Jeremiah Smith caught four touchdown passes in Ohio State’s 42-19 win over Illinois, tying the school single-game record. His 12 catches for 217 yards were career highs and made him the first Buckeye to post double-digit receptions, four TDs and at least 200 yards in one game.
The article’s top-ranked touchdown was a contested end-zone catch on which Smith tapped his left foot down before going out of bounds. His 72-yard score in the first quarter was his longest catch of the day; a 26-yard end-zone catch with just over 10 minutes on the clock tied the record.
Quarterback Julian Sayin threw all four touchdown passes and had 367 passing yards on 36 attempts. Coach Ryan Day said it was hard to imagine a better player in the country and that Smith was taking his game to another level. The article noted Smith needed one more touchdown that season to tie Chris Olave’s school career-touchdown record and two to surpass it.
