Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith makes case as best receiver in the country at Rose Bowl

PASADENA, Calif. – It’s only been 14 games, but Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly had already seen enough of receiver Jeremiah Smith to make his proclamation.

“He’s the best receiver in the country, and he showed it tonight,” Kelly told USA TODAY Sports.

It’s hard to argue.

As the College Football Playoff stage gets bigger, the Buckeyes freshman receiver continues to shine. His latest offering – a dominant performance against top-seeded Oregon in the Rose Bowl to get his team into the semifinals. He finished the night with seven catches for 187 yards – a career-high that broke the school record for most receiving yards in a game by a freshman – and two touchdowns. He was named Rose Bowl offensive MVP.

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) runs for a touchdown in the second quarter against Oregon during the 2025 Rose Bowl at Rose Bowl Stadium.

It only took three plays for his impact to be felt Wednesday. Smith took a short toss from quarterback Will Howard and evaded multiple tacklers before so jogging into the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown.

As he made his way into the end zone, he held up a peace sign and signaled to the Oregon crowd to quiet down, and that’s pretty much what they did anytime No. 4 got his hands on the ball.

Smith was doing it about any way he wanted to. He was winning one-on-one matchups against a top 10 passing defense and he was maneuvering through the secondary to find himself wide open for big plays. Each time Howard threw the ball toward Smith’s direction, you could sense the impending doom awaiting the Oregon fans and the anticipation to celebrate for the scarlet and gray.

What’s more impressive about Smith’s performance is that most of his damage came in the first half. Smith had five catches for 161 yards as Ohio State was comfortably ahead 34-8 at the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ohio-states-jeremiah-smith-makes-110655359.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2025-01-02 11:06:00

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