Jeremiah Smith didn’t just help Ohio State beat Iowa. He spent the afternoon tearing through the Buckeyes’ record book while the fifth-ranked team rolled to a 31-14 win at Kinnick Stadium.
Smith finished with 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and the junior now sits alone at the top of Ohio State’s career lists for receptions, receiving touchdowns and receiving yards. His 57-yard touchdown with 6:11 left in the third quarter was the play that pushed the game open, and it came with a little extra flair: Smith turned toward the Iowa crowd and struck the famous Heisman Trophy pose.
“You’ve got to keep the Heisman voters, or whoever it is, knowing that I’m the best player in the country,” Smith said after the game.
The first half already hinted at what was coming. With 12 seconds left before halftime, Smith hauled in a 12-yard touchdown from Julian Sayin to tie Chris Olave’s Ohio State record with his 35th career touchdown reception.
Then came the third-quarter strike, which moved him to 36 and put him ahead of Olave, David Boston and Marvin Harrison Jr. Smith got there in his 34th career game; Olave needed 47.
He also passed Emeka Egbuka’s mark of 205 career catches, finishing with 207, and his 3,381 receiving yards now stand as the most in school history.
Not every huge play showed up in the end zone. In the second quarter, Sayin threw into triple coverage anyway, and Smith came down with a 54-yard gain anyway. Ohio State coach Ryan Day didn’t sugarcoat the throw.
“That was not a great read, but a ridiculous throw and an unbelievable catch,” Day said. “There’s times where [Smith is] covered and [Sayin] still makes the throw. We make the throw and the catch, which just speaks to [Smith’s] ability and Julian’s trust with him.”
Sayin laughed when asked about that play. “Which one?”
Sayin joked. “He’s extremely talented,” Sayin added.
“But he’s somebody who’s a great worker, a hard worker.”
Smith’s production has been piling up fast. After going for 12 catches and 217 yards against Illinois, he became the first receiver in Ohio State history to post consecutive 200-yard games. Across those two outings, he has 23 receptions for 423 yards and six touchdowns.
Apparently, he wasn’t even keeping track.
“I was surprised I had 200 yards,” Smith said. “I didn’t know I had that much.”
Sayin was sharp throughout the afternoon, completing 20 of 27 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Devin McCuin caught the other touchdown, and Ohio State’s offense finished with 484 yards while Iowa managed 238. The Buckeyes also owned the ball for more than 38 minutes.
Ohio State led 17-6 at halftime, then Smith’s third-quarter touchdown stretched the margin and changed the feel of the game. Ja’Kobi Jackson added a seven-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to make it 31-6 before Iowa tacked on a late touchdown and two-point conversion.
The win was Ohio State’s first in Iowa City since 2010, though that result was later vacated, which makes 2006 the program’s last official victory there. It also marked the Buckeyes’ first trip back to Kinnick Stadium since their 55-24 loss in 2017.
Wide receivers do not usually enter the Heisman conversation, but Smith is forcing the issue. He has topped 150 receiving yards and scored a touchdown in four of Ohio State’s first five games this season. Day said the attention isn’t changing who Smith is.
“This is somebody who is not selfish, but he’s very, very competitive,” Day said. “All he cares about is winning.”
Ohio State moved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play, and Smith left Iowa with another layer added to a season that keeps getting louder. He’s no longer just closing in on Ohio State history. He’s rewriting it.
In Other News...
Ohio State Just Delivered The Kind Of Road Win Fans Needed
Ohio State went into Kinnick Stadium and delivered the sort of response win its fans had been waiting for, beating Iowa 31-14 and handing the Hawkeyes their first loss of the season. The Buckeyes controlled the game on both sides of the ball, piling up 484 total yards while keeping Iowa to 238 and a paltry 39 rushing yards, which made this feel less like a tense road test and more like a statement about the gap between the two teams.
Jeremiah Smith was at the center of it, turning the trip into one of those performances that travels well beyond the box score. He finished with 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns, giving Ohio State a dynamic edge whenever it needed one and helping offset a couple of turnovers forced by the defense. For a team that needed a clean, convincing road result, this was exactly the kind of night it was looking for. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremiah Smith Just Put Ohio State Fans On Notice Again
Jeremiah Smith kept the Buckeyes moving in Iowa City, turning a road test against the Hawkeyes into another showcase for Ohio States passing game. The freshman wideout tied the Ohio State touchdown record while finishing with 11 catches for 206 yards and two scores, a performance that helped push the Buckeyes to a 4-1 start and add another layer to what has already become a must-watch season in Columbus.
Smiths latest breakout only raises the stakes for what comes next, because Ohio State now heads back home to face Maryland with its young star drawing even more attention. For a team that has spent the early part of the season trying to establish its identity, his ability to create production anywhere on the field has become one of the biggest reasons the Buckeyes keep looking like a contender. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Earned The Big Ten Spot Fans Wanted Most
Week 5 brought a clearer picture of the Big Ten race, and Ohio State came out of it looking like the conference team fans expected to see at the top. The Buckeyes handled Iowa in a game that carried more weight than a typical early-season road test, adding a quality win to a rsum that is starting to separate from the pack as the league standings and the national picture begin to take shape.
The rankings around them still have plenty of movement left, with Indiana continuing to push forward, Oregon and UCLA drawing attention for different reasons, and Michigan still trying to sort out its own path. But Ohio States recent momentum is the kind that can hold up as October approaches, especially if the Buckeyes keep matching style points with results in the weeks ahead. [Read more 🡒]