Interesting response, Eric. A 7 or an 8 is fair. The addition of a big name like Knowles to replace Tom Allen, at a price of more than $3 million per season, speaks to Penn State’s commitment. Regarding Penn State’s Anthony Poindexter and Dan Connor, I don’t see them as being similar to Knowles, at least not yet.

Knowles will make Penn State's defense one of the best in the country, but his addition might help the offense too.

Penn State has lured Tom Knowles away from Ohio State. The Nittany Lions have hired Knowles to serve as their defensive coordinator.

SportsLine's model revealed its college basketball predictions for Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Michigan Wolverines on Monday

The Wolverines suffered just their second loss in the Big Ten Friday when they were dominated by the Boilermakers, 91-64, in West Lafayette. The Nittany Lions are also looking to rebound following a 76-75 defeat at Iowa. Michigan’s record in their last ten games is 6-4 while Penn State’s record is 5-5 in their last 10 tilts.