Simon, Caleb Downs and Jack Sawyer (who made the winning play in the Cotton Bowl) have been able to stop any offense from finding the endzone.

They have one final challenge: To stop a Notre Dame offense that can surprise many, especially on the run game. If they can do this, the National Championship trophy will be returning to Columbus.