Jeremiah Smith Scores Four as Ohio State Beats Illinois 42-19
Twelve catches, 217 yards, four touchdowns. Jeremiah Smith had Ohio State's scoring column covered for most of the afternoon, and the final read 42-19.
The Buckeyes scored first, on a 7-yard connection from Julian Sayin to Smith, and never trailed or even tied. Smith's next one covered 72 yards and made it 14-0 before Illinois got on the board. Jordan Anderson ran in from 22 yards to make it 14-7, and Ohio State pulled away from there: Smith again from nine yards for 21-7, then a Sayin run with 15 seconds left in the half for 28-10. Illinois kicked two field goals (43 and 44 yards) in between, and that was its offense through the first three quarters apart from the Anderson run.
Smith's fourth touchdown, a 26-yarder early in the fourth, made it 35-13. Illinois got a 27-yard score from Katin Houser to Ty Robinson with 6:02 left and missed the two-point try, and Ja'Kobi Jackson's two-yard run put the game away at 42-19.
Illinois was not outclassed in the yardage, which is the odd part. The Illini gained 462 yards (199 on the ground, 33 carries) against 520 for Ohio State, and neither team turned the ball over. Ohio State just turned its yards into points, throwing for 367 with Sayin completing 27 of 36 and four touchdowns. Smith's four catches in the end zone were worth 28 of the 42.
Ohio State moves to 3-1 and Illinois is 2-2. For fantasy owners, Smith and Sayin both set season highs together, which is how a 57.7-point receiver and a 47.6-point quarterback happen on the same afternoon.