Bill Connelly released his final 2023 SP+ rankings. Most of the article posted with them is dedicated to assessing 2023 Michigan's place in college football history (gross). But it contained an interesting nugget nonetheless; Ohio State's 2023 defense apparently grades out (in Connelly's system, anyway) as the third best defense of the 2000s:

1. 2011 Alabama (99.8% percentile)
2. 2023 Michigan (99.7%)
3. 2023 Ohio State (99.6%)
4. 2011 LSU (99.4%)
5. 2023 Iowa (99.3%)
6. 2012 Notre Dame (99.1%)
7. 2012 Alabama (99.0%)
8. 2023 Penn State (98.9%)
9. 2012 BYU (98.7%)
10. 2019 Iowa (98.7%)

Now, take this with a grain of salt; I have a hard time believing that four of the eight best defenses of the past twenty-plus seasons resided in this year's underwhelming Big Ten. That said, if you look at Knowles' track record at Duke and Oklahoma State (where his defenses continued to improve into years three and four of his tenure), plus the significant contributors who will be returning (as of this posting, we are set to lose only Mike Hall, Josh Proctor, Tommy Eichenberg, and Steele Chambers, with J.T. Tuimoloau still to be determined), and then add in a little better staff harmony with Guirrieri replacing Eliano as safties coach, there's a real possibility that Ohio State's 2024 defense could be historically good.

Can the offense (led by a new coordinator?) do enough to put the Buckeyes back on top in 2024?