Texas has a chance this weekend to end Ohio State’s two-game series streak and give Arch Manning his first win over the Buckeyes. Texas has not beaten Ohio State since the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, and Urban Meyer now says one Buckeyes threat could keep that drought alive.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“Jeremiah Smith’s a big play waiting to happen. But you can take away—you know, when I always felt like when I had Lewis Murphy, Riley Cooper, and Percy Harvin, you couldn’t take away all them,” Meyer said on the September 9 episode of The Stampede.
“You can take—you can roll up on Jeremiah Smith and two-for-one him and kind of keep him in front. He’s going to make some catches, but you just don’t want to leave him by himself out there very often because I know, like, all good offenses and you have a guy like that, you get individual coverage, they’re going to—it can be a run play—they’re going to throw it up to them. You saw that last week against Ball State. They did. He’s done that before,” Meyer continued.
Texas has restricted Smith before, but Meyer does not think that means the Longhorns can leave him in single coverage. He pointed to Ohio State’s Week 1 game against Ball State, where Smith kept getting chances, even when the throw was not the safest option.
The stats around Smith explain why Meyer’s warning is a concern for Texas. In 2024, as a freshman on a national-title team, he had 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns in 16 games.
Last season, he had 87 receptions for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games. In the opener against Ball State this season, he had eight catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
Texas has still had success against Smith. Against everyone else, he averages about 87 to 95 receiving yards a game. His Texas numbers sit far below that line.
The 2024 plan under then-defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski was to cloud and double Smith. “They clouded him, they doubled him, they were finding different ways to get two guys over the top of him,” Ohio State quarterback Will Howard said after the Cotton Bowl.
A safety stayed over Smith while a corner, often Jahdae Barron, played underneath. Different Longhorns defensive backs were on him. The result was one catch for 3 yards on three targets. Smith had just gone for 13 catches, 290 yards, and four touchdowns in his previous two playoff games.
Texas used the same idea again in the 2025 rematch. The Longhorns mixed a physical press at the line and double teams on key downs. Smith’s targets were mostly screens, curls, and flats. His average depth of target that night was about 3.7 yards. He finished with six catches for 43 yards, no touchdowns, and two drops.
Meyer’s warning lines up with what Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has said.
“He’s arguably the best player in college football. The challenge is, with him, it’s the size, speed, catch radius.” Sarkisian said at his September 7, 2026, Ohio State-week press conference.
“He can cover ground and then, because he’s so strong, 50-50 catches are difficult with him. You have to have a plan. But I think, like anything, when you have a plan against somebody like him, you can’t just throw all fastballs… We better know where No. 4 is on every snap,” the head coach noted.
That message has not changed even with a new defensive coordinator. Will Muschamp now runs the Texas defense after Kwiatkowski. The stated plan is still the same, which is to always keep an eye on where No. 4 is every snap.
That plan faces its next test Saturday, September 12, at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. No. 1 Ohio State plays No. 4 Texas. The forecast is around 102 degrees, and heat will still be a factor at kickoff. Ohio State arrives after a 56–3 win over Ball State. Texas arrives after a 59–7 win over Texas State.
Texas left tackle Trevor Goosby is cleared after a bone bruise and played 52 snaps against Texas State. Freshman running back Derrek Cooper hurt his ankle and is likely out or limited, so Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown may get more work.
Ohio State wide receiver Kyle Parker remains out. Edge rusher Qua Russaw has been cleared and is expected to make his Buckeyes debut.