DALLAS — Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has a play-calling preference.  
“If I could, I’d blitz every single play with a million different blitzes and schemes,” Knowles said. “That’s fun for me.”
Knowles indulged a little in the regular season, dialing up more pressure as it wore on. During the Buckeyes’ last four games, they blitzed at their highest rate, doing so just over half the time, according to Pro Football Focus.
But during their run to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, bringing a matchup with Texas in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night, they scaled back.
In routs of Oregon and Tennessee, the Buckeyes blitzed quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Nico Iamaleava on only 9% of their dropbacks, per PFF, their lowest frequency during any stretch this season, a variance from Knowles’ preferred aggressiveness.
“It’s not about me,” Knowles said. “It’s about the players and what’s working and what’s not working in the game.”
The circumstances factored into the shift. The Buckeyes built early leads in both playoff games, reaching the end zone on the first series and going ahead by multiple touchdowns by the end of the first quarter.
“Our offense has been doing so well, particularly early in the game,” Knowles sad, “that it changes the way I call it.”
The risk calculation is different.
“You don’t want to be that guy, just because I want to show my creative side, you end up giving something up,” Knowles said.
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The infrequent blitzing has not come with a tradeoff. While leaning on four pass rushers, the Buckeyes have seen an uptick in sacks in the postseason.
In their opening-round win over Tennessee, they brought down Iamaleava four times and continued to swarm the backfield in the quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl, getting to Gabriel eight times. The 12 sacks were the most in a span of two games this year and made up a third of their total from the regular season.
With opponents falling behind early, their offenses have become one dimensional.
“We’ve gotten Tennessee and Oregon into those situations where they have to pass the ball,” defensive tackle Tyleik Williams said, “and let us rush free without having to worry about the run.”
The defensive linemen have totaled nine of their 12 sacks in the playoff. Seven have been by defensive ends Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau.
“When you got as talented a guys as we have up front, a four-man pressure is feeling like a six-man pressure to the quarterback,” linebacker Sonny Styles said.
Knowles said they have also varied their coverage enough that it’s resulted in quarterbacks holding onto the ball for longer periods of time.
“That’s when the rush delivers,” he said.
According to Pro Football Focus, Gabriel’s average time to throw against Ohio State was 3.4 seconds, and Iamaleava’s was 3.3 seconds. Both were their second-highest averages in a game this season.
Knowles also praised the defensive line, a senior-laden group, for elevating their performance during the stretch run.
“Guys are cutting loose,” he said. “You get down to the end, and they want to keep playing together. They don’t want it to stop.
“Sometimes you get into these moments when you have veterans and there’s always that little bit extra level you can turn up. That’s human nature. You think you’ve given it all until everything’s on the line and you do have that extra gear.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter,@joeyrkaufman or email him atjkaufman@dispatch.com.

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