Ohio State Football: Is Tyreke Smith’s time finally here?

The box score might not suggest it, but the eye test certainly showed Ohio State football’s Tyreke Smith dominated Penn State in the scarlet-out Saturday night.

Smith was credited with five tackles and his impactful strip-sack leading to Jerron Cage’s defensive touchdown. That is a good night for Smith stat-wise, but that still doesn’t do his night justice by any stretch.

Smith’s game was one of the most-dominating defensive end performances at Ohio State post-Chase Young. Perhaps the most recent defensive end performance that rivals Smith’s game against Penn State was another game by Smith. This level of play from Smith was very reminiscent of his absurd night against Clemson in last season’s Sugar Bowl.

Even though Smith has had a very up-and-down career due to injuries and inconsistencies, this is why for two seasons now people have pointed to a Smith breakout. He has shown he is capable of being an imposing, relentless pass-rushing force.

After such a memorable performance, is this the game that kicks off a dominant stretch from Smith?

It’s been a rocky road, but Smith’s arrival could be here

Going into the season, Smith having a breakout year was in the cards. However, it was thrown to the wayside as Zach Harrison received the offseason hype – by the way Harrison is starting to play at a high level himself.

Smith was all but forgotten after he started to deal with some injuries this season. He missed multiple games including Akron, Rutgers, and Maryland.

His play before injury only added to lowered expectations for the senior hailing from Cleveland. Through three games, Smith only had eight tackles with no sacks and little pressure generated.

After returning from injury, Smith had a solid game against Indiana with one sack and some pressure generated. This was his best game of the season and a step in the right direction in his return.

Then came the game against Penn State, an eruption. Of course, Smith had his strip-sack, where Harrison wasn’t far behind.

That was only the beginning, there was more the box score simply won’t show. For instance, Smith pressured Sean Clifford, causing him to step up and be sacked by the freshman J.T. Tuimoloau.

Another impact play made by Smith was a pressure where he pulled out a nasty stutter spin move that led to a Clifford interception.

Those were only the obvious plays made by Smith, it felt like he lived in the backfield all night long. He had an extraordinary night, which could lead to his resurgence.

The question now becomes can Smith sustain this production? More than likely, he is not going to maintain this level and become the next Young or one of the Bosa brothers. Smith could start bringing consistent pressures in each game though.

As mentioned, Harrison is finding his grove right now as well. The Buckeyes do have a good chance of either Smith or Harrison becoming a dominant force, or they could simply take turns dominating opposing lines.

Smith’s play in back-to-back games against Indiana and Penn State is one of the few times he has played two good games in a row. Maybe he has found his consistency as he has gotten healthy. We know Smith has the talent to become a dominant pass rusher.

Ohio State football’s Smith showed once again how good he can be against Penn State, hopefully, it is just the beginning of his arrival as a menacing pass-rusher on a game-to-game basis.