Ohio State’s offense keeps coming back to one name, and that’s becoming the problem.
Jeremiah Smith has been impossible to ignore through the Buckeyes’ two games against Power 4 defenses. He topped 100 yards in both, then erupted for more than 200 yards and four touchdown catches in last weekend’s 42-19 win over Illinois. But the deeper look is where the concern starts.
Against Texas, the next-most productive receiver finished with 37 yards. Against Illinois, that number was 36.
Bo Jackson was the No. 2 receiver against the Longhorns, and H-back Nate Roberts filled that role against the Fighting Illini. That kind of production gap is hard to live with when the level of competition rises.
The running game hasn’t given the offense much help either. Ohio State has only produced three runs of 20-plus yards all season, and Smith is the only player to catch a 20-plus-yard pass against both Texas and Illinois.
So far, the offense feels built around Jeremiah Smith’s ability to carry it. Arthur Smith needs to change that, but he doesn’t sound eager to do so.
“When you've got a player like Jeremiah, it's hard not to give him the ball whichever way you can," Arthur Smith said this week.
That kind of thinking has its appeal. Back in August, he even wondered whether there was such a thing as giving the ball to Jeremiah Smith too often. With a player like that, the temptation is obvious.
But there’s a line between maximizing a star and turning the whole offense into a one-man operation.
Right now, the Buckeyes are too easy to read. The run game doesn’t have enough push, and the passing game has too much tunnel vision. For better or worse, that’s what the offense looks like at the moment.
Julian Sayin has at least been harder to sack than you might expect. He’s been slippery in the pocket, even if he still hasn’t become the true running threat that had been talked about. The Longhorns got to him twice, and he has been taken down only three times in the other games.
Still, Sayin was supposed to do his work throwing the ball, not by becoming the next Tim Tebow. Ohio State also brought in two veteran transfers and a freshman class with talent, but none of them has truly seized the moment yet.
UTSA transfer Devin McCuin showed early promise before struggling to get open. True freshman Chris Henry Jr. has looked like a star against lesser opponents, but he still has to prove it when the competition stiffens. Brock Boyd is in the same category as Henry.
Unless Jeremiah Smith puts together an all-time season from here, Arthur Smith is probably going to have some questions to answer by the end of the year.
It’s one thing to know how to coach a star. It’s another to coach the whole offense.
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 🡒]