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Everybody wondered the same thing about Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith in Cotton Bowl

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Jan 11, 2025 11:11 AM ET

As former Ohio State quarterback and current ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit pointed out on the broadcast of the Buckeyes' College Football Playoff semifinal game against Texas in the Cottom Bowl on Friday, the Longhorns deployed a very successful defensive scheme meant to limit breakout star freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith.

Not only was Texas' defensive backfield rolling a corner over to watch Smith on cuts, but they were playing a safety over the top too, as Herbstreit pointed out. That was one reason the Buckeyes offense was flustered against the UT defense, which held OSU to 14 points heading into the fourth quarter.

More than that, Texas limited Smith to one catch for just three yards in the first three quarters. This from a guy who had 1,224 yads and a conference-leading 14 touchdowns this season.

A guy, too, who had 290 yards on 13 receptions in Ohio State's first two playoff wins.

No such luck on Friday, through three quarters, and while Herbstreit was crediting Texas' defense, other hot-take artists on social media were placing the blame on OSU. The question from most pundits was the same: Why not feed Smith?

That includes longtime Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless.

How does Jeremiah Smith have just one catch for 3 yards? Is he hurt? Doesn't appear to be.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 11, 2025

I understand that Texas is making a huge effort to take him away, but there are zero excuses for being almost three full quarters into this game with Jeremiah Smith only having one catch for three yards.
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) January 11, 2025

As former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel posted on Twitter/X: "How in the world does Chip Kelly’s offense have Jeremiah Smith with 1 catch for 3 yards???

How in the world does Chip Kelly’s offense have Jeremiah Smith with 1 catch for 3 yards???
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) January 11, 2025

And Outkick founder Clay Travis noted, "Awful miss on that hold of Texas. But biggest miss of the night is Ohio State not throwing it anywhere near Jeremiah Smith. Again. This is Michigan all over again."

Awful miss on that hold of Texas. But biggest miss of the night is Ohio State not throwing it anywhere near Jeremiah Smith. Again. This is Michigan all over again.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 11, 2025

Smith had five catches for just 35 in the Ohio State loss to Michigan to end the regular season.

Smith never added to his stats in Ohio State's 28-14 win.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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