Jeremiah Smith made history Saturday as the No. 1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes rolled to a 37-9 win over Ohio at home.
The sophomore wide receiver became the fastest player in program history to reach 1,500 career receiving yards. After racking up 1,315 yards as a freshman, Smith pushed his season total to 315 with Saturday’s performance. He caught nine passes for 152 yards and a touchdown and added another score on the ground with a rushing touchdown.
Quarterback Julian Sayin turned in a solid performance, completing 25-of-32 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. Receivers Carnell Tate and Max Klare each hauled in touchdown catches to help power the win. Running back Bo Jackson added nine carries for 109 yards
While Sayin and the Buckeyes secured the victory, fans were abuzz over Smith’s historic night, which added an exclamation point to Ohio State’s performance.
Ohio State got off to a slower-than-expected start Saturday, settling for field goals on two of its first three possessions and going more than a quarter before finding the end zone. The breakthrough came with 2:29 left in the first half, when sophomore quarterback Sayin connected with tight end Klare on a 16-yard touchdown strike.
But momentum briefly shifted. On the next drive, Sayin was picked off by Ohio’s Michael Mack II, a turnover that led to a field goal for the Bobcats, who trailed 13-3 at halftime.
Ohio came out of the locker room with a spark, scoring on its opening possession to cut the deficit to 13-9. That was as close as it got.
The Buckeyes responded with a field goal and then a deep strike — Sayin found Smith for a 47-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 23-9 heading into the fourth quarter.
Ohio State kept its foot on the gas in the final frame. Sayin struck again less than a minute in, launching a 49-yard touchdown pass to Tate to push the lead to 30-9. He threw his second interception of the game on the following possession with just under 10:30 remaining — a slight speed bump in an otherwise dominant outing.
The Buckeyes put the game out of reach shortly after, as Smith added a 17-yard rushing touchdown to seal the 37-9 victory.
The Buckeyes head into a bye week before traveling to the Pacific Northwest to face the Washington Huskies.
