January 28, 2025
By Max Olson, ESPN: Jim Knowles led Ohio State’s defense to a No. 1 finish in this season’s stop rate standings. Now he’ll try to do it all over again at Penn State in 2025.
What is stop rate? It’s a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. Defensive coordinators have the same goal regardless of their scheme, opponent or conference: prevent points and get off the field. Stop rate is a simple metric but can offer a good reflection of a defense’s effectiveness on a per-drive basis in today’s faster-tempo game.
Great teams find a way to get stops in critical moments. The national champion Buckeyes earned their No. 1 finish by achieving a stop rate of 78.5%. That’s a mighty impressive percentage considering their defense had to endure a four-game College Football Playoff run and a 16-game schedule that featured six top-5 opponents.
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