Heading into Ohio State's Big Ten opener against Illinois, the Buckeyes were getting criticized for not having a second receiver that they could count on. Jeremiah Smith is the best player in college football, but they likely need someone else to take the attention away from him.
However, Smith proved that this might not be the case. Smith had an incredible game, especially after the first half he had. He caught three touchdowns in the first half of the game, but he wasn't done there. Smith is now closer to capturing another all-time receiving record at Ohio State.
Jeremiah Smith is just one touchdown away from breaking the all-time Ohio State record
Smith finished the game with 12 catches for 217 yards and four touchdowns. It's the first time that a Buckeye has had a four-touchdown game from a receiver since Noah Brown in 2016. Smith now just sits one touchdown away from breaking the all-time receiving touchdown record.
Chris Olave holds that record with 35 career touchdown catches. Smith has 34 already, so he likely will tie the record next weekend against Iowa. Of course, he has a shot to break it if he plays as he did against the Illini. Despite being double-covered for a lot of the contest, he couldn't be stopped.
The only reason why Smith was able to be in that position is because of how good Julian Sayin was. He was very good in this contest, completing 27/36 for 367 yards and those four touchdowns. He also ran for 29 yards and a touchdown, so he did a little bit of everything.
If Smith is going to play this well, perhaps the Ohio State Buckeyes don't need a second receiver to step up and be a reliable weapon. Of course, it's almost impossible for them to expect Smith to play this well every single week, even if he is capable of doing so.
Ohio State still has many problems to fix
Just because the Buckeyes got a 42-19 win over Illinois does not mean it was all sunshine and roses in this game. Ohio State still has issues that they have to fix, especially with the meat of the schedule coming up in the next month. Iowa is the first real test that the Buckeyes have had since the Texas fiasco next week.
Illinois ran for 199 yards on 31 carries against Ohio State in this game. That's good enough for six yards per carry, which is unacceptable for the Buckeyes to allow defensively. Matt Patricia has to do a better job of getting his guys in a position to stop the run.
Ohio State still refuses to play Khary Wilder as many snaps as possible, which is a coaching failure. The more he plays, the better the defensive line will be. Ohio State also needs to be able to run the ball better itself. They still have yet to have a player run for more than 100 yards in a game.
A trip to Iowa City looms, but at least Ryan Day can count on Jeremiah Smith to be a dominant player.
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