The Penn State Nittany Lions saw their season come to an end in the College Football Playoff semifinal, losing a close game to Notre Dame. Nobody knew it then, but their future defensive coordinator,

Jim Knowles said the decision to leave Ohio State and take the same defensive coordinator job at Penn State came down to returning to his home state. Knowles grew up in Philadelphia, though he said during his introductory press conference that Penn State’s campus in rural State College felt like a world away.