The 2026 college football season seemed to set up perfectly for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
They finished the 2025 regular season undefeated, only losing 13-10 to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game. While their College Football Playoff run ended with a disappointing 24-10 loss to the Miami Hurricanes, the Buckeyes entered the season as potentially the best team in the country.
Julian Sayin returned for his second season as a starting quarterback. They returned a ton of talent on offense, including Bo Jackson and an experienced offensive line. While they’d have to replace talented defensive players like Caleb Downs, they brought back arguably the best player in college football, Jeremiah Smith.
But this season has been a good reminder of how nothing is guaranteed in sports. On the road against the Texas Longhorns, OSU entered the fourth quarter with a 23-3 lead. Through a series of miraculous, and frankly absurd outcomes, they lost 24-23.
They recovered quickly, blowing out a solid Illinois team, and easily handling a very good Iowa Hawkeyes team on the road. On October 17 though, their season changed in the blink of an eye.
In the process of handing Indiana their first loss in 23 games, Sayin suffered an arm injury while being tackled to the ground. While head coach Ryan Day was initially noncommittal, over the bye week news broke that Sayin would miss the rest of the season. And in the world of superconferences, timing is everything.
The Buckeyes’ first test with Luke Fahey as a starting quarterback was on the road against a very good USC Trojans team. They lost, 30-18, in a game that wasn’t really that close. Fahey wasn’t awful, wasn’t outstanding, but the OSU defense wasn’t effective against Jayden Maiava, and a litany of penalties doomed the Buckeyes.
Their next game? Against the Oregon Ducks, another team with high-end talent struggling to live up to expectations. In Columbus, the Buckeyes jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter…then gave up 38 straight points in a 41-28 loss.
On October 17 after beating Indiana, the Buckeyes were No. 2 in the country and looked headed for an easy berth in the Big Ten Championship Game and likely first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. By November 7, their season had gone off the rails, murmurs of discontent with Day had started to circle around the fanbase, and OSU’s playoff aspirations are on life support. If not already dead.
Perhaps the bigger question? What happens now with Jeremiah Smith. One analyst, former NFL running back Damien Harris, thinks Smith is done at OSU. Particularly after how he reacted during the loss to the Ducks.
“We just watched Jeremiah Smith play his last snap at Ohio State. He’s done,” he said while speaking on CBS Sports. “He’s going to pack it up. He’s not playing anymore this season. The season is gone. We saw this isn’t a college football playoff team. They were already on the outside looking in. The season’s over.
“He’s already etched his name in history. He’s got the touchdown record. He’s got the reception record. He’s got a national championship. He’s not going to get a Heisman this year. What’s there to play for?”
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Smith hadn’t been involved in the game much late into the third quarter, then was seen showing frustration on the field after catching a pass for little gain.
One local radio show host, Jeremy Birmingham from 97.1 The Fan, went after him for his behavior, calling him a “petulant child.”
“You cannot be the best player in the country and a captain and all of the things that Jeremiah Smith is and go stomping down the field like a petulant child,” he said.
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Which is partially why Harris was adamant that Smith will choose to sit out the remainder of the year.
“I don’t think that he plays again the rest of the season for Ohio State. And that’s not a knock on Ohio State. It’s not a knock on Ryan Day. It’s not a knock on this team. It’s not a knock on Luke Fahey. It’s just there are bigger things out there for Jeremiah Smith than what the rest of the season has to offer,” he said.
So will he actually sit out?
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Well, Smith this week reposted a defense of his behavior and track record in Columbus, implying there’s still competitiveness and desire to play there. There’s been no announcement of his intentions or public remarks to that extent. Technically, the Buckeyes are still alive in the race for the Big Ten Championship Game and a win in Indianapolis would guarantee them a spot in the playoff.
The next two weeks provide an opportunity to recover, with games against Northwestern and Nebraska, before the “The Game” against a very disappointing Michigan Wolverines team. Point being, there’s still plenty to play for, even if the season hasn’t gone according to plan. Smith may also still have a shot at the Heisman Trophy, and while there is injury risk, NFL teams might not look highly on a player choosing to sit out with regular season games remaining.
Though in modern college football? You just never know.
