In Ohio State's Rose Bowl win over Oregon, the Eleven Warriors staff thinks three Buckeyes stood out above the rest as we named wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, linebacker Cody Simon and defensive end Jack Sawyer as our Three Stars of the Game.
First Star: Jeremiah Smith
Duh.
Smith was not only Ohio State's best player in the Rose Bowl, he was the best player overall, collecting seven catches for an OSU freshman single-game record 187 yards and two touchdowns against Oregon.
The 19-year-old made an immediate impact when he scored a 45-yard touchdown on his first reception. He would add catches of 29, 12 and 32 yards before his second score, a 43-yard deep ball from quarterback Will Howard. Smith finished the opening 30 minutes in Pasadena. Quick math tells us that's five receptions, 161 yards and two touchdowns — against undefeated Oregon, the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
JEREMIAH SMITH TD
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 1, 2025
OHIO STATE SCORES ON THEIR OPENING DRIVE pic.twitter.com/UC7BQAzReT
JEREMIAH SMITH IS UNREAL
— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2025
HE FINDS THE END ZONE AGAIN pic.twitter.com/N8J1f9giQF
In the second half, Smith hauled in catches of 10 and 16 yards. The latter allowed him to break Ohio State's freshman single-game receiving yards record of 172, which Cris Carter set in the 1985 Rose Bowl.
All in all, no one could stop Smith on Wednesday.
He made that clear in a postgame interview with ESPN's Rece Davis.
"Can anybody stop you?" - @ReceDavis
— ESPN (@espn) January 2, 2025
"No."
Offensive MVP Jeremiah Smith pic.twitter.com/srKVecZmZm
Second Star: Cody Simon
We almost forgot to write that Smith was named Ohio State's Offensive MVP in the Rose Bowl. Why mention it now? His teammate Cody Simon took home the Defensive MVP with a team-best 11 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and one pass breakup against Oregon.
MVP MVP MVP pic.twitter.com/l11k3DbWCO
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 2, 2025
From the Nebraska game and on, Simon has been on a tear. Here is a look at his statistics in the past eight games:
- Nebraska: 8 tackles (4 solo), 3 tackles for loss
- Penn State: 10 tackles (5 solo), 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack
- Purdue: 6 tackles (2 solo), 0.5 tackle for loss, 0.5 sack
- Northwestern: 6 tackles (3 solo)
- Indiana: 10 tackles (4 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks
- Michigan: 9 tackles (1 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss, 1 pass breakup
- Tennessee: 12 tackles (5 solo), 1 pass breakup
- Oregon: 11 tackles (7 solo), 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass breakup
Simon said Wednesday that he and Ohio State's defense have continued to evolve since the Buckeyes lost to Oregon in Eugene. That evolution occurred because of "tough conversations" at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and a change in attitude for the Silver Bullets.
"We went through a lot of tough conversations after that game and there were a lot of changes we had to make. I think we're better for it now," Simon said. "We made those changes and, like Coach Day said, it's all about execution. No matter who is across the ball, you have to do your job. If you do your job, you're gonna like the result."
Simon had to like the results in the Rose Bowl.
So did we.
Third Star: Jack Sawyer
While we chose Simon as our Second Star, there's a compelling argument to be made that Sawyer deserved the honor. Like Simon, the senior defensive end has been dominant in the second half of the season. He continued that trend on Wednesday, collecting two sacks and three pass breakups against Oregon.
Jack Sawyer is a different animal and the same beast. pic.twitter.com/bPFshN1Byz
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 2, 2025
After the game, Ryan Day received a question about Sawyer's impact on and off the field this season. His answer reveals all we need to know about the motivation behind Sawyer's recent breakout performances.
