Ohio State Receives Low Team Grade Despite Jeremiah Smith Record Game

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The Ohio State Buckeyes were able to come away with a nice win over the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday to open Big Ten play for the season.

Ohio State won 42-19 against Illinois in front of their loyal crowd in Columbus, but the entire game was centered around star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Smith put together one of the more special performances in recent memory, helping the Buckeyes grab the victory.

For the game, Smith caught 12 catches for 217 yards and four touchdowns. The Ohio State offense was completely focused on getting Smith the ball, and the Fighting Illini defense couldn't stop him at all.

Smith added to his resume to win the Heisman Trophy this season, and he set some records in the process. The star wideout tied the program's record for touchdown catches in a game, single-handedly taking down the Fighting Illini.

Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin looked to Smith early and often in this game, giving him a chance to set these strong numbers. Smith showed exactly why he is the best wide receiver in the country, if not the best player overall as well.

But despite the excellent game from Smith, the Buckeyes as a whole received a low grade for their performance against Illinois. CBS Sports college football analyst David Cobb gave Ohio State a "C+" for the game this weekend.

The Buckeyes did win the game by multiple scores, but the defense was showing some signs of cracking throughout. Overall, Ohio State gave up 462 yards of total offense to the Fighting Illini, which normally isn't going to get the job done.

Ohio State's defense was bending throughout the game, rather than breaking, and it allowed them to come away with the win. But against stronger competition as the season goes on, this may not be the case.

The Buckeyes will look to clean this up moving forward, with the goal of being a legitimate title contender in mind. Ohio State has prided itself on playing strong defense, and Ryan Day's group will have to step everything up.

Next up for the Buckeyes is a tough test against the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road. Iowa is ranked No. 14 in the country after they took down the Michigan Wolverines last week, and this team will be fired up to try and upset Ohio State.

Playing in Iowa is never easy, and the Buckeyes will need to bring their A-game to avoid suffering another loss on the year.

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