The talk of college football this week will center on Ohio State and Indiana. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers meet in a top-5 showdown in Week 7, and Indiana coach Curt Cignetti already has his eyes on Ohio State star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, clearly. 

This weekend’s game marks the third straight year these two programs have met. The 2024 matchup came during the regular season, when Indiana was first starting to rise in the Big Ten under Cignetti. Last season, Indiana beat Ohio State 13-10 to win the Big Ten Championship. Now the teams meet in Bloomington, Indiana, for a regular season battle that has a chance to be the best game in the series yet.

Jeremiah Smith is the constant for Ohio State

Both rosters look a lot different from last year’s veteran-led teams. One thing that hasn’t changed is Smith, who will face Indiana for the third time in his career this weekend.

Smith didn’t have a huge game against the Hoosiers in 2024, when Ohio State won by three scores. He caught three passes for 34 yards, and the Buckeyes didn’t need much from him that day. Last year’s Big Ten Championship was a different story. Smith finished with eight catches for 144 yards against Indiana and gave the Hoosiers’ secondary plenty of problems.

Still, one detail sticks out. Smith has never scored a touchdown against Indiana.

Curt Cignetti gives Jeremiah Smith his flowers

Cignetti knows his defense is going to have its hands full with the Ohio State star. The Indiana coach didn’t hold back when asked about Smith ahead of the matchup.

“They do a lot of really nice stuff, they move Jeremiah around quite a bit,” Cignetti said. “He’s taken it up a notch without question. I think he has nine touchdown catches in the last three P4 games. And there’s no one like him right now, playing at this level. I mean, we got two really good ones. He’s a freak. We’regonna have to do a great job on him.”

That’s Cignetti giving Smith his flowers before the two teams take the field. Indiana does have two talented receivers of its own in Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker, and both carry early-round NFL draft potential. However, neither is on Smith’s level. The Ohio State receiver has a chance to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. He’s that good.

Cignetti is a smart coach, and he isn’t going to go out of his way to say anything negative about a player like Smith. Instead, he’s going to talk him up ahead of the game, as he should. Praising an opponent’s best player costs Indiana nothing, and it shows the Hoosiers’ staff understands what’s coming.

Ohio State will lean on Smith in Bloomington

If Ohio State is going to win this game on the road, the Buckeyes will continue to rely heavily on Smith. They’ve fed him the ball all year, and the production has followed.

Through six games, Smith has 48 catches for 916 receiving yards and 11 touchdown receptions. He’s averaging a whopping 152.7 yards per game and has been virtually unguardable for the Buckeyes. Defenses have thrown different looks at him, and none of them have slowed him down for long.

Indiana has kept Smith out of the end zone in both previous meetings, which gives the Hoosiers’ defense some confidence going into Week 7. Whether that streak holds up against a version of Smith who has taken his game up a notch will matter for both sides. Ohio State will want to get the ball in his hands early and often, while Indiana will try to make someone else beat them.