Oregon Ducks can't let one Ohio State Buckeyes elite performer take over the game

The Oregon Ducks are going to face far and away their biggest test of the season in this Saturday's clash with the Ohio State Buckeyes, a truly elite team on a variety of levels.

One matchup stands out as a potential key for this game — Oregon's opportunistic secondary against Ohio State's true freshman wide receiver phenom Jeremiah Smith .

We know that Ohio State is a wide receiver factory. In recent years, the Buckeyes have sent the likes of Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxson Smith-Njigba, and most recently, Marvin Harrison Jr., to the NFL. Smith might be better than all of them. Yes, even Harrison.

Because Ohio State is constantly pulling the top receiver recruits in the country and has a room full of 5-star players, you typically see guys have to wait their turn before getting meaningful playing time.

Smith looked at a room that had 5 stars Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate, and 4 star Brandon Innis, and kicked the door in as a true freshman. He's rare. At 6'3" 215 lbs as a true freshman, he's already built to play on Sundays. He was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 recruiting class, and he's proving why each and every week.

What he's doing is unbelievable. Smith already looks like the best receiver in the country, let alone on his own team. He has at least one touchdown in every game this season, is averaging 19.7 yards per reception, over 90 receiving yards per game, and is making it all look easy.

Ohio State hasn't gone against a defense like Oregon's, though. Oregon is allowing only 164.7 passing yards per game this season, tied for 10th-best in the country, while allowing opponents to complete only 56.2% of their passes. Their corners play strong and opportunistic football, and the pass rush is capable of wreaking havoc up front .

Smith is good enough where nobody should expect to stop him, but if Oregon can at least allow him not to wreck the game, it will go a long way to a successful Saturday night.

Related: Oregon Ducks hosting elite 5 star recruit this weekend in attempt to steal him from Ohio State, LSU

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