Ohio State's defense regains its swagger by 'going back to the basics'

In the immediate aftermath of Ohio State's hard-fought victory over Penn State on Saturday, a road victory against what was, at the time, the No. 3 team in the country, the footage from a raucous visiting locker room swiftly went viral on social media. The video shows the Buckeyes cramped into a narrow space at Beaver Stadium as rap music blares and different members of the coaching staff take turns dancing in front of the team. Everyone's excitement and jubilation reach new levels when defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, age 59, forces his way into the middle of the melee and unleashes, well, something. 

"It was a big hit in the '80s," Knowles deadpanned earlier this week when asked about his spine-tilting, feet-flailing dance moves that prompted several players to whip out their cell phone cameras for documentation. 

Imagining Knowles at the center of a celebratory fracas seemed entirely unlikely as recently as three weeks ago, when Ohio State and its fans were reeling from a 32-31 road loss to Oregon in which the defense surrendered 496 yards of total offense and the secondary was gashed by quarterback Dillon Gabriel, a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, for one downfield pass after another. It seemed unlikelier, still, after the Buckeyes came off their bye week only to escape with a 21-17 home win over Nebraska that included a fourth-quarter deficit and the defense yielding more than 120 rushing yards for a third consecutive outing.

But then came last week's 20-13 road win over Penn State and what amounted to a defensive masterpiece from Knowles and his players. Against an offense known for its confusion-inducing pre-snap motion and algebraic formational variety — the likes of which placed the Nittany Lions among