Jeremiah Smith had a big day for Ohio State (Photo by Ohio State Athletics)
The Ohio State Buckeyes found their offense in the passing game against Illinois!
Ohio State 42, Illinois 19
The Buckeyes found a simple formula on offense in their victory over Illinois in the Battle for Illibuck. Get Jeremiah Smith the football, and let him do what he does best. Smith was happy to oblige. The Buckeyes legend would cross the 3,000 career receiving yards mark in the victory. Ohio State would go off for 518 total yards and 42 points behind a big day from Smith and his quarterback Julian Sayin. The superstar quarterback and record-shattering receiver got the highlights and glory, but the Ohio State offense supported them well.
High Flying Offense in Ohio
Offensively, Ohio State was better across the board. One of the places they showed the most improvement was on third down. Last week they were 1 of 8 against Kent State on third down; this week they were 8 of 12 against Illinois. They also gave up no sacks and had no turnovers for the first time this season. In addition to maintaining these important improvements, there are a couple more things this already great offense can do to become legendary.
The first is finding a WR2. The Buckeye offense needs someone to be good on the opposite side of the field from Jeremiah Smith. Last year it was Carnell Tate, and in 2024 it was Emeka Egbuka. Every season that this offense is at its best, it has two great wide receivers. Right now, no one has seized that second spot. Brandon Inniss, Devin McCuin, freshman Chris Henry Jr. and Brock Boyd, or sophomore Phillip Bell; someone needs to seize that spot.
The next thing they need to do is get their speedy players in space. They’re doing better at that with the receivers. Just look at Jeremiah Smith’s 72-yard touchdown below. But they need it from their running backs, Ja’Kobi and Bo Jackson. An asset here would be freshman Legen Bey. Bey has that burst of speed, but whether it was an injury against Kent State or the mistakes returning kicks against Ball State, Bey hasn’t been seen much since the season opener. Ohio State needs to find that home run threat in the backfield, and that may be Legend Bey, or it could be one of the Jacksons stepping up.
The Ohio State Defense
Ohio State gave up 462 yards of total offense, 263 passing, and 199 rushing. That can’t happen. Because if it does again, it’s unlikely any other Big Ten team, or any team in the postseason, is only going to get 19 points out of that many yards. While that is concerning, better now than later. Better on a day when Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin go ballistic with the offense. To the defense’s credit, they did hold those 462 yards to only 19 points. They played pretty great in the most important stat of them all, the score.
The defensive secondary was elite for the Bucks. Their linebacker play is improving the more time young standout Riley Pettijohn sees on the field. Ohio State’s other linebackers are good and very capable, but Pettijohn is a difference maker that improves the rest of the defense when he’s out there. In that sense, he reminds me of Buckeye great AJ Hawk. Just a good football player who makes a difference to the team.
The area of struggle is still on the defensive line. Veteran players like Jason Moore, Will Smith Jr., and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. are making plays but need more help from the transfers, and for the young guns to get more shots on the field, like Pettijohn is for the linebackers.
Silver Bullet Secondary
But back to the elite Buckeye secondary. They had a day in the 42-19 win. Jermaine Mathews Jr. is a beast and maybe an All-American at corner; he’s joined by young gun Devin Sanchez. Jaylen McClain and Earl Little Jr., the best transfer that’s new this year, are working hard to pick up where Caleb Downs left off. An impossible task, they’re doing it better than most would. Nickel corner Jay Timmons was having a great season until he got dinged up in this game; hopefully he’ll be back soon. These five guys had 29 tackles, 17 of them solo, and 10 passes defended in the victory.
The Buckeyes Best
Sayin and Smith were on fire. Sayin was 27 of 36 for 367 yards with four touchdown passes and 29 yards with another touchdown rushing. Smith had 12 catches for 217 yards and an Ohio State single-game record of four touchdown catches. Jeremiah Smith had over a hundred yards and three of those touchdowns in the first half. On the season, Sayin is 83 of 115 for 1,206 yards with 10 touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns. Smith has 33 catches for 617 yards and seven touchdowns.
Up Next, at Iowa
It seems like it happens more often, but there have been two times in the last 25 years when the strange powers of Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City have risen up and bitten the Buckeyes. Ohio State will be wanting to silence their ghosts and demons from 2004 and 2017. Coach Day, who was in his first year at Ohio State as offensive coordinator in 2017, will make sure this team is aware of that history and the tall task ahead of them in Iowa on Saturday.
