Jeremiah Smith’s Heisman Case Strengthens In Ohio State’s Win Over Illinois
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Ohio State’s first Big Ten test of the 2026 season came in the form of the Illinois Fighting Illini. While it looked for a second like it was going to get out of hand, it slowly evolved into a four-quarter game. Ohio State came into this game as a four-touchdown favorite. So, for the first time this season, the Buckeyes failed to cover.
The gritty win had highlights, but it also raised plenty of concerns for the Buckeyes moving forward.
Jeremiah Smith’s Heisman Case Strengthens In Ohio State’s Win Over Illinois
Jeremiah Smith Is Still Good At Football
Heading into this matchup with Illinois, Jeremiah Smith was closing in on a few records. While the Big Ten marks are still a bit away, the Ohio State records are within striking distance…which is not what we expected to say. He entered the day just 19 catches and six touchdowns away from owning the Ohio State triple crown. For normal receivers, that’s a few games’ worth of plays. Not for Smith.
In the win, he finished with 12 receptions for 217 yards and four touchdowns. It marked the first time Smith scored more than two touchdowns in a single game. Were the Heisman voters watching? The best receiver in Ohio State history set a new high-water mark, surpassing his previous best receptions, yards, and touchdowns marks.
While the game plan was obviously to get the best player in college football the ball, the rest of the receiving room contributed more than we’ve seen to this point. None of them went over 40 yards, of course, but they opened things up to make Illinois respect the overall passing attack, allowing Smith to get one-on-one and repeatedly dunk on the Illini secondary.
Now, Smith is just 10 catches and two touchdowns away from the Ohio State triple crown. As for the Big Ten, he’s creeping ever closer. Smith is now 177 receptions, 614 yards, and six touchdowns away from the conference records.
Not To Be Overshadowed
There wasn’t much more to talk about from the offense other than Smith’s ridiculous game: the run game wasn’t there, no receivers took much pressure off Smith, and the offensive line wasn’t in top form. However, the player who got the ball to Smith has to have his moment in the spotlight.
Julian Sayin was about as good as can be in the first half of this one. In total, he went into the locker room 21-27, passing for 272 yards and three touchdowns (all to Smith). Additionally, he used his legs! Sayin ran the ball six times for 26 yards and one touchdown. On the drive in which the Buckeyes scored Sayin’s rushing touchdown, Sayin converted three third downs on the ground. That was exactly what the Fringe™ has been asking for. He doesn’t need to be Terrelle Pryor or Braxton Miller; he just needs to get the easy yards on the ground if the play isn’t there.
The second half wasn’t as strong, but there were a couple of crucial drops that made things look worse. Devin McCuin was wide open down the field for what should have been a 20+ yard chunk play but wasn’t able to reel it in.
Sayin was better than his stat line would show, honestly. Any inefficiency on the offensive side of the ball wasn’t on him. With a tougher test next week, Sayin will have to continue to get better.
Concerning Developments
For the first time since the 2024 regular-season matchup at Oregon, Ohio State surrendered over 400 yards of offense. Illinois is a solid team all around, but they probably should not have been 400+ yards of offense good against what should be a good Ohio State defense.
Maybe we need to temper our expectations regarding Matt Patricia’s unit this year. Sure, losing all that talent to the NFL hurts, but Ohio State had to reload in 2025 as well. Of course, Caleb Downs isn’t walking through that door.
The defense was able to get pressure, but Katin Houser was impressive at abandoning the pocket and either extending the play or just picking up chunk yardage on the ground. Houser finished the day 21-37 passing for 263 yards and one touchdown. The Buckeyes were able to keep Collin Dixon out of the end zone for the first time this year, but Houser was impressive. If Illinois didn’t allow Jeremiah Smith to do Jeremiah Smith things, there may have been an upset in Columbus.
The biggest concern is the run defense. For the first time since that 2023 Cotton Bowl loss to Missouri, Ohio State allowed over 200 yards on the ground…or that would be the sack if not for a late sack, which put the Illini at 199 yards, but the point remains. Illinois averaged six yards per carry, and if you take out those sacks, that number jumps to 7.5. Aidan Laughery broke out with 113 yards on 11 carries. In total, the Illini had seven rushes for over 10 yards, as compared to Ohio State’s four.
The defense only forced two three-and-outs, and let Illinois rattle off back-to-back 13-play drives in the second half. Illinois had the ball four times in the second half. The first three drives took a total of 17:15 off the clock. The defense just couldn’t get off the field.
These things are fixable. If they aren’t, those matchups with USC, Oregon, and Indiana loom large.
The Last Word
If you just check the box score, it looked like any old “Ohio State smacked around a lesser Big Ten foe” game. While the final score would suggest that, there were plenty of things that went the Buckeyes’ way. There are things that need fixing, but overall, Ohio State got the job done. Now, the Buckeyes get to regroup before taking on the currently-17th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. If the Hawkeyes get the win at Michigan today, that could be an even bigger matchup for the Buckeyes.
More Ohio State News
- Five Bold Predictions For Ohio State vs. Illinois
- Ohio State Week 4 Preview: Offense Keys In On Short-Yardage Issues
- Ohio State Week 4 Preview: Another Great Opportunity For The Defense
- 2026 Bowl Projections After Week Three
- The 2026 Big Ten College Football Playoff Picture: Week 4
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