Jeremiah Smith secured his place in Big Ten football history on Saturday, breaking the conference’s all-time receiving yards record during a 28-19 win over Northwestern at Ohio Stadium.
The junior wide receiver hauled in a 22-yard catch and run late in the first quarter to surpass the previous career mark of 3,788 yards set by Purdue’s John Standeford over four seasons from 2000 to 2003. Smith eclipsed Standeford’s record in less than three seasons with the No. 20 Buckeyes.
By the final whistle of the Northwestern matchup, Smith pushed his career total to 3,875 receiving yards. The victory also snapped an uncharacteristic two-game losing skid for Ohio State.
During the contest, Smith was targeted 17 times, finishing with 11 catches for 117 yards and one touchdown. That performance marked his 17th career 100-yard receiving game, tying him with Purdue’s David Bell and Michigan’s Braylon Edwards for the most in Big Ten history.
Smith entered the weekend already holding the Big Ten record for career receiving touchdowns, having surpassed Edwards’ mark of 39 two weeks earlier against USC. With 41 career receiving touchdowns to his name, Smith continues to rewrite the conference record books while leading the race for the Heisman Trophy this season.
Alongside his conference milestones, Smith holds the Ohio State records for career receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and receptions. He surpassed Michael Jenkins’ yardage record against Kent State on September 19, before overtaking Chris Olave’s touchdown mark and Emeka Egbuka’s reception record against Iowa on October 3.
With 243 career receptions, Smith sits well behind Purdue’s Taylor Stubblefield, who caught 325 passes from 2001 to 2004. As a projected top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, Smith is unlikely to remain in college long enough to challenge that particular reception mark.
