Jeremiah Smith’s season at Ohio State may already be over, at least if Damien Harris has his way.
The former national champion and CBS Sports analyst said after the Buckeyes’ 41-28 loss to No. 23 Oregon that Smith should walk away from the rest of the season and start getting ready for the 2027 NFL Draft, calling him the top overall player in the class. Smith finished Saturday with seven catches for 133 yards and a touchdown, but Ohio State’s latest loss pushed the 12th-ranked Buckeyes deeper into a hole that now looks hard to climb out of with three games left.
“We just watched Jeremiah Smith play his last snap at Ohio State,” Harris said after the game.“ He’s done.
He’s going to pack it up. He’s not playing anymore this season.
The season’s gone. This isn’t a CFP team, they were already on the outside looking in.
He’s already etched his name in history. He’s got the touchdown record, he’s got the reception record, he’s got a national championship.
He’s not going to get a Heisman this year, what’s there to play for?”
Harris doubled down on that view, saying, “In my opinion, there’s nothing to gain, there’s everything to lose if you’re Jeremiah Smith. I don’t think that he plays again the rest of the season for Ohio State.”
Smith has already built a résumé most players never come close to matching. He reportedly turned down $10 million to transfer to Miami, and he holds program records for receptions, touchdowns and receiving yards. He also won a national championship with the Buckeyes as a freshman in 2024.
The timing of Harris’ comments came after another rough night for Ohio State. The Buckeyes have now lost two straight since starting quarterback Julian Sayin suffered what is expected to be a season-ending injury in a win against Indiana. Against Oregon, freshman quarterback Luke Fahey threw for 360 yards, but Smith’s involvement wasn’t always steady, and cameras caught him visibly frustrated in the fourth quarter, shouting toward the coaching staff.
Ohio State did build a 14-point lead in the first half, only to watch Oregon rip off the next 31 points.
Harris, who played for Nick Saban at Alabama before going on to an NFL career, framed the issue as one of self-preservation. He said Smith should recognize that there are “bigger things out there” than what remains for a team that will not play for a Big Ten Championship and is likely outside the top 15 in Tuesday’s CFP Rankings.
The Buckeyes still have three games left, including the rivalry matchup with Michigan in the finale.
Smith entered the day second nationally in receiving yards per game and was one of the Heisman frontrunners heading into Week 10, though those odds took a hit after Ohio State’s second straight loss. He also remains in position to chase his first Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation’s best receiver, if he keeps playing and if his connection with Fahey sharpens over the final stretch.
In Other News...
Ohio States Oregon Collapse Exposed A Problem Buckeyes Fans Feared
Ohio States loss to Oregon in Columbus had the feel of a game that started with promise and then slipped away in plain sight. The Buckeyes came out strong, but the rest of the afternoon turned into a reminder that early momentum only matters if it can be sustained, and this one quickly exposed some of the same concerns fans have been carrying for a while. Jeremiah Smith was not used nearly enough, and the offense never seemed to fully settle into a rhythm as the game changed around it.
Luke Faheys performance only added to the unease, while the defense looked far removed from the unit Ohio State expected to lean on in a matchup like this. The bigger frustration, though, was the lack of clear adjustment as Oregon kept finding answers and the Buckeyes did not. For a team with playoff ambitions, a home collapse like this does more than count as one bad result - it raises the kind of questions that can linger well beyond a single Saturday. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremiah Smiths Frustration Just Raised A Bigger Ohio State Concern
Jeremiah Smiths frustration was hard to miss in Ohio States loss to Oregon, a defeat that left the Buckeyes staring at a tougher path to the playoff. Even in a game that slipped away 41-28, Smith still produced, finishing with seven catches for 133 yards and a touchdown, which only underscored how much Ohio State leaned on him when the offense needed a spark.
The bigger concern now is what his visible irritation might say about the state of the Buckeyes season and how they handle the fallout from a damaging setback. One analyst even raised the possibility that Smith might not play again this year, though that remains unconfirmed, and for a team trying to steady itself after the Oregon loss, any uncertainty around its top playmaker only adds to the pressure. [Read more 🡒]
Urban Meyer Just Added Fuel To Indianas CFP Debate
Urban Meyer gave the College Football Playoff debate a fresh jolt by questioning how the committee is sorting Ohio State and Indiana. The former Buckeyes coach pointed to the Buckeyes head-to-head win over Indiana and said he did not understand why No. 12 Ohio State sits eight spots behind No. 4 Indiana, especially when the discussion turns to how teams are being judged beyond the loss column.
Meyer also took aim at the committees handling of nonconference scheduling, arguing that Ohio States ranking does not match what it has shown on the field. Indianas case is strong in its own right at 8-1, with wins over Michigan and Nebraska, but Meyer noted the Hoosiers have not beaten a ranked opponent, leaving the playoff conversation with a familiar tension: rsum versus result, and a gap in the rankings that still needs explaining. [Read more 🡒]