Ohio State enters the CFP semifinal armed with what many are calling the most unstoppable force in the game: freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
After dismantling two elite defenses in back-to-back performances against Tennessee and Oregon, Smith has solidified his status as a game-changer.
His ability to break through coverage and deliver explosive plays has drawn admiration from one of football’s greatest minds: Nick Saban.
The legendary seven-time national champion coach, shared his high praise for Smith during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
“I don’t think there’s any question about it. When you have a mismatch player like that, Chuck (Pagano) knows this, when you’re a coach and you know you’ve got a go-to guy and they can’t guard the guy, from a quarterback standpoint I mean who makes who better? The receiver makes the quarterback better, the quarterback makes the receiver better,” Saban said.
Saban, who has coached a roster of NFL-caliber wideouts at Alabama, emphasized the value of having a “mismatch” receiver during a championship run.
“And you know when you’ve got a mismatch guy like this that he’s going to make plays in critical situations,” he confidently said.
The comparison game began when Saban brought up one of the greatest receivers in his coaching tenure.
“I mean we had Julio Jones back in, what, 2009 or whatever. And he was that kind of player. We had lots of first-round draft pick wide receivers, but he was the one guy you knew if you threw him the ball in a critical situation he was going to win and he was going to make the play. And I think that’s what they’ve got in this guy, No. 4,” Saban added.
Smith’s dominance this season has been nothing short of remarkable.
He torched Oregon’s defense for a career-high 187 receiving yards, including two touchdowns over 40 yards each. That performance cemented his reputation as un-guardable, with defenders struggling to contain his speed and route-running precision.
Heading into the CFP semifinals, Smith boasts 70 receptions for 1,224 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The Texas Longhorns, Ohio State’s semifinal opponent in the Cotton Bowl, will face the challenge of slowing him down.
Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and head coach Steve Sarkisian, a former Saban assistant, will be tasked with designing a plan to neutralize Smith’s impact.
Smith’s meteoric rise has not gone unnoticed.
During his 2024 recruiting period, he received scholarship offers from 40 schools, including Texas. But it’s the Buckeyes who will rely on him as they aim to add another national championship to their storied history.
After Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs lost to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, frustration set in for many fans across the SEC.
While no one will question the conference’s recent dominance in the college football landscape, the fact of the matter is the SEC has had a “down year” for their standards.
Although some fans are slow to admit it, the Texas Longhorns are indeed an SEC team. And they are the conference’s last hope to win a national title.
However, Saban – and many others – seem very confident that Ohio State will prove too be to much for the Longhorns to handle.
Ohio State and Texas will meet Friday in Arlington for their first clash since the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, a narrow Longhorns victory.
The stakes are even higher this time, with Smith emerging as a player capable of carrying Ohio State all the way to the title.
As Saban put it, “Can you ride a wide receiver to a national title? I think Ohio State might just do it with Jeremiah Smith.”
What are your thoughts on the matchup? … Do you agree with Saban that Smith and the Buckeyes might prove to be too powerful for Texas to overcome???
