The Ohio State Buckeyes have a target on their back after winning the natty in 2024. Every program in the country wants a piece of the Buckeyes, and every DB wants to pick off the best wideout in college football, Jeremiah Smith. The No. 1-ranked Buckeyes are 3-0 heading into their Big Ten season opener in Week 5 against Washington. Despite being undefeated, wideout Jeremiah Smith has had some struggles living up to his electric rookie season. In his pre-Washington remarks, Ryan Day addressed the kind of season his WR1 had so far.

Jeremiah Smith had a pretty slow start to the season. He entered this year as the best non-QB Heisman candidate after racking up 76 catches, 1,315 yards, and 15 touchdowns in 2024. Many folks expected him to ball out against Steve Sarkisian’s preseason No. 1-ranked Texas squad in the opener. However, Longhorns DBs had a field day covering him, and their QB Julian Sayin wasn’t the issue. Smith finished with just 6 catches for 43 yards and zero touchdowns in Ohio State’s narrow 14-7 win. Mind you, he was also getting double-teamed on the majority of plays.

Postgame, Smith sounded a bit frustrated with his performance and the lack of red-zone opportunities from Sayin: “The last game I was frustrated [with] was probably Texas,” he said. “They had those two drops. I was frustrated as well because we couldn’t finish in the red zone, and then the fade ball, I feel like I could have caught that ball Julian put in the right spot. So I feel I got to come down with that.”

But on September 26, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day hopped on CBS College Football and opened up about Smith’s frustration and slow start. The host threw the question: “How is Jeremiah Smith coping after a tough outing, especially the Texas game, and how is he planning to bounce back?”

Day started by defending his star wideout. “I don’t think he had [a] tough game against Texas. I just think he’s an unselfish player. You know, we didn’t put [a] lot on [the] QB’s plate. I thought he played excellent in that game. You know, a couple drops here, but like, he’s a team player all the way. And, you know, there may be a couple plays here and there, but Jeremiah is going to continue to be a huge part of our offense and understands what winning is all about.”

Day defended Smith despite the two first-quarter drops. But he had a point—Ohio State leaned a bit too heavily on the run game instead of airing it out because of tight Texas air coverage. They threw the ball just 20 times, finishing with 126 yards, while rushing 31 times for 91-ish yards. The Buckeyes’ head coach doubled down and praised the type of person Smith is.

“Jeremiah is going to continue to be a huge part of our offense and understands what winning is all about. And I think that’s, to me, what makes him even more special is the type of person he is, because it’s easy [to] just want balls and want touches, and, you know, make it about me. But nobody was more excited about beating Texas than Jeremiah Smith. And you know, he loves to win. He’s the ultimate competitor. And you know certainly he’s going to have a major impact on this game.”

Indeed, even with his slow start and limited receptions against Texas, Smith still balled out. Through the first three games of the season, he has caught 20 passes for 315 yards, averaging 15.8 yards per reception. He also added a rushing touchdown. Smith went for 119 yards and 2 TDs in Week 2, and followed that up with 153 yards against the Ohio Bobcats. Safe to say, he’s still in that Heisman race…for now.

Ohio State at Washington Huskies

Ohio State is rolling into Week 5 as the No. 1 team, heading to Washington for a Big Ten road test. The Buckeyes had a bye last week, and Julian Sayin is set for his first career road start. Washington isn’t ranked and didn’t get any AP votes, which is weird, even though their offense has been flying with a quick trio of skill guys.

SP+ thinks Ohio State takes it, predicting a 31-21 win, giving the Buckeyes a 74% chance to pull it off. The model looks at tempo and opponent-adjusted efficiency to figure out who’s likely to win. Oddsmakers have Ohio State as an 8.5-point favorite, with a total of 52.5 points. Moneyline puts the Bucks at -315, Washington at +250. Most bets—about 61%—say Ohio State covers the spread and wins big.

Other computer models back the Buckeyes, too. The College Football Power Index ran 20,000 computer sims and Ohio State won almost 69% of them. The model says they’ll outscore Washington by around 5 points. And the CFPI has been solid over the years, getting about 72% of games right last week and consistently strong over the last decade. Bottom line: Ohio State is the favorite, but Washington is yet to lose a game at home in its last 22 games.