Jeremiah Smith describes pressure on Ohio State to win back-to-back national championships

Jeremiah Smith recognizes the pressure to go back-to-back in Columbus. Ohio State measures success with championships, and the Buckeyes want another one this season.

That’s easier said than done, so how will the wide receiver help his team reach their ultimate goal once again? During an appearance on The Triple Option, Smith elaborated on where his team’s head is at heading into the 2025 campaign.

“I feel (the pressure to repeat) a little bit,” Smith explained. “I feel like everybody thinks we need to go back-to-back, but that’s something that’s on our minds, as well. We want to be the first team to ever do that in the Big Ten. It hasn’t been done since, I think the 1960s. I think the last team to do it was Michigan State. So, I feel like there (a lot of) pressure to go back-to-back.

“… (But) we’ve moved on (from last year). I mean, it’s a new team, new year. We’ve just got to make a name for ourselves. That was last year’s team. We’ve got to make a name for ourselves with this year’s team.”

With Smith helping the offense, it’s easy to see why many are high on Ohio State once again this season. He caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns during the team’s national championship run, and what he has in store for an encore could eclipse all of that.

Time will tell if Ohio State is able to repeat. They have a tough game against Texas to start the season, so we’ll fine out where Jeremiah Smith and his teammates stand in Week 1.

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Moreover, there’s very few rivalries as intense as the one between Ohio State and Michigan. That’s particularly true for the players, like star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who play in them, even coming off a national championship season.

Later in his appearance on The Triple Option, former Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer asked Smith what he thinks of That Team Up North. It was a relatively simple answer for the wide receiver.

“Hate,” Jeremiah Smith said. “You know. With everything in me, I hate them.”

In his freshman season at Ohio State, Smith broke out and became one of the best receivers in the country. However, that wasn’t enough to beat Michigan, and the Buckeyes lost their fourth straight game to the Wolverines. In the effort, Smith caught five passes for 35 yards and a touchdown. That was the only Ohio State touchdown in the game. 

This isn’t the first time Jeremiah Smith has made his stance on Michigan clear, either. Earlier this summer, he made it clear that he has no intention of losing to Michigan again during his college career, however long that may end up being.