The 2026 Ohio State schedule is more than just tough. There are some personal matchups that Jeremiah Smith is intrigued by, including a revenge game against Indiana. In a casual sit-down with Leonard Fournette, he showed why their schedule feels like a series of grudges. Starting at the top, he almost shrugs the difficulty level off.

“Our first couple of games are always like that,” Jeremiah Smith said, brushing past Ball State and Kent State. 

Honestly, those MAC matchups are like tune-ups for an elite program like Ohio State. But there’s Steve Sarkisian’s Texas sitting in between those two in Week 2. And he did single out that matchup saying, “We got Texas though.”

The Longhorns aren’t just another nonconference opponent as this is a battle of powerhouses. Ohio State may have won last season going 14-7, but nobody inside that building is treating a trip to Austin like an easy game. 

Further down the schedule, there’s a road game against Iowa that had Jeremiah Smith saying, “They be rocking.” Then came Maryland followed by Indiana, where the vibe changed. It wouldn’t be wrong to assume the WR has been sitting on that loss longer than he’s letting on publicly. His plan is to “get back” after what they did to Ohio State last season.

A 13-10 defeat lingers especially when you’re someone defenses are built to stop, and they actually do it. Jeremiah Smith finished with 178 receiving yards across two matchups against Indiana in 2024 and 2025. First, it was a comfortable 38-15 win in the first year. Then last year’s upset where they shocked the Buckeyes by handing them their first loss of the season. 

What hurts Jeremiah Smith is that he never scored a touchdown against the Hoosiers. But head coach Curt Cignetti didn’t downplay Jeremiah Smith either. 

“You cover him as well as you can,” he said of the Buckeyes WR. “I hope the ball is not placed very well. He’s a freak, and he’s a great player at that position that I’ve seen at that age. And then he’s a weapon. Julio would be Julio was also a great player, yes, at Alabama, I coached him. Very similar. This guy is a little looser, a little more flexible I think. Maybe a hair faster.”

That’s respect but it’s also a challenge for Jeremiah Smith who has expectations to fulfill. He’s projected as a future NFL star, a first overall pick even. But even after the Indiana game, you can’t ignore the rest of the schedule. 

Jeremiah Smith will try to correct past mistakes

USC on the road still carries weight, even if it’s not peak Trojans dominance. Then, Ohio State hosts Dan Lanning’s Oregon at home in a heated conference clash. Then there’s Northwestern followed by Nebraska on the road which Jeremiah Smith called “a good team.” Finally there’s the final regular game against Michigan. It’s now headed by new coach Kyle Whittingham with new expectations. But that rivalry remains the same and he’d want to boost his resume with more than one win in The Game, especially after his public troll. 

What makes Jeremiah Smith’s comments matter more than just offseason chatter is that this is likely his final year at Ohio State. Even Ryan Day didn’t hide his disappointment after his program that expects nothing less than a national title fell to Indiana.

“We didn’t handle it well at all,” he said. “This was a major lesson for this team. It can come down to one play. This is a tough lesson to learn.”

And when his best player is the one planning revenge, it shows the message got through. So when Ohio State walks into Bloomington again, we’ll see a receiver who’s torched almost everyone trying to play a revenge game on the defense that kept him out of the end zone.