"Can't say enough about Jack as a leader, as a person. He really stands for what it means to be a Buckeye," Day said. "To see him playing at a high level, he's the heart and soul of the front. Cody will tell you, what he brings every day, he brings a hard hat and a lunch pail and goes to work. It's showing late in the season. He's playing a lot of great football. He's a big reason we won today."
| OPPONENT | FIRST STAR / ★ | SECOND STAR / ★★ | THIRD STAR / ★★★ |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKRON |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 6 catches, 92 yards, 2 TD |
LATHAN RANSOM, S 9 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 FR, 1 TD |
JT TUIMOLOAU, DE 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks |
| WESTERN MICHIGAN |
QUINSHON JUDKINS, RB 9 carries, 108 yards, 2 TD |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 5 catches, 119 yards, 1 TD |
JACK SAWYER, DE 3 tackles, 1 sack |
| MARSHALL |
QUINSHON JUDKINS, RB 14 carries, 176 yards, 2 TD |
TREVEYON HENDERSON, RB 6 carries, 76 yards, 2 TD |
EMEKA EGBUKA, WR 5 catches, 117 yards, 1 TD |
| @ MICHIGAN STATE |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 6 touches, 102 yards, 2 TD |
CALEB DOWNS, S 6 tackles, 3 solo, 1 TFL |
EMEKA EGBUKA, WR 7 catches, 96 yards, 1 TD |
| IOWA |
EMEKA EGBUKA, WR 9 catches, 71 yards, 3 TD |
JACK SAWYER, DE 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF |
WILL HOWARD, QB 21-25, 209 yards, 5 total TD, 1 INT |
| NEBRASKA |
JORDAN HANCOCK, DB 5 tackles, 1 FF, 1 INT |
CODY SIMON, LB 8 tackles, 3 TFL |
CARNELL TATE, WR 4 catches, 102 yards, 1 TD |
| @ PENN STATE |
THE OFFENSIVE LINE 176 rushing yards |
DAVISON IGBINOSUN, CB 4 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU |
CODY SIMON, LB 10 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack |
| PURDUE |
TREVEYON HENDERSON, RB 9 touches, 128 yards, 1 TD |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 6 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD |
JT TUIMOLOAU, DE 4 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 FF |
| @ NORTHWESTERN |
CARNELL TATE, WR 4 catches, 52 yards, 2 TD |
SONNY STYLES, LB 6 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 PBU |
JACK SAWYER, DE 7 tackles, 3 QBH, 1 FF |
| INDIANA |
CALEB DOWNS, S 5 tackles, 1 punt return TD |
WILL HOWARD, QB 22-26, 201 yards, 3 total TD, 1 INT |
CODY SIMON, LB 10 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 FF |
| TENNESSEE |
WILL HOWARD, QB 24-29, 311 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
JT TUIMOLOAU and JACK SAWYER, DE 13 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 4 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 FF |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 6 catches, 103 yards, 2 TD |
| OREGON |
JEREMIAH SMITH, WR 7 catches, 187 yards, 2 TD |
CODY SIMON, LB 11 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 PBU |
JACK SAWYER, DE 2 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 PBU |
As the season continues, we’re tracking the stars (or points) each Ohio State player receives in 2024. Here's how we do it: Each time a Buckeye earns the first star of the game, that Buckeye adds three points to their season total. Then, the second star and third star add two points and one point to their totals.
| RANK | PLAYER | FIRST STAR / ★ | SECOND STAR / ★★ | THIRD STAR / ★★★ | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JEREMIAH SMITH | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 |
| 2 | JACK SAWYER | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| T3 | QUINSHON JUDKINS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| T3 | WILL HOWARD | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| T3 | CODY SIMON | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| T6 | CALEB DOWNS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| T6 | EMEKA EGBUKA | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| T6 | TREVEYON HENDERSON | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| T9 | CARNELL TATE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| T9 | JT TUIMOLOAU | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| T11 | JORDAN HANCOCK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| T11 | THE OFFENSIVE LINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| T13 | LATHAN RANSOM | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| T13 | DAVISON IGBINOSUN | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| T13 | SONNY STYLES | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
