Coming out of No. 5 Ohio State’s 31-14 win over No. 14 Iowa, Jeremiah Smith is going to dominate the conversation - and with good reason.
Smith put together a monster night with 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and in the process he added the career receptions and receiving touchdown records to the receiving-yard mark he already set earlier this season. On the 57-yard score that broke the record, he somehow found himself that open, and even the all-22 view didn’t make it feel any less absurd.
At this point, there’s a real argument that Smith belongs in the conversation for the greatest player in Ohio State football history. That may sound over the top, but he has already torn through every major receiving record in school history at a pace that is hard to process. Ohio State has produced plenty of elite receivers over the years, but what Smith has done in just two and a half years feels unmatched.
The Buckeyes’ offense also flashed something that should be hard to ignore: the two-minute version looks dangerous.
Ohio State got the ball with 1:48 left in the first half and led 10-6. From there, Sayin guided a nine-play, 84-yard touchdown drive in 1:36 of game time. As The Columbus Dispatch’s Joey Kaufman noted on social media, OSU has scored in the final 15 seconds of every game this season.
That kind of pace and precision makes you wonder what this offense would look like if it carried more of that urgency throughout the game. No one is suggesting Arthur Smith should literally live in the two-minute play sheet, but the tempo, decisiveness, and sharpness the Buckeyes show when the clock is tight feels different. Ryan Day has spent the last few seasons trying to limit the number of plays in an effort to save wear and tear, but the tradeoff has sometimes made the offense look restrained.
There’s a case to be made that the Buckeyes have been so methodical for so long that they haven’t always had enough reps at full throttle. That idea has lingered in the background when Ohio State has run into trouble, including the struggles against Indiana and Miami at the end of the 2025-26 season. When the moment demanded another gear, the offense didn’t always seem ready to find it.
There were also signs that both lines are starting to settle in.
The offensive line wasn’t clean - it allowed four sacks and piled up a bunch of false start penalties - and the defensive line had stretches where Iowa found success. Still, there was enough there to leave with a better feeling than before. The Buckeyes ran for 160 yards, or 189 yards sack-adjusted, and the defense held Iowa to 238 total yards, including just 39 on the ground, while getting to Hank Brown twice.
It wasn’t perfect, and there’s plenty to clean up. But after saying earlier this week that Ohio State needed to show progress against Iowa, this game offered that on every non-special teams level. And with Maryland next Saturday, there’s at least reason to believe the Buckeyes are moving the right way.
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 🡒]