Jeremiah Smith is the Heisman Trophy favorite at every sportsbook entering Week 9 thanks to a sensational start to the season that saw him climb to the top of most all-time Big Ten receiving lists. Smith has 52 catches for 984 yards and 12 touchdowns in seven games this season, only trailing Oregon State freshman sensation Jesse Legree in yards and touchdowns nationally, and is carrying the Ohio State passing offense. Smith accounts for 43.5% of the Buckeyes' receiving yards and 54.5% of their receiving touchdowns this season, despite being the central focus of every Ohio State opponent's game plan.
With most of the top quarterbacks around the country struggling in a chaotic 2026 season, Smith has asserted himself as the nation's best player through the midpoint of the schedule. The challenge for Smith will be holding onto that position as the Heisman favorite to collect college football's most prestigious trophy in December. The fast-charging Miami duo of Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney -- who face their own challenge in splitting votes as teammates -- present one problem for Smith's pursuit of the Heisman, but the biggest determining factor in whether Smith wins the award will be how Ohio State's sudden quarterback uncertainty impacts his production.
Julian Sayin was not shy about targeting Smith early and often, regardless of the coverage the star receiver faced, but Sayin may be done for the season after suffering an injury late against Indiana. Ryan Day has yet to announce whether freshman Luke Fahey or sophomore Tavien St. Clair will get the starting nod against USC -- or whether both quarterbacks will play -- but in either case they'll be thrown into the fire as young, unproven quarterbacks tasked with keeping Ohio State as a national title contender.
Clair or a combination of the two, Smith will need to maintain his incredible pace with a new quarterback throwing him the ball. The question is whether Ohio State's QB situation will help or hurt Smith's Heisman case over the final five games, and there are reasonable arguments on both sides. There are two schools of thought for how this will impact Smith, and we'll start with the negative.
A new quarterback will not have the same rhythm with Smith as Sayin, who has been throwing Smith the ball for two years and went through an entire offseason getting all of the first-team reps as the unquestioned starter. The connection between Sayin and Smith was obvious from the jump to start this season, and Sayin had complete and total trust and confidence in Smith -- even in situations where the coverage was there. A young quarterback will likely be tasked with steering the ship and managing the offense, especially considering Ohio State has an elite defense once again.
A more conservative offensive approach from Ryan Day could mean fewer targets for Smith, especially down the field, and if he's more limited while Miami's star duo continue to tear it up for the Hurricanes, Smith could get passed over. There's also the possibility of even more instability if Ohio State goes with a two-quarterback system, which makes it even tougher for Smith to establish a rhythm with either. Clair are splitting series, that only increases the degree of difficulty for Smith, as he has to adjust to the timing of two different quarterbacks.
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