Jeremiah Smith is forcing Oregon to think bigger than a normal coverage plan.
Dan Lanning made that clear Monday evening, when the Ducks coach joked that maybe they should try to defend Ohio State with an extra man. The line drew from Oregon’s own 12-man penalty in the closing seconds of the 2024 win over the Buckeyes, when the Ducks chose to accept the penalty because the clock time mattered more than the yardage.
"We'll see if we can play with 12. No, I guess I realize that's not funny against this team," Lanning said.
That moment from last season ended with Oregon rushing the field after a 32-31 win, as Buckeye quarterback Will Howard ran out the clock on the next play. This time, the assignment is different and much more dangerous: Smith is headed into Columbus as the player Oregon has to account for on every snap.
The numbers explain why. Smith leads the Big Ten in receptions with 62, receiving yards with 1,067 and receiving touchdowns with 13.
He’s also top five nationally in all three categories, and he’s already climbed into the conversation as one of the sport’s premier stars. Lanning said Smith is “second only to Miami quarterback Darian Mensah in the Heisman Trophy betting odds.”
"Jeremiah is special. He is a special player.
You have to know where he's at at all times," Lanning said. "He's dynamic in every phase.
I think it's one that our players are excited about, that challenge. But there's a real challenge involved in defending a guy like him."
Oregon junior cornerback Ify Obidegwu said this is the kind of matchup players picture long before they get to college.
"That's the stuff you dream of as a little kid," Obidegwu said. "That's why you come to a school like Oregon, to play in big games like this against guys like that.
So it's just exciting. These are the games you get up for, for sure. e's big, physical and fast.
We're big, physical and fast corners. So it's a good matchup, for sure.
We're definitely excited and ready to go."
How Oregon handles Smith is the real question. Lanning didn’t reveal anything about the Ducks’ plan, and he made it clear the answer probably won’t be as simple as putting Obidegwu or Brandon Finney Jr. in single coverage and calling it a day.
"Everybody defends him differently. If you want to roll the coverage or take two guys over to him, that means somebody else all of a sudden becomes available.
They've got other good players on this team that they're able to utilize and who can create explosive plays. Really, in the secondary, at linebacker and even with the front, it's a collective unit," Lanning said.
"Everybody has to play together to try to limit explosive plays from players like him."
Lanning also pointed back to Ohio State coach Ryan Day’s own description of the challenge. As Day said earlier this season, if Smith is in one-on-one coverage, he’s open; if two defenders are on him, he’s still open; and if three players are devoted to him, then somebody else is open.
"I think that's the great challenge with this game," Lanning said. "He's certainly pro-ready. I think anybody who's played against him already would tell you that he probably was two years ago, so he certainly is now."
Smith isn’t the only threat Ohio State can lean on. The Buckeyes also have several other blue-chip recruits, including 5-star freshman Chris Henry Jr., who has been emerging more and more by the week.
"The rest of their guys are just as talented, so it's not just one person. We have to game plan for all of them, really," Obidegwu said.
"They're all fast and can go. They're at Ohio State for a reason, so we're taking them seriously, regardless of what number they wear or who they are, for sure."
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