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

In 2007, Illinois brought the Juice (Williams) to Ohio Stadium, knocked off the top-ranked Buckeyes, and took the wooden turtle back to Champaign.

The Illini brought Juice (Clark) with them again on Saturday afternoon, but the defensive back got squeezed by all-world receiver Jeremiah Smith, who caught 12 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns. He had 150 yards receiving and three touchdowns in the first half.

Ohio State kept the Illibuck Trophy by cruising to a 42-19 win in its Big Ten opener.

Smith, with 34 career scores, now sits one touchdown behind Chris Olave on the all-time touchdown receptions list at Wide Receiver University. Last week against Kent State, he set the OSU receiving yardage record, passing Michael Jenkins. He is ten receptions away from passing Emeka Egbuka as the Buckeyes' all-time receptions leader.

Julian Sayin completed 27 of 36 passes for 367 yards, throwing all four touchdowns to Smith and running for another.

OSU's defense contained Illinois star receiver Collin Dixon. The Tallmadge, Ohio native entered the game with 25 receptions for 367 yards and seven touchdowns. He finished with five receptions for 63 yards.

But quarterback Katin Houser connected with seven different receivers, including Dixon, Hudson Clement (five receptions, 87 yards) and Ty Robinson (four receptions, 45 yards and a touchdown).

The Illini moved the football, gaining 462 yards, many of which were in big chunks.

But stopping Jeremiah Smith was an impossible task.

Ohio State needed just nine plays to score on its opening possession, with Smith catching a 12-yard touchdown pass from Sayin.

Minutes later, the two connected again, this time for a 72-yard touchdown that gave the Buckeyes a 14-0 lead.

Illinois answered with a touchdown, but Ohio State followed with its most impressive drive of the afternoon.

Starting at his own 4-yard line, Sayin directed a 19-play, 96-yard march that consumed 8:31. He picked up three rushing first downs, converted a fourth-and-7 with a pass to Nate Roberts, and found Smith for his third touchdown.

Sayin added a rushing touchdown with 15 seconds remaining in the half, sending Ohio State into the locker room leading 28-10.

Illinois cut the deficit to 28-13 in the third quarter and threatened again before Jaylen McClain broke up a fourth-down pass near the goal line early in the fourth.

Smith promptly delivered his fourth touchdown, a 26-yard reception that extended Ohio State's lead to 35-13.

After Illinois answered, Ja'Kobi Jackson sealed the victory with a late touchdown run.

After the game, Smith humbly deflected praise for his fantastic performance, acknowledging only that he is always striving to get better.

Day was considerably more enthusiastic.

"If there's a better player in the country…it’s hard to imagine,” he said.

Still, Ohio State's defense gave its coach something to think about.

"There were too many big plays today," Day acknowledged, while also saying he was happy with the offensive line play and felt the running backs responded to his challenge earlier in the week.

The Buckeyes surrendered 462 yards and committed seven penalties for 59 yards.

While he was happy with the win, his 85th as Ohio State’s head coach, he is obviously looking to improve.

“I can’t say anything is exactly where we want it right now,” he said.

Notes: Former Buckeye and current linebackers coach James Laurinatis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and rang the Victory Bell before the game. Ohio State travels to #17 Iowa next week for a 3:30 pm kickoff. The Buckeyes have five ranked teams on the slate in the next eight games, three of which are on the road.

O – H!