In a 45-0 blowout win over Purdue, Ryan Day turned the freshmen loose as 16 of the first-year players hit the field against the Boilermakers. There were many firsts on the day for the youngsters, but as usual, one freshman stood out.
It's official. Jeremiah Smith is the best freshman wide receiver in school history. Most receptions? Jeremiah Smith. Most receiving yards? Jeremiah Smith. Most receiving touchdowns? Jeremiah Smith. What's his name? Jeremiah Smith. The. Best.
On his record-breaking day, Smith had a game-high 87 receiving yards and tied Carnell Tate with a game-high six catches. He did all of his damage in the first half.
Smith broke Cris Carter's freshman receptions record with his third catch of the game. Ohio State was facing 3rd-and-17 early in the second quarter when Will Howard found the freshman on the right side of the field for a 16.5-yard gain.
Ohio State QB Will Howard has been pressing the Jeremiah Smith button in the first half today, as he should.
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) November 9, 2024
He finds the freshman wideout for 17 yards here, just shy of a first down. pic.twitter.com/f0PLRJdEDR
The Buckeyes converted the short 4th-and-1 with a Howard sneak, and Gee Scott Jr. capped off the drive – that Smith kept alive – with a 15-yard touchdown catch to put Ohio State up 14-0.
Carter's freshman touchdown record fell on the Buckeyes' next series. On the seven-play scoring drive, Howard looked for Smith four times, and the phenom caught three of the passes for 37 yards, including the record-breaking 17-yard touchdown.
Jeremiah Smith has the most receiving touchdowns as a freshman in Ohio State football history. pic.twitter.com/MRZyRG5FYD
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 9, 2024
Jeremiah Smith. Freshman receiving TD record. November 9th, 2024 vs Purdue. :27, 2nd Quarter.
— Nicole Shearin (@NicoleShearintv) November 9, 2024
History in the hands of the freshman phenom. We are watching GREATNESS. #Buckeyes pic.twitter.com/u1icWqekTl
| PLAYER | REC | YARDS | TD | LONG | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah Smith | 45 | 765 | 9 | 70 | 17.0 |
| Cris Carter | 28 | 382 | 5 | 44 | 13.6 |
| David Boston | 15 | 269 | 4 | 58 | 17.9 |
| Carnell Tate | 14 | 228 | 1 | 55 | 16.3 |
| Devin Smith | 10 | 227 | 4 | 40 | 22.7 |
With three regular-season games to play, Smith is now on his way to pushing his record-breaking numbers to levels that may never be touched.
Smith is only 235 yards away from becoming the first Ohio State freshman receiver to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in a season. It would be just the 11th time a Buckeye surpasses 1,000 receiving yards in a season and he would join the following nine Buckeyes to reach that elite level: Marvin Harrision Jr. (twice), Emeka Egbuka, Jaxon Smith Njigba, Garrett Wilson, Parris Campbell, Michael Jenkins, David Boston, Terry Glenn and Cris Carter.
Houston, we have a starter
In recent weeks, Eddrick Houston has moved from playing defensive end to defensive tackle. With Tyleik Williams sidelined against Purdue, Houston was rewarded with his first career start. The Buford, Georgia native played a season-high 26 snaps filling up the middle of the line and he recorded a career-high three tackles.
Unfortunately, he also made himself known to the refs.
On an important third down late in the second quarter, Jack Sawyer and Sonny Styles combined to take down Hudson Card for a sack. Ohio State was going to get the ball and the offense was ready to do some two-minute magic. But, as you can see below, Houston let his emotions get the best of him and committed an unnecessary personal foul.
Eddrick Houston had been playing phenomenal up until that flag.
— Brady Hamilton (@BradyH_216) November 9, 2024
The true freshman costs Ohio States defense getting off the field. #GoBucks
pic.twitter.com/CHojk3Nxyf
Fortunately for Houston, Purdue turned into Purdon't and couldn't convert on 4th-and-3 from the Buckeyes' 36-yard line. That set up the drive leading to Smith's record-breaking touchdown and Ohio State's 21-0 lead heading into halftime.
Stat Book Stuffers
Julian Sayin saw his first action since completing three passes for 23 yards against Michigan State in Week 4. Against Purdue, the Alabama transfer was unable to get a completion on his four pass attempts. Sayin did show off his wheels when he ran for 19 yards with his team facing 3rd-and-12.
