Jeremiah Smith's Four Touchdowns Power Ohio State Past Illinois 42-19

The star receiver racked up 12 catches for 217 yards and four scores in a 42-19 win, then admitted he was laughing on his way into the end zone.

Ohio State opened conference play with a 42-19 win over Illinois on Saturday in Columbus, improving to 3-1 on the season. It was the Buckeyes' second straight victory since their lone defeat. Ryan Day's team performed well on both sides of the ball, and a huge afternoon from star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith carried the offense.

The Week 2 loss to Texas remains the only blemish on Ohio State's record, a game that slipped away from the Buckeyes in the second half. They have encountered little resistance since that afternoon, winning comfortably each time out, and Saturday's result continued the trend.

Smith was the focal point of the Ohio State offense once again. Quarterback Julian Sayin kept looking his way, and the production followed: 12 catches, 217 yards and four touchdowns, numbers that overwhelmed the Illinois defense all afternoon.

By the end of the first quarter, Smith had compiled four receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Bleacher Report shared video of the 72-yard touchdown during Saturday's game, posting it alongside his stats from the opening 15 minutes.

That 72-yard score, the second of Smith's four touchdowns, was the signature play of the day, the kind that gets replayed for years. Sayin's deep throw fell slightly short, but Smith adjusted and hauled it in. He then shook the nearest defender with a series of fakes before coasting the rest of the way into the end zone.

Smith admitted afterward that he felt for the defensive back on the wrong end of the play, and said he was laughing as the sequence unfolded. "Yeah, I can say I feel bad for him," Smith said, per Underdog CFB. "When I did that, I just started laughing when it happened. Feel kinda bad for him."

The third touchdown was arguably just as remarkable as the second. Sayin put a contested throw up toward the back of the end zone, giving his receiver a chance to make a play on the ball in tight coverage. Smith won it and kept a foot down inside the sideline for the score.

Already regarded as a future first-round NFL draft pick, the former five-star recruit has watched his 2026 numbers grow rapidly. Through four games, a third of the way through the season, he has totaled 33 catches for 617 yards and seven touchdowns. That production has put him squarely in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy at this stage of the season.

The schedule stiffens considerably from here for the Buckeyes. In Week 5, Day's team travels to Iowa City to face an unbeaten Iowa squad that is coming off a road win at Michigan. The Hawkeyes will likely be ranked in the top 15 when that game kicks off.