Jim Knowles is not looking past Conference USA opponent Western Kentucky. In fact, Knowles believes the offense of the Hilltoppers could provide the Ohio State defense its biggest test yet this season.

At his Tuesday press conference, Knowles compared Western Kentucky to a Big 12 style offensively. In particular, he says the Hilltoppers will try and stretch the field sideways while also throwing the ball down the field.

“They’re very similar to a Big 12 type of offense. They’ll throw the ball down the field, they get you running on the perimeter trying to tire out your defensive linemen,” said Knowles. “Get you moving sideways in order to then go up top, create eye violations.”

Asked what to expect out of WKU, Knowles said the Hilltoppers provide “a big test” for the Buckeyes. The defensive coordinator noted his unit’s struggles with explosive plays last season, and Knowles believes this will be the first true test to see how the defense has improved in that area.

“I think it’s a big test, I really do. This is an offense that will attack on the perimeter and down the field. We had some issues with that last year,” Knowles admitted. “We’ve gotten better in our first couple of games in terms of explosive plays and minimizing that, but we haven’t really been tested yet, so this will be important.”

To those who haven’t paid attention to Western Kentucky, Knowles’ comments might sound like hyperbole, but the Hilltoppers are just 2 seasons removed from a record-setting performance by QB Bailey Zappe. He threw for nearly 6,000 yards with 62 passing touchdowns during the 2021 season while WKU produced a pair of receivers with 1,400+ receiving yards.

So far in 2023, WKU QB Austin Reed has thrown for nearly 600 yards with 6 touchdowns while the team as a whole is averaging 46.5 points per game. A season ago, Reed threw for over 4,700 yards with 40 touchdowns as the Hilltoppers averaged 36.4 points per game and recorded 9 wins.

(H/T Eleven Warriors)