Before the season began, this upcoming meeting between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions was supposed to be a clash of the titans. It's now anything but the sort.

Ohio State has been dominant, getting off to a 7-0 start. The Buckeyes are ranked No. 1 in the country. Meanwhile, Penn State — which entered the season as a national championship favorite — is 3-4, fired its head coach and lost its starting quarterback for the season.

So, yeah: the fireworks aren't going to be there like we all initially expected, but there is certainly one intriguing storyline to follow: Jim Knowles heading back to Columbus.

Knowles, of course, had been serving as Ohio State's defensive coordinator and helped lead the Buckeyes to a national title last year before abruptly bolting for Happy Valley shortly after.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was asked about Knowles in the lead up to Saturday's matchup, and he kept his comments short and sweet ... but you could sense a little something there.

“Like any relationship, when it breaks off, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. But there really hasn't been much communication,” Day told reporters. “He did a great job when he was here, helped us win a national championship, and kind of left it at that. And then it was, ‘Hey, we got to go make a replacement,’ and move on from there. So yeah, that’s kind of how it is. It was abrupt, but we certainly respect the work that he did when he was here.”

You can certainly tell that Day is a bit bothered. Not only did Knowles leave at the drop of a hat, but he did so for a hated Big Ten rival. But, as he always does, Day kept it classy, refusing to throw any shots at his former comrade.

He did, however, acknowledge that Knowles' departure was clear evidence of just how much the NCAA landscape has changed.

“You're seeing some things that maybe we're not used to. But I guess when you look at the NFL, you see more of that than you would in college,” Day said. “I guess we're getting more like the NFL. So we try not to take those things personal, but we are human.”

Ohio State hired Matt Patricia to replace Knowles, so even though Knowles kind of left the Buckeyes in a lurch, they were able to land on their feet. And look: Ohio State has the top-ranked defense in the nation once again.