When handing Jeremiah Smith the Rose Bowl’s Offensive Most Valuable Player award, Rece Davis commented that Oregon tried man and zone but neither could slow Smith down.
Then Davis asked if anybody could stop him.
“No,” Smith replied bluntly.
It’s hard to argue with him after his exploits against the Ducks in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Somehow the freshman phenom had the best performance yet of a debut season bursting with fantastic outings. Smith, who already broke Cris Carter’s trio of single-season receiving records (receptions, yards and touchdowns) for a Buckeye freshman, snagged the freshman single-game receiving yardage record from him too with seven receptions for 187 yards and two touchdowns. 161 of those yards came in the first half, helping Ohio State amass 34 unanswered points to start its game against Oregon en route to a 41-21 victory.
| SEASON | PLAYER | YARDS | REC | AVG | TD | OPPONENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Jeremiah Smith | 187 | 7 | 26.7 | 2 | Oregon |
| 1984 | Cris Carter | 172 | 9 | 19.1 | 1 | USC |
| 1996 | David Boston | 153 | 13 | 11.8 | 1 | Indiana |
| 1984 | Cris Carter | 134 | 7 | 19.1 | 1 | Illinois |
| 2024 | Jeremiah Smith | 119 | 5 | 23.8 | 1 | Western Michigan |
“He's special,” offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “I've said that from the beginning. I've not seen anybody like him. That combination of size and speed, the ability to track the football, the ability to go up and get the football. He's maybe a once in a lifetime guy.”
Smith first donned his superhero cape on Ohio State’s first series with assistance from a gorgeous play design and well carried out fakes. The Buckeyes went play action with Smith running a slide route behind the line of scrimmage. Quarterback Will Howard dumped the ball to his top target in space and Smith obliged by splitting a pair of defenders and dashing 45 yards to the end zone.
JEREMIAH SMITH TD
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 1, 2025
OHIO STATE SCORES ON THEIR OPENING DRIVE pic.twitter.com/UC7BQAzReT
Smith’s second touchdown came on a 43-yard bomb off another play-action. Smith lined up tight to the formation and ran a deep route coming across the field toward the right pylon while Howard rolled left. The quarterback planted his feet and found Smith streaking wide open on the back side of the play to give Ohio State a 24-0 lead.
“It was a perfectly run route, but the protection was there,” Ryan Day said. “The setup by Will of getting the whole defense to run one way, looked like it was a naked, and then we came back and threw the ball. There's so much that goes into that one specific play. And I think that we've really focused on that part of it.”
JEREMIAH SMITH IS UNREAL
— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2025
HE FINDS THE END ZONE AGAIN pic.twitter.com/N8J1f9giQF
The most spectacular of Smith’s catches didn’t even come on those two scores. He made a dandy of a sideline catch in the third quarter, leaping high to snag an overthrown ball and tap a foot down before falling out of bounds, setting the single-game freshman receiving record in style.
In the first quarter, he Mossed a pair of Oregon defensive backs on a corner route.
The Julio Jones comps are normally forbidden but in Jeremiah Smiths case it may be warranted
— Max Chadwick (@CFBMaxChadwick) January 1, 2025
pic.twitter.com/596qyXu0l8
Contrary to the text of that tweet, Day pushed back on any lines drawn between Smith and other players. That might be a common answer to such questions by coaches, but it’s fitting when Ohio State, even with its recent run of Ferraris at wide receiver, probably hasn’t seen anything like Smith.
“I think we always want to draw comparisons because that's what we do naturally,” Day said. “I think whether it's players or coaches it's easy for everyone to say, well, he's this person and – not quite put him in a box but sort of categorize them based on somebody who has come before. And Jeremiah is his own person. And I think the way that he's come in from the get-go, he had a look in his eye and he wanted to make an impact as a freshman. I think his teammates would tell you the same thing.”
It’s enough to draw constant double coverage and attention from defenses. Howard gave credence to that fact for another of his touchdown passes, a 42-yard strike to Emeka Egbuka.
“That dude's a matchup nightmare,” Howard said. “I think we got three matchup nightmares out there. I don't know if you guys realize, but on the touchdown to Mek, they tried to cloud JJ and get two guys over him. You see what Mek did, he made a one-handed catch. It's an embarrassment of riches for me, man.”
Day praised Smith’s size, speed, route running, ball skills and body control in equal measure on ESPN after the game, but as coaches have done all season, it’s his maturity that’s stood out the most to Ohio State’s head man.
“He's earned the respect of his teammates, not because of his ability – you guys see his ability – but to me it's the work ethic,” Day said. “Every day he comes in, he's serious. He doesn't say a whole lot. But when he does, people listen. His maturity physically, emotionally and mentally has allowed him to play like this. And remember, he's a freshman. So for him to be playing his best football late in the season speaks to his maturity.”
It’s true that Smith is a freshman. But if he takes over two more times and the Buckeyes go win a national championship, he may already emerge as the best player in college football.
"To be able to be the MVP of the Rose Bowl is something special," Smith said. "Something I will never forget. Something I will tell my kids for when I have kids. So now it’s just a blessing for sure."
- #8 Ohio State 41, #1 Oregon 21
- • Buckeyes Dominate Ducks, 41-21
- • Buckeyes Assert Themselves at Team to Beat
- • The Day JJ Took Over
- • Watch Ohio State's Postgame Celebration
- • Ohio State Postgame • Oregon Postgame • Photos
- • Five Things • Notebook • Social Reax • Three Key Stats
