Trying to stop Jeremiah Smith is like trying to stop prime LeBron James. You can throw double teams at him or build a wall trying to stop him from getting to the basket. You can press him as soon as he crosses half-court and try to get the ball out of his hands. Or you can take the complete opposite strategy, where you accept that he is going to put up big numbers regardless and try to take away everything else.
In two games against Texas, Jeremiah Smith has a combined 7 catches for 49 yards. He had one catch for three yards against the Longhorns in the CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, and then had 6 catches for 46 yards to open last season at the Horseshoe.
The most important thing about those two games is that Ohio State won them. While Smith put up pedestrian numbers in both games, they each looked very different. While Smith was completely taken away by the Longhorn defense two years ago, the offense still functioned.
Carnell Tate led the team in receiving with 7 catches for 87 yards. Emeka Egbuka had 6 catches for 51 yards. Tight end Gee Scott Jr. had a career-high 5 catches. The running backs combined for 19 touches for 175 yards and 3 touchdowns. On the whole, Ohio State averaged 6.6 yards per play and would've had an even better offensive day if they didn't have nine penalties.
Last year's season opener in the Horseshoe was a bit different. Smith's lack of numbers had much more of a correlation with the offense's overall performance. Smith's six catches led the team, and his 46 yards were second only to Carnell Tate's 49. Tate put up those yards on just two catches, one of which was a 40-yard touchdown pass.
The rest of Ohio State's receivers had just 4 catches for 25 yards. They put up a putrid 3.8 yards per play. A lot of that was due to the game plan and circumstances. Ohio State's average starting field position on drives that didn't end in kneel-downs was their own 18.
CJ Donaldson had 20 touches, and James Peoples had 10; both were season highs. Bo Jackson did not play a single snap in that game and then led the team in carries in every game except for one the rest of the season.
If Ohio State is going to leave Austin with a win on Saturday night, Jeremiah Smith will have to be more involved. The biggest reason for that is that their other options are a little bit more limited at receiver. Devin McCuin has received high praise from the coaching staff and looked great against Ball State in his Buckeye debut, but I'm going to need to see more from him before I put him on Carnell Tate's level. Brock Boyd and Chris Henry Jr. have star potential, but they are just freshmen at the end of the day.
There are two major differences between the Ohio State of Week 1 last year and Week 2 this year. One of those is Julian Sayin. Sayin was playing in his first college game against the Longhorns last season, and they really played it safe with him once they got ahead.
Now we've seen Julian Sayin go out and show elite play from the quarterback position in the middle of last season. He has a full year of experience under his belt and has high expectations and hopes of being a top pick in the NFL draft.
The other difference is Arthur Smith. Last year's Texas game was Brian Hartline's first time calling plays in a game. Now they have Arthur Smith, who has spent the last seven years of his life calling plays at the NFL level. Arthur Smith has compared Jeremiah Smith to Derrick Henry, who he had as his running back with the Tennessee Titans when he led the NFL in carries in his two years as offensive coordinator. Obviously, it is much easier to get the ball to a running back than to a wide receiver; I expect him to find many ways to get the ball to the best player in college football.
Jeremiah Smith having a huge game isn't necessary for Ohio State to win on Saturday night in DKR. We've seen them do it twice now without it. That said, Carnell Tate, Emeka Egbuka, Trey'Veon Henderson, and Quinshon Judkins are not on this team.
They cannot afford to sit back and allow the Longhorns to take Smith away the way they have the last two years. We don't know for sure how new Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will decide to defend the Buckeyes, but head coach Steve Sarkisian said earlier this week, "We better know where No. 4 is on every snap." They'll do everything they can to slow him down, and it's up to Arthur Smith and Julian Sayin to make sure he makes a big impact on the game.
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