The Ohio State Buckeyes were richly rewarded for their 45-0 dismantling of Purdue last Saturday. OSU took another big step toward the College Football Playoff, with their senior QB Will Howard and freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith both impressing and earning honors. While both of them combined to great effect against the Boilermakers, there is still scope for improvement, according to Smith.

Talking to reporter Kellyanne Stitts on November 13, Smith talked about his record-breaking touchdown in the game and what it meant to him. Smith surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter for the most receiving touchdowns by an OSU true freshman with nine and said, “It was a crazy moment, but just gotta keep going from here.”

Stitts then asked Smith about his chemistry with Howard, to which the WR answered, “Chemistry is pretty good right now, definitely could be better, but, you know, we just got to work on it over the next seven or six games.” Despite the performance and a comfortable win, Smith has thrown caution to the wind, and with good reason.

Before the Purdue game, Ohio’s struggles in the offense were clear to see. Against Nebraska, the Buckeyes were largely one-dimensional, running for just 64 yards. In the third quarter, Howard overthrew Emeka Egbuka and Nebraska’s Malcolm Hartzog Jr. intercepted the pass and returned it 34 yards to the Ohio State 7. Howard did toss three touchdown passes and finished with 13 for 16 for 221 yards, but they looked far from the well-oiled machine they were supposed to be, despite the 21-17 win.

The signs of worry didn’t end there. In the next game against, Penn State, Smith missed a deep ball thrown his way by Howard, raising questions over their coordination. Addressing the miss after the game, Smith took responsibility saying, “That was on me. I didn’t expect Will to throw that, I thought the ball was going to Carnell and I looked up last minute. I see the ball was coming so I had to speed up but I dropped I tried but that’s on me.”

Incidentally, Smith led the game with 55 receiving yards, catching four of Will Howard’s 16 completed passes, but chinks in the armor remain, as highlighted by his deep ball miss. During his conversation after the Penn State game, Smith admitted that he has “not really” met his expectations and that there is “more stuff that I need to work on, stuff I definitely could be better at.” 

Smith’s comments about his partnership with Howard needing improvements, even after a convincing win, will have the Buckeyes a little concerned given the run of fixtures that awaits them.

Looking at the Buckeyes’ games ahead of this week, it’s understandable why Jeremiah Smith wants to see Will Howard and his partnership perform better. After this weekend’s game against Northwestern, they will face the Indiana Hoosiers, which is the only undefeated team in the ongoing season. The game could essentially be a Conference title eliminator.

This will be followed by a game against the defending champions the Michigan Wolverines, who despite their inconsistent season remain a threat. Hence, with the Big Ten title game and a College Football Playoff spot at stake, it is high time for Will Howard and Jeremiah Smith to improve on whatever shortcomings remain, as the margin for error will be bare minimum.

If their most recent outing is anything to go by, then the OSU faithful should not have much to worry about.

Jeremiah Smith and Howard’s remarkable week

Against the Purdue Boilermakers last week, not only did Howard and Smith demonstrate exceptional execution, but they also set records. Howard completed 21 out of 26 passes, covering 260 yards and scoring four touchdowns, while Smith also made a valuable contribution, catching 6 passes for 87 yards.

As a result, Will Howard was awarded the prestigious title of Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Week, while Jeremiah Smith was rightfully recognized as the Freshman of the Week. In nine games so far, Howard is second nationally in completion percentage (74.0) and third in passing efficiency (182.48).

In the same time period, Smith has totaled 45 catches for a team-high 765 yards and 10 total touchdowns. His nine receiving TDs rank No. 6 nationally. He is also in the top 25 in total receiving yards (24th) and receiving yards per game (21st).

The form of their two top players bodes well for the Buckeyes. But bigger tests lie ahead and it will be a true test of how far the QB and WR partnership has come for them.