Jeremiah Smith limited by Indiana coverage, still delivered pivotal TD
· Yahoo Sports
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith had a confession about his highlight touchdown early in the fourth quarter of the Buckeyes’ 19-15 win at Indiana.
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“I ran the wrong route,” Smith said.
The Buckeyes needed only a yard to move the chains, facing fourth down at Indiana’s 38-yard line.
But Smith took his route further downfield as quarterback Julian Sayin ran a play-action fake to running back Isaiah West, then hung in the pocket.
“Julian just trusts me,” Smith said. “Once again, just throw the ball up, I make a play.”
When the pass fell toward the end zone, Smith was just past the goal line, in position to grab it over cornerback Jamari Sharpe. Though Sharpe had broken up a pass intended for Smith earlier in the second quarter, leading to an interception in Ohio State’s territory, he couldn’t jar the ball loose this time.
“[Smith is] in a unique situation,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said. “Even when he has guys around him downfield, he's so tall that, if you just give him a chance, he's going to make some plays. That was a good example of that, and he wanted to be aggressive in that moment. What a great play he made.”
It not only gave the Buckeyes a two-score lead, but also marked a breakthrough for Smith, who had been limited for most of the top-five rematch of last year’s Big Ten championship game on Oct. 17.
Indiana focused on Smith, who has been as dominant as any player in college football this year, emerging as the favorite for the Heisman Trophy.
The Hoosiers often bracketed him, shading at least a safety toward him, resulting in frequent double- or triple-coverage.
“It was every play,” Smith said.
Through three quarters, Smith had caught just three passes for 30 yards.
“If you go against good defenses like this,” Day said, “that's going to come up.”
The Hoosiers have maintained one of the best defenses following their national championship run last season. They had allowed only 11.8 points over their first six games, ranking fifth in the Football Bowl Subdivision heading into Week 7, and surrendered only three passing touchdowns before hosting the Buckeyes.
The attention they put on Smith was a constraint in the early going. It wasn’t until the second quarter that Smith caught a pass, as he was targeted just once on the Buckeyes’ first three possessions.
Smith said it was the most attention he had drawn from a defense since Texas limited him to one catch for 3 yards in the College Football Playoff semifinals as a freshman in 2024.
“No question,” said Smith, who finished with four catches for 68 yards and one touchdown against the Hoosiers.
For most of the afternoon, the coverage threatened to keep him out of the end zone for the first time in seven games this year.
But a big play might have been inevitable.
“My coaches told me to just stay patient and go make a play,” Smith said. “That's what happened.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jeremiah Smith limited by Indiana coverage, still delivered pivotal TD