The Ohio State football and Penn State rivalry is still alive thanks to former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. Less than a week after the Buckeyes national championship win, he made a shocking decision. As a result, Penn State poached Knowles from Ohio State football, and they weren’t happy with the move.

Because of this, the Buckeyes made a simple request to Knowles, according to Brett McMurphy of Action Network. His tweet states “He was asked by the school not to attend Buckeyes’ national title celebration while he deliberated his options, the source said.

“Knowles’ representation tried to reach a deal with OSU the week before the title game & immediately after, but the eventual offer was ‘well below’ the competition, the source said.”

Funny enough, Ohio State football offered Knowles an extension. Although it didn’t say what the offer was, he was making $2.2 million with the Buckeyes before leaving the program.

His current deal with the Nittany Lions is three years for $9.3 million. Still, leaving the national champions in a lateral move leaves a sour taste, let alone going to a Big Ten rival and another CFP contender.

Jim Knowles’s departure leaves Ohio State football feeling sour

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Again, a lateral move like this is one that the program will remember for quite some time. After all, Knowles left a positive mark in Columbus, as his defense improved every single season. Not to mention, Ohio State football had the best defense in all of college football this season.

They ran through Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon, as well as Texas, and finally Notre Dame. Keeping the core of head coach Ryan Day, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, and Knowles together would’ve put the college football world on notice. Multiple championships could’ve been in their sights.

However, Knowles left for a rival and for the same position. While the money grab is warranted, Ohio State football wants nothing to do with him. They don’t even want him to celebrate in the team’s national championship. At the end of the day, it is a business.

Penn State was willing to offer more money and bring a national championship winner. Although the Nittany Lions are already elite defensively, having Knowles can instill that championship DNA that’s been absent for quite a while. He’ll look to prepare Penn State for an opportunity at the Big Dance.

Meanwhile, Ohio State will actively search for its next defensive coordinator and hope to fill the void that Knowles left.