Chart 6 of 7
Penn State's defense, before and after hiring the best coordinator in football
Change from 2024 to 2025 in standard deviations against equally talented teams. Positive is better. Knowles arrived in 2025 on a three-year, $9m deal.
Stuff rate+2.0 → -0.5
Line yards+1.5 → -0.7
Scoring opps allowed+1.1 → -1.1
Points per drive+1.1 → -0.4
EPA/play allowed+1.1 → +0.1
Big runs allowed+0.6 → -0.4
3rd down allowed-0.1 → -0.4
3rd down distance forced+0.2 → -0.4
Every metric fell. Penn State's talent-adjusted season residual went from +13.7 to +1.2 — the largest one-year fall of any team in the sample.
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