Jeremiah Smith spent the first half of Ohio State’s opener looking every bit like the best receiver in college football. He caught eight of nine targets for 151 yards and two touchdowns against Ball State, and he did it in a flash - the kind of start that reminded everyone how quickly he can take over a game when the Buckeyes make him the center of the plan.
The highlights came with some flair. Smith’s first score was a one-handed grab, pinning the ball to his helmet while he was being brought down.
His second was a toe-tap in the back of the end zone that would have stood up in the NFL. And once Ohio State had seen enough, Ryan Day shut him down for the second half.
"As you can imagine, when the game plans are being put together, he's very much in the front of Arthur and the offensive staff's mind," head coach Ryan Day said of Smith postgame. "So not everything is designed that way.
But I thought the game plan was suited to make sure he touched the ball. And he did a great job making some plays.
And Julian did a good job of getting him the ball. And we decided to hold him in the second half, which, for Jeremiah, he understands what's coming here… So we decided to hold him in the second half because he understands that we've got a monster game here coming up."
That monster game is Saturday night against Texas, and this is the matchup that has everyone watching closely. Ohio State and Texas have already met in the last two seasons, and in both games Smith was kept unusually quiet. He was targeted 13 times across those two meetings but finished with only seven catches for 46 yards.
Pete Kwiatkowski, then Texas’ defensive coordinator, made a clear effort to take Smith away. The Longhorns leaned on double teams and help over the top, and Ohio State adjusted by going elsewhere.
Will Howard spread the ball around in 2024, hitting Carnell Tate, Emeka Egbuka, Gee Scott Jr., and the running backs. Last season, in Julian Sayin’s first career start, Ohio State played it conservatively and threw only 20 passes, with just one traveling 15 yards or more downfield.
Smith knows what that kind of attention looks like. He said last season that after his one-catch game in 2024, he probably tried too hard to force an impact the next time out. That effort showed up in two drops and a final line of six catches for 43 yards - respectable by most standards, but far from the 95 yards and one touchdown he has averaged against every other opponent in his Ohio State career.
Still, the Buckeyes have already proven they can beat Texas without Smith putting up monster numbers. This year’s offense, though, doesn’t have the same depth of proven receivers it has had around him the last two seasons.
UTSA transfer Devin McCuin showed in his debut that he can fill a useful No. 2 role. Senior Brandon Inniss has been steady, but Ohio State is still waiting for the breakout that matches his recruiting billing.
And freshmen Chris Henry Jr. and Brock Boyd have the talent to matter if the moment comes early enough for them.
Even so, Ohio State is at its best when Smith is touching the ball, and everyone around the program knows it.
"I think he's handled it well," Buckeye defensive end Kenyatta Jackson, a high school teammate of Smith's, said this week. "Obviously he wants to make plays, but as long as the team wins, he's OK with it.
That's the type of player he is. That's the type of person he is.
Of course Texas is gonna do whatever to take him out of the game, but as long as we win, he's good with it."
Day put it more plainly. "It's no mystery that when the ball is in his hands, good things happen," Day said of Smith.
"And so he'll always be a part of how we game plan and what we do… We all know the impact it can have on games. And when he has the impact like he's done in other games, you just see what happens to the rest of the guys on the field."
Smith is a team-first player, and Ohio State’s bigger goals are obvious: beat Texas for a third straight year and keep moving toward a Big Ten title and a national championship. But he’s also too dangerous to keep bottled up forever.
"We know that there'll be a plan to stop Jeremiah, Day said. "And trying to identify what that is and then have the contingency plans in place for what that looks like is important.
And Julian is going to be a big part of that because he's got to recognize what's going on and then respond from there. So all those things are part of our conversation as we put our game plan together."
In Other News...
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Ohio State followers know that debate well, because the Buckeyes have long valued the kind of early-season test that can sharpen a team and energize a schedule. But when coaches such as Brent Venables, Steve Sarkisian and Dan Lanning talk about the risks and rewards of those matchups, they are really pointing to the same uncomfortable question fans keep circling. In a playoff era that can punish even a quality loss, the margin between a statement win and a season-long regret can be awfully thin. [Read more 🡒]
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The fallout showed up in the latest Coaches Poll, with Texas climbing and Ohio State sliding five spots as other programs around the country also shuffled up and down the rankings. For the Buckeyes, the larger concern is less about the number beside their name and more about how quickly a game can tilt when an opponent finds momentum, which is exactly what Texas did in the fourth quarter behind Arch Manning. [Read more 🡒]