Jeremiah Smith Breaks Two Ohio State Career Records in Win Over Iowa

The Ohio State junior caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns against Iowa, setting program career records for receptions and touchdown catches.

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday, Oct. 3, powering the Buckeyes to a 31-14 victory over Iowa. The effort strengthened the junior's candidacy for the Heisman Trophy, which will be awarded in New York in mid-December.

The game also pushed Smith deeper into the Ohio State record books. Against the Hawkeyes, he set the program's career records for receptions and touchdown catches, adding to the career receiving yardage record he had claimed earlier this season. Together, the three marks give him a sweep of the Buckeyes' major career receiving records.

Smith has made performances like this a weekly occurrence. The Iowa game was the fourth time in five contests this season that he reached at least 150 receiving yards, and his 206 yards accounted for 63.6% of the 324 passing yards compiled by quarterback Julian Sayin.

His season totals now stand at 44 catches for 823 yards and nine touchdowns. Smith leads every FBS player in both receiving yards and touchdown receptions, production that has kept him at the center of this season's Heisman conversation.

The reaction to his performance stretched well beyond college football's regular audience. LeBron James posted a social media shoutout endorsing Smith for the Heisman Trophy, and the basketball star's message stood out among the many responses to the game.

Football analysts were no less direct. ESPN analyst Booger McFarland wrote that whatever the quarterback conversation, Smith stands above every other player at any position and has done so since his high school days at Chaminade. Geoff Schwartz called Smith the premier player in college football and said he saw no close second.

A steady theme of the reaction was Smith's readiness for the professional level. The account Chalkboard suggested he would already rank among the ten best wide receivers in the NFL, and Max Toscano wrote that a healthy Smith is a certainty to produce at the next level. Tony Gerdeman joked that some team will still talk itself into drafting a quarterback ahead of him, while Tom Fornelli quipped that a receiver's well-timed push-off is already part of Smith's game.

One observer looked past individual honors entirely. Shehan Jeyarajah wrote that he is curious to see what Ohio State's offense will look like next season without Smith, arguing that the receiver has been compensating for a number of the unit's problems this year.

Lighter takes rounded out the response. A poster using the name McNeil suggested that defending Smith requires bending the rules, and the CBS Sports college football account offered a brief, understated acknowledgment of the Buckeyes star.