Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Jeremiah Smith was primarily responsible for the catch that essentially sealed Ohio State’s victory over Notre Dame in the national championship game. However, Emeka Egbuka deserves a huge chunk of the credit for pointing out the liability the Buckeyes were able to exploit on one of the biggest plays of the game.
Notre Dame was firmly outplayed by Ohio State for the bulk of their title showdown in Atlanta earlier this month, but the Fighting Irish were able to narrow their deficit to eight points with a little over four minutes to go in the fourth quarter with the touchdown that made the score 31-23.
They obviously needed to prevent the Buckeyes from scoring on the ensuing possession, and it seemed like there was a chance they’d end up getting the ball back when Ohio State found itself facing a 3rd-and-11 from their own 34-yard line.
However, Jeremiah Smith basically drove the nail into the coffin after hauling in a 56-yard pass from Will Howard to give their team a fresh set of downs and set them up for the field goal that put the game out of reach after the WR torched Notre Dame CB Christian Gray with the help of some deceptive footwork.
As that video notes, Gray was covering Smith to prevent him from running a slant to the inside, which made him vulnerable to the vertical route his opponent harnessed en route to grabbing that crucial reception.
That wasn’t the first time Gray had deployed that strategy during the contest, and it was a tendency the Buckeyes were able to exploit with the help of WR Emeka Egbuka, who suggested they attack the defender while reviewing game footage next to Howard on the bench in a clip that went viral after it was posted online on Monday.
Emeka Egbuka spoke Will Howard’s 56-yard pass to Jeremiah Smith on 3rd-and-11 (“3rd-and-Jeremiah”) into existence while watching film earlier in the game.
“We need to run a go-ball on 29. … Look at the inside leverage he has when (Carnell Tate’s) attacking him.” pic.twitter.com/EMEN82BRxR
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) January 28, 2025
Egbuka announced his decision to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft in the wake of Ohio State’s win. A number of projections have him going at some point in the first round—and that clip certainly isn’t going to hurt his prospects.