IOWA CITY, Iowa — Jeremiah Smith spent Saturday afternoon rewriting the Ohio State record book and, for a moment, posing like a Heisman favorite. The junior receiver helped No. 5 Ohio State beat No. 14 Iowa 31-14 at Kinnick Stadium, and he left with the Buckeyes’ career marks for receptions and touchdown catches.
Smith moved past Chris Olave with his 36th career touchdown reception, a score with 6:11 left in the third quarter. He later made the 206th catch of his career, topping the mark Emeka Egbuka had held. He finished with 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns, and his career receiving yardage is now an Ohio State record 3,381. A week earlier he had 12 catches for 217 yards and four scores against Illinois.
Asked what is left, Smith said he wants to bring this team a national championship, a goal he has chased since the season started. He also said the Heisman is on his mind and that he has to get to New York this year. No wide receiver has won the award since Alabama’s DeVonta Smith in 2020. Coach Ryan Day called the performances of the last two weeks contagious and said Smith has become a leader as well as the best player in the country.
Quarterback Julian Sayin, a Heisman finalist last season, completed 20 of 27 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns. Ohio State, now 5-1, led 17-6 with 12 seconds left in the half on Smith’s 12-yard catch, then closed the scoring on a 2-yard run by Ja’Kobi Jackson in the fourth. Day said the defense created turnovers that shortened the field and that the fourth quarter was the kind of finish the Buckeyes wanted heading into the middle of the season. Iowa dropped to 4-2.