Ohio State true freshman QB Julian Sayin replaces Devin Brown on 3rd-and-12 and scrambles for a first down. pic.twitter.com/jZlhNehKIR
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) November 9, 2024
Running backs James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon picked up some late-game carries. Both backs had three carries for 16 yards in the game's waning moments. Seeing their first offensive snaps since the Western Michigan game were WR Mylan Graham, TE Max LeBlanc and OT Ian Moore. Making his Ohio State debut was WR Damarion Witten as the Glenville grad was on the field for one offensive snap.
On the defensive side of the ball, CB Aaron Scott Jr. and DE Dominic Kirks made their first collegiate tackles and Payton Pierce had his first multi-tackle game with two stops.
Jaylen McClain is up to nine tackles for the season. Following Caden Curry's blocked punt, McClain dropped Purdue's Ben Furtney for a 5-yard loss to set the table for Ohio State's first touchdown of the game.
Bryce West made his second game appearance as a Buckeye as he was on the kickoff team throughout the game and saw late-game action at cornerback. Garrett Stover played one snap at linebacker for his first action since the first two games of the season. S Leroy Roker made his Ohio State debut as a member of the kickoff coverage team.
Under the NCAA's redshirt rules, a player can appear in up to four games during the regular season – plus play in any postseason games – and still count it as his redshirt year. Nine games into the season, 19 Ohio State freshmen have played in at least one game, with six freshmen – Houston, McClain, Peoples, Pierce, Scott Jr. and Smith – ineligible for a redshirt as they have all played in more than five games.
| NAME | POS | DEBUT | PURDUE STATS | GP | SEASON STATS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JAYLEN McCLAIN | S | Akron | 1 tackle | 9 | 9 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU |
| JEREMIAH SMITH | WR | Akron | 6 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD | 9 | 45 catches, 765 yards, 9 TD; 2 carries, 33 yards, 1 TD |
| EDDRICK HOUSTON | DE | Akron | 3 tackles | 7 | 4 tackles, 2 PBU |
| JAMES PEOPLES | RB | Akron | 3 carries, 16 yards | 6 | 38 carries, 169 yards, 2 TD; 1 catch, -2 yards |
| PAYTON PIERCE | LB | Akron | 2 tackles | 6 | 3 tackles |
| AARON SCOTT JR. | CB | Akron | 1 tackle | 6 | 1 tackle, 1 PBU |
| DOMINIC KIRKS | DE | Akron | 1 tackle | 3 | 1 tackle |
| JULIAN SAYIN | QB | WMU | 0-4, 0 yards; 1 carry, 19 yards | 3 | 5-11, 84 yards, 1 TD; 2 carries, 24 yards |
| GARRETT STOVER | LB | Akron | 1 defensive snap | 3 | 1 defensive snap |
| SAM WILLIAMS-DIXON | RB | Akron | 3 carries, 16 yards | 3 | 7 carries, 60 yards |
| MYLAN GRAHAM | WR | WMU | 2 offensive snaps | 2 | 6 offensive snaps |
| MAX LeBLANC | TE | WMU | 5 offensive snaps | 2 | 10 offensive snaps |
| IAN MOORE | OT | WMU | 14 offensive snaps | 2 | 19 offensive snaps |
| BRYCE WEST | CB | WMU | Played at CB | 2 | 6 defensive snaps |
| LEROY ROKER | S | Purdue | Special teams | 1 | Special teams |
| DAMARION WITTEN | WR | Purdue | 1 offensive snap | 1 | 1 offensive snap |
| ERIC MENSAH | DT | Akron | 3 | ||
| NICK McLARTY | P | WMU | 2 | 2 punts, 32.5 average | |
| DORIAN WILLIAMS | WR | WMU | 1 | Special teams | |
| DEONTAE ARMSTRONG | OL | ||||
| DEVONTAE ARMSTRONG | OL | ||||
| MILES LOCKHART | CB | ||||
| AIR NOLAND | QB | ||||
| GABE VANSICKLE | OL |
(Note: The table does not include freshman walk-ons who have not yet played.)
- #2 Ohio State 45, Purdue 0
- • Buckeyes Cruise to Shutout Win
- • Relentless Rush
- • Special Teams Looks to Build on Blocked Punt
- • TBDBITL Trolls TTUN During Halftime Show
- • Ohio State Postgame • Purdue Postgame • Photos • After Carmen
- • Five Things • Notebook • Social Reax • Three Key Stats
