Having survived a close call against Nebraska last Saturday, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the assembled media at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center yesterday to reflect on the happenings in that contest while also looking ahead to this weekend's Big Noon showdown at No. 3 Penn State.
As is the case with any loss or closer-than-expected victory, the queries largely focused on what went wrong - chiefly a dreadful performance from the offensive line, low-lighted by second-string left tackle Zen Michalski's struggles before leaving injured late in fourth quarter. As our Kyle Jones illustrated in yesterday's Film Study, Michalski wasn't the only thing wrong with the offensive line's performance last weekend.
Of course, some things did in fact go right in the win highlighted by an Ohio State defense tallying three sacks and 13 tackles for loss after generating basically zero disruption in the loss to Oregon.
Another thing that went right was the continued excellence shown by true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who recorded three catches for 70 yards including a 60-yard touchdown reception giving Ohio State a 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
Day expanded on what, beyond ridiculous talent, has helped Smith continue to make a major impact for the Buckeyes.
well, consistency and the way he practices is very mature for a young player. And now you're getting into the second half of the season and sometimes some of those freshmen can start to fray a little bit. That's not the way he's been.
he's been better every week, the way he's practiced, the way he's handling himself and his preparation on a week-to-week basis, taking care of his body, making sure he knows the game plan, getting himself ready to go play in these games. And I thought for a young player he handled the environment a couple weeks ago really well.
He's going to walk in another environment here, but, you know, he'll be ready. You know, he'll stay after practicing, make sure that he's running the reps with the quarterbacks to make sure the timing is right with Will.
So all those things lead to execution on the field.– Ryan Day on Jeremiah Smith
Smith's 60-yard touchdown grab on a streak down the seam wasn't even his longest score of the season, instead just the latest reminder of his game-changing talents. He's also been a model of consistent especially when you consider his inexperience at the collegiate level.
Jeremiah Smith
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 26, 2024
Nobody could catch the freshman on this @OhioStateFB TD
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He's posted at least 70 yards receiving in each of the first seven games and more importantly, he's collected at least one touchdown catch as well. Smith has a reception of at least 27 yards in every game and he's averaged over 15 yards per catch in six of seven outings.
Roll it all up and his season to date stands at 35 catches for 623 yards and eight touchdown grabs, the latter good for a tie with Cris Carter's OSU freshman record set in 1984. (He's added 33 rushing yards with a score taboot.)
Given just how consistent he's been, it's worth taking stock of his current regular season pace based on his existing averages of five catches for 89 yards with one touchdown per game. With five regular season games left to play, at his current clips, Smith would finish the 12-game slate with 60 receptions for for 1,068 yards and 13.7 touchdowns.
For context, the 60 catches would rank 16th-best all-time in school history for a single-season and be just seven fewer than Marvin Harrison Jr. had in 12 games last year.
The projected 1,068 receiving yards would qualify as the 9th-most in a single-season in OSU annals while 13 receiving touchdowns would rank 5th and 14 touchdowns would slot 2nd.
How many games Ohio State might play in the postseason is still up in the air of course but it'll play at least one, giving Smith even more opportunity to climb the school's receiving record charts.
Knowing Ohio State's offense absolutely needs his production, there's a chance Smith turns in even better numbers down the stretch than he's generated in his first seven games.
