The Washington Huskies put not only their unbeaten 3-0 record but also, a remarkable 22-game winning streak at stake on Saturday when No. 1 ranked Ohio State invaded Husky Stadium. But perhaps an ever bigger story was another standout performance from Buckeyes sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Smith whose 18-yard touchdown reception put Ohio State on the scoreboard late in the second quarter.
The top-ranked recruit in the 2024 class, Smith set a freshman FBS record with 1,315 receiving yards last season. This year, according to ESPN expert and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky, Smith “would easily be the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft.”
Smith’s Heisman Odds
Now, in 2025, the 19-year-old from Miami Gardens, Florida, is making a strong case to become only the fifth wide receiver ever to win the Heisman Trophy, and the first since Alabama’s DeVonta Smith who won the award for his 2020 season. That receiver named Smith became the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, taken by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jeremiah Smith has some strong competition from the more traditional Heisman-winning positions. According to the online oddsmaking site Vegas Insider, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has the best odds at +900 â meaning a $100 wager would pay off with a profit of $900 if Mateer wins the Heisman â though a hand injury followed by surgery for Mateer may change those odds.
Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza (+1200) and Oregon signal-caller Dante Moore (+1400) come next. But the player with the fourth-best Heisman odds, according to Vegas Insider, is Smith at +1600.
‘Arguably the Best Player in College Football’
“The sophomore wideout is on pace to have a case to be a 2025 Heisman Trophy winner. He has 20 receptions for 315 yards and three touchdowns, to go alongside one rush for 17 yards that ended in a score,” wrote Cade Cracas of SI.com prior to the game against Washington.
“Smith is averaging over 100 yards a game, 15.8 yards-per-reception and one touchdown per game through the air,” Cracas added.
Smith added eight catches for 81 yards and a touchdown against Washington.
“Smith, arguably the best player in college football, got off to a slow start with a couple of drops and a modest 43-yard effort against the vaunted Texas defense in the season opener,” added Carter Bahms of CBS Sports. “Since then, though, the Heisman Trophy contender has been as electric as expected. He obliterated overmatched defenses in his last two outings, combining for 14 catches, 272 yards and three touchdowns against Grambling and Ohio with another score on the ground.”
Another Standout Game vs. Huskies
Smith led the Buckeyes with his eight catches against Washington, in what turned out to be a 24-6 Ohio State victory, his second highest total in Ohio State’s four games. Smith hauled in nine passes for 153 yards against overmatched Ohio last week.
Against Grambling in Week Two, a game that Ohio State won 70-0, Smith caught just five passes for 119 yards, but given the overwhelming score, it was clear that his services were not needed throughout the entire game.
Against Washington, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin completed 21 of 27 passes for 189 yards, connecting with seven other receivers besides Smith, including three completions each to Brandon Inniss, Carnell Tate and James Peoples.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Ohio State vs. Washington: Jeremiah Smith Adds to Heisman Case appeared first on Heavy Sports.