Jeremiah Smith’s presence will put pressure on Iowa’s defense that the Hawkeyes haven’t seen through a 4-0 start. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Whether or not Iowa is distracted by praise for its upset of Michigan, Ohio State’s aerial attack will be difficult, if not impossible, to control.
Columbus, OH – Nick Saban called it rat poison.
He kept his Alabama teams uncomfortable, enacting every strategy, every psychology, every leverage he could to keep his teams from misinterpreting the poison as nutrition.
The rat poison – praise that distracts from the next objective – threatens college football teams every week. Ryan Day calls it noise.
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When No. 5 Ohio State (3-1) visits No. 14 Iowa (4-0) on Saturday, the rat poison and noise threat levels will be high.
Iowa comes off a memorable comeback victory at Michigan. Ohio State’s offense comes off a passing-game performance at a savant level. It’s tempting for players to over-rely on Jeremiah Smith’s greatness and Arthur Smith’s play calling that keeps getting his best player open for touchdowns.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes the OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com. Follow on X @jw_gilbert
Saban saw the deadly effects of rat poison when his team lost to Clemson in the national championship game at the end of the 2016 season. His team entered the game No. 1, unbeaten and the favorite.
The next season after an eight-point win over Texas A&M – evidently too small of a margin – Saban made his rat poison point in a news conference.
“I’m trying to get our players to listen to me, instead of listening to you guys,” he said. “You know, all that stuff you write about how good we are, and all that stuff they hear on ESPN, it’s like poison. You know what I mean? It’s like taking poison — like RAT poison.”
The Tide held onto No. 1 all season until Auburn upset them in the season finale. That was the antidote to the poison. Saban’s team beat Clemson in the semifinals and Georgia in overtime in the title game.
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Perhaps, being No. 1 to start the season and leading Texas by 20 was a toxic dose of rat poison to the Buckeyes. The eight quarters following the collapse, especially the fourth quarters, say the poison is flushed even if the sample size is small.
Perhaps, the feel-good vibes for Iowa this week will be toxic. Whether or not that’s true, if the Buckeyes play to their talent level, Iowa’s state of mind won’t matter. The common narrative of a scary Iowa defense could prove to be flimsy storyline.
Iowa’s memory of Jeremiah Smith includes this one-handed catch in 2024.
If the Hawkeyes rely on history – remember 2017 when the Bucks were blown out on their last trip to Kinnick Stadium after an emotional comeback to beat Penn State – instead of 100% focus on Ohio State, they will drink the poison.
But even if the Hawkeyes don’t, it might not matter one bit, and a 13.5-point spread favoring the Buckeyes will be an easy cover like they were at home in 2024 (35-7) and 2022 (54-10).
Why and how? The other Smith.
Arthur Smith’s NFL-educated mind gives the Buckeyes an advantage they didn’t have last year against the best teams they played – Indiana and Miami. And maybe one they’ve never had. And, to his delight, at his disposal are Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin, fast becoming the most prolific QB-receiver combo in Horseshoe history.
This offense – at least the passing game – is learning to find mismatches and be explosive. So while Iowa might keep Ohio State’s slow-starting ground game under control, the passing game will stretch the Hawkeyes into uncomfortable coverages and isolations.
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Arthur Smith said after Wednesday’s practice that some of the ways the football is finding Jeremiah are non-traditional play designs. For instance, he got open on the long touchdown and the last one with another wide receiver on his side. That put Illinois defenders in conflict and isolated Smith on one player, including a safety on the long one.
“I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s not like we’re doing anything magical,” Arthur Smith said. “It’s just trying things that you can package together. You kind of let them figure that out on Saturday. Something that may look like something and it’s not, I guess is the best way to do it without giving away information.
Arthur Smith explained Wednesday that the ball is going to Jeremiah Smith in non-traditional ways.
“And the only reason I always say that is because they’re going to have probably 10 analysts that are going to break this press conference down and see if I say anything worth noting. They got smart guys over there.”
Iowa’s pass defense numbers look smart: 152 yards per game good for fourth in the Big 10 and 12th in the nation. But did you see what Michigan’s passing game, previously a train wreck, did to the Iowa defense?
Quarterback Bryce Underwood played his best game according to a lot of people who spend a lot of time watching Michigan play football. He passed for 276 yards and two touchdowns. Was it Underwood? Was it a porous defense?
The Iowa defense – its others wins over Northern Illinois, Iowa State, Northern Iowa – has seen nothing like what they must defend Saturday.
Arthur Smith coached Aaron Rodgers last year with the Steelers. But he’s not complaining about having to coach a second-year college quarterback like Sayin.
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“The hardest position in all sports to play is quarterback whether you’re the quarterback at Ohio State or the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Smith said. “That’s why there’s very few humans that can play that position at that level. He’s a young player, and there is a lot that he’s done, and we continue to work at it.”
Saturday is the first game of the rest of Ohio State’s season, featuring three road games this month against ranked teams. No time to rest on any victory or look ahead to November.
The Buckeyes learned that lesson when they were poisoned by being No. 1 in the preseason and by the first two and half quarters at Texas. They flushed it from their system against Kent State and Illinois they hope for good.
My friend Tony the Barber made an interesting observation Thursday as I sat in his chair and we discussed all things pigskin and our generation’s music.
“I like how Ryan Day coaches a lot better after he’s lost a game than when he’s undefeated,” he said. “He’s not as tight.”
Maybe the players aren’t tight either after a loss. That slap upside the head tends to flush the poison.
Jeremiah watch
Jeremiah Smith has 33 catches for 617 yards and seven touchdowns in four games in his pursuit of victories, records and the Heisman Trophy. He could capture the final two-thirds of Ohio State’s career receiving triple crown Saturday. He surpassed Michael Jenkins’ yards record against Kent State and 3,000 yards. A final total over 4,000 yards is within reach. He needs 10 catches to surpass Emeka Egbuka’s receptions record of 205 and two touchdowns to surpass Chris Olave’s touchdown record of 35.
Last week he set single-game career highs for yards, catches and touchdowns to be named national player of the week. If he hits 100 yards this week, he will tie Marvin Harrison Jr.’s record of 15 games.
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