Ohio State football's Jeremiah Smith takes blame for pick-6 in CFP loss

Jeremiah Smith said the interception returned for a touchdown in Ohio State’s loss to Miami in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals in December was his fault.

It was early in the second quarter when Smith missed a block on safety Keionte Scott, allowing him to step in front of a screen pass intended for Brandon Inniss and take it 72 yards for a touchdown.

“You could say that play is on me, and it’s something I’m going to learn for sure,” Smith said. “It’s a humbling moment. Coming into this offseason, I'm going to push myself to exhaustion to never make that play happen again.”

Smith, the superstar wide receiver who is a junior, would lead the Buckeyes with seven catches for 157 yards in their 24-14 postseason loss, including a 14-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that brought them within a field goal of the Hurricanes.

But it wasn’t enough to overcome the pick-6, which proved to be a major early turning point. The turnover not only resulted in Miami building a 14-0 lead, but it also cost the Buckeyes a potential touchdown of their own as they had reached the Hurricanes’ 16-yard line two plays earlier.

The following three months have not allowed Smith to fully forget the costly sequence.

“I wouldn’t say I think about it,” he said, “but it’s always something that’s in the back of my head.”

Smith, who spoke publicly about the loss for the first time on March 28, said it often appears on his social media feed, giving the South Florida native another look at the interception.

Even if it remains a disappointment, something he vows to correct this year, he doesn’t overlook Scott, who seized on the opportunity to alter the game.

“He made a great play,” Smith said, “and just read it.”

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jeremiah Smith takes blame for pick-6 in Ohio State's CFP loss