As the No. 2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes enter the Cotton Bowl after two weeks of rest, the biggest question on everybody’s mind is whether Jeremiah Smith is 100 percent fit against the Miami defense. And so, college football’s pound-for-pound best athlete stepped up to the podium himself and gave a detailed injury update as a Christmas present.

“Going into The Game, no, I was not 100 percent,” Smith said recently. “I’m going to be honest with you, I was still banged up a little bit. But right now, I’m back healthy, fully healthy, so I should be good to go.”

That context explains Smith’s limited production against Michigan, where he finished with three catches for 40 yards. Smith confirmed the injury was a quad strain that doctors initially projected would sideline him for three to four weeks, a timeline that would have kept him out through the end of the regular season. Instead, he returned early to play through it.

Even while managing the injury, Smith posted one of his best games of the season against Indiana, catching eight passes for 144 yards. At that point, he said he was healthier than he had been against Michigan, but still not fully recovered.

The injury caused Smith to miss the entire Rutgers game and the second half against UCLA. Smith later explained the injury occurred in practice and worsened after attempting to play through it against UCLA, where he exited after a handful of drives. He described the physical and mental toll of the setback:

“It was very tough, it was a very bad injury. I didn’t think I would be able to play the rest of the season. I was debating, if I was going to play or not because it was really bad. But I had to do everything for the team. I wanted to be out there, and I did everything I could, and we got the win.”

Despite the limitations, Smith finished the regular season with 80 receptions for 1,086 yards and 11 touchdowns. Those totals came in 12 games played, including one missed entirely and another where he appeared for only a quarter. He earned unanimous All-American honors and Big Ten Receiver of the Year. Multiple analysts have noted the injury likely affected his Biletnikoff Award candidacy, which ultimately went to USC’s Makai Lemon.

What makes him even more dangerous is how his game elevates in the postseason. We saw a glimpse of that again against Indiana just a few days back. Last year, across four playoff games, he caught 19 for 381 yards and five touchdowns, including the game-settling score against Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame.

With Smith back to his old, dominant self and more motivated than ever, Ohio State’s chances of running it back have just gotten ten times better.

Expectation for Buckeyes offense

For the past five years, expectations around Ohio State offense have been unchanged: national championship or bust. The Buckeyes enter the playoff as the No. 2 seed with a 12–1 record and sit as betting favorites to win it all.

After a frustrating 13–10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten title game, the wild part is that many analysts believe Ohio State actually benefited from the loss because they get to face Miami instead of Alabama.

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On top of that, head coach Ryan Day is taking back play-calling duties. He handled that role for five years before stepping away. The hope is that Day will be way more aggressive than the team was in the regular season. Especially in the red zone, where they’ve struggled at times. Fans are expecting him to just “let it rip” and rely on the fact that he has the best playmakers in the country.

The only thing that could derail this run is the offensive line. Ohio State will be without starting right guard Tegra Tshabola against Miami. That is a big loss against the Miami defense, which just held Texas A&M to just 3 points in its first playoff game. Even then, there is no reason for Ohio State to make this game harder than it needs to be.