Jeremiah Smith didn’t need long to answer the question at Big Ten Media Days.
Asked which team he’d most want revenge on before leaving college football, the Ohio State star wideout went straight to Miami.
“Gotta be the hometown team, Miami,” Smith said when deciding between the Hoosiers and Canes. “Gotta be.
I heard it a lot when I went back home. Gotta be Miami.”
“Gotta be the hometown team - Miami... I heard it a lot every time I went back home.”
-- @OhioStateFB 's Jeremiah Smith on who he would want revenge on in the 2026 season 👀
🎙️ @BudElliott3, @Cover3Podcast pic.twitter.com/qSA0wRKcz2
- CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) July 29, 2026
That answer adds a little more juice to an Ohio State season that already has plenty riding on it. With the 2026 regular season nearly here, Smith and the Buckeyes are aiming at a national title, and Smith still has Michigan on his mind too. But when it came to naming the team he’d most like to get back at, Miami was the one that came first.
The reason is simple enough. Smith said that whenever he goes back home to Miami to see family and friends, he keeps hearing about Corey Hetherman’s defense and the Canes’ stunning upset of Ohio State last winter. He said it with a smile and a chuckle, but the sting is clearly still there.
It also shows a side of Smith that doesn’t always get the spotlight. He’s widely viewed as the best wide receiver in college football and a likely Top 5 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, but he doesn’t carry himself like someone trying to remind everybody of that every chance he gets. Instead, the picture that came through at media days was of a player who hates losing and remembers every one of them.
That matters because Smith already knows what winning feels like in Columbus. He helped Ohio State win the national championship during his true freshman season, and for a while it looked like the Buckeyes were lined up for another run at back-to-back titles.
Instead, the season brought the Big Ten title game loss to Indiana, followed by the defeat to Miami that Smith clearly hasn’t forgotten. Even so, he still has one more shot to chase another national title with Ohio State, and that alone gives this fall a different edge.
Smith could come back in 2027 if he wanted to, but he has made it clear this is his last dance of sorts with Ohio State. If the Buckeyes and Hurricanes end up meeting again in the College Football Playoff next winter, Smith will have no shortage of motivation. And if that rematch happens, he’ll be ready to make sure the conversation goes a lot differently than it did last time.
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Cincere Johnson Is Giving Ohio State Fans Another Reason To Dream
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For a defense that always expects impact talent to show up early, Johnson is the latest reason for optimism. The Buckeyes do not need to be reminded what a difference a ready-made linebacker can make, but they are getting one anyway, and the only real question now is how quickly he turns all that recruiting buzz into production on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Fans Have Every Reason To Mock Michigans Latest Tone
At Big Ten Football Media Days, Kyle Whittingham took a notably calmer view of the sports biggest pressure-cooker games, saying rivalry matchups can be intense and emotional without crossing into personal hatred. The Michigan coach specifically said he does not hate Ohio State coach Ryan Day, framing the rivalry as a fierce competition that does not need to spill over into personal animosity.
For Buckeyes fans, the tone is hard to miss, especially given how much of the Ohio State-Michigan buildup usually leans into edge and emotion. Whittinghams comments leave room for the broader rivalry to stay heated on the field, but they also invite a familiar reaction from Columbus, where any hint of restraint in this matchup tends to become its own kind of punch line. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State's Biggest Big Ten Threat Might Surprise Buckeye Fans
Ohio State enters the season with the kind of familiar expectations that come with being a conference heavyweight, even if the Buckeyes have not won the Big Ten since 2020. Around the league, they are still being sized up as the favorite to reclaim the crown, and there is plenty of optimism that the offense can do its part if the line settles in and the key pieces perform the way they are supposed to.
Still, the more intriguing problem on the schedule may not come from the usual suspects. Indiana has emerged as a legitimate contender after a national-title run and has quickly earned respect under Curt Cignetti, enough to make this matchup feel like more than just another checkpoint on Ohio States path. For a team trying to get back on top of the Big Ten, the challenge may arrive in a place Buckeye fans might not have circled first. [Read more 🡒]