Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is shaping up as one of the biggest names in the Heisman race. After putting up 151 yards and two touchdowns in the opener, he is giving the No. 1 Buckeyes another reason to feel confident heading into Texas. Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has closely monitored Smith’s performance and is convinced he’s one of the toughest players his team will have to face in their Week 2 matchup.

Sarkisian knows Texas will have to account for Smith on every snap. According to the Texas head coach, Smith’s physical tools and speed make him tough to handle, especially when he gets a step on a defender and closes the gap quickly. He believes Smith’s size, long arms, and ability to read the field already resemble those of top NFL players at that position.

“They’ve [Ohio State] got other weapons, and so we’ve got to be diligent in having our ability to throw different pitches,” Sarkisian said during a press conference on September 7. “Then be sound in the back end to make sure that you know we’re aware of where number four is, and he garners that. Like, there’s not every game you go into where you say, ‘Hey, we need to know where this guy is every snap. We better know where number four is on every snap.”

Sarkisian’s plan to contain Smith has worked in the past, as the Longhorns held him to just seven catches for 46 yards across two meetings, including one catch for three yards in the 2024 CFP semifinal. But Smith’s Week 1 performance against Ball State gives all the more reason for Sarkisian to be cautious with his tried-and-tested approaches in the past.

“He garners your attention, and he deserves our attention,” Sarkisian said during a press conference on September 7. “He’s arguably the best player in college football. The challenge is, with him, it’s the size, speed, catch radius. He’s a big, physical guy who can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time.”

Texas also has a fresh defensive look since their last meeting. With Will Muschamp returning as defensive coordinator, the Longhorns are moving toward a more physical, press-heavy coverage style.

Instead of playing off receivers like before, Muschamp wants his secondary lineup, featuring Bo Mascoe, Kade Phillips, Jelani McDonald, and Xavier Filsaime, to disrupt Jeremiah Smith right at the line of scrimmage. Meanwhile, Sarkisian plans to mix defensive approaches to prevent the Buckeyes from exploiting single coverage.

Making things harder is Ohio State’s new offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith. The former NFL coach uses heavy, physical sets with multiple tight ends to collapse defenses inward. This run-heavy look stacks the box, leaving Jeremiah Smith with single-coverage opportunities downfield against defensive backs.

Smith opened the season with eight catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns against the Cardinals, all before halftime. He made one of the standout plays of the game with a one-handed touchdown catch against his helmet at the goal line, before Ohio State head coach Ryan Day pulled him after the break in the 56-3 blowout.

“When you just talk about body structure, this guy looks like Julio Jones. This guy looks like AJ Brown, like physically,” he said. “He can cover ground, and because he’s so strong, 50-50 catches are very difficult with him. So you have to have a plan.”

Sarkisian notes that “you can’t just throw all fastballs” at Smith, as the star wideout would eventually beat it. He praised Ohio State’s running game and other weapons on the offense, stating that the Longhorns shouldn’t rely on a single defensive look and should focus on mixing the coverages when playing against No. 1 Ohio State.

The stakes for this early-season battle go far beyond Week 2. The winner takes immediate control of the national title race and secures key playoff seeding leverage. For Texas, proving they can slow down Smith again is about establishing their defense as the standard for the entire college football season.

No. 5 Texas hosts No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday, September 12, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, with the kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT. With both teams entering Week 2 after dominant Week 1 wins, Sarkisian’s specific game plan for Smith will get its first trial against the Buckeyes’ new scheme under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.