Ohio State was able to take care of business in comfortable fashion in their First Round matchup in the CFP against Tennessee. But for Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith, the win wasn’t quite enough, taking to social media after the game to mock Pro Football Focus over their hypothetical question about Smith’s matchup with Tennessee star cornerback Jermod McCoy.
As a freshman, Smith has been one of the best wide receivers in the country, coming into the game ranked inside the top ten in the FBS ranks in receiving touchdowns.
Meanwhile, McCoy has been one of the nation’s best cornerbacks, recording four interceptions on the season, which was enough to be named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award given to the best defensive back in the country.
Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, Pro Football Focus shared the stats of both Smith and McCoy in a post on X, asking fans who they thought would get the better of the matchup.
Once both teams took the field, it was quite obvious who had the upper hand in the matchup. Right away, Smith made his impact felt, hauling in a 37-yard touchdown over McCoy’s teammate Rickey Gibson III to get the Buckeyes started on the right foot.
Ohio State star freshman WR Jeremiah Smith gets the scoring started in Columbus with a diving TD catch.
Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit have the Tennessee-Ohio State call for ESPN. 🏈🔥🎙️ #CFP pic.twitter.com/ieQXPxXTAY
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 22, 2024
Later on in the game, Smith would get his highlight over McCoy, hauling in his second touchdown of the game in the third quarter to largely put the game out of reach.
JEREMIAH SMITH DOES IT AGAIN 🔥
HIS SECOND TOUCHDOWN IN HIS FIRST-EVER CFP GAME 😤
What a dime from Will Howard 👏 pic.twitter.com/BjzndKxTut
— ESPN (@espn) December 22, 2024
Smith would finish the game with six receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, Ohio State would advance on to a CFP Quarterfinals matchup with Oregon after a 42-17 domination of Tennessee.
After the game, Jeremiah Smith took to social media to mock Pro Football Focus for their post on his matchup with McCoy, which obviously wasn’t overly competitive.
“Yea right,” wrote Smith with a laughing face.
Yea ight 🤣 https://t.co/xpLlaWKMkX
— Jeremiah Smith (@Jermiah_Smith1) December 22, 2024
Smith will now get a matchup with an Oregon team he had plenty of success with in their previous Week 7 game, hauling in nine receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. So chances are, we will see him play a big factor yet again if the Buckeyes are going to take down the No. 1 seed.
Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior WriterDec 22, 2024, 08:52 PM ETCloseCollege football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.Former Penn
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