Wednesday, October 14, 2026
October 11 College Football Rankings - Ohio State vs Indiana Best Bets - Jeremiah Smith, Best WR EVER
College Football Rankings
AP Top 25
Updated Oct 11, 2026
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Full Rankings
Coaches Poll
Updated Oct 11, 2026
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Oregon
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CBS Sports Rankings
Updated Oct 12, 2026
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Nebraska
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How to bet Indiana-Ohio State: Two bets stand out as the Buckeyes head to Bloomington
Pamela Maldonado
Bloomington gets top billing as No. 5 Indiana hosts its first AP top-10 matchup against No. 4 Ohio State.
The unbeaten Hoosiers ended a 30-game losing streak to the Buckeyes last year on their way to a national championship. Now they've won 22 straight, while Ohio State arrives with a loss to Texas and unfinished business.
Beating the Buckeyes once was historic. Doing it twice? Since 2000, only Michigan and Wisconsin have beaten Ohio State in consecutive years. Indiana has a chance to join that short list in front of its own fans.
Let's tackle how this matchup sets up and where I see a couple of betting opportunities.
Odds by DraftKings and subject to change.
No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (-3.5) at No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers
Saturday, 7:30 ET, ABC
Records: Ohio State 5-1, 1-1 vs. AP Top 25; Indiana 6-0, 0-0 vs. AP Top 25
Money line: Ohio State (-110); Indiana (+150)
Over/Under: 50.5 (O -118, U -102)
The matchup: Who can still hit the big plays?
Ohio State and Indiana both rank in the top 10 in adjusted efficiency. Both can score, and both have defenses that make opponents work. What interests me is which offense can still find those big gains when moving the ball gets more difficult.
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Indiana has the country's most efficient passing attack, with Josh Hoover not having thrown an interception. But Ohio State ranks first in passing success rate allowed. If the Buckeyes take away those easy completions, can Indiana keep drives going? Nebraska held the Hoosiers to 13 first downs and a single third-down conversion last week.
Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith get the more inviting passing matchup. Indiana has been vulnerable to big gains through the air, allowing Nebraska's Jacory Barney Jr. to catch nine passes for 107 yards.
Getting yards and finishing drives are two different things. Ohio State hasn't consistently run the ball well on the road, and Indiana's Tobi Osunsanmi and Stephen Daley each have five sacks. A few big catches won't solve everything if Sayin keeps getting knocked backward.
I give Ohio State the edge. Indiana has more weaknesses compared to last season that Ohio State can exploit this time, specifically in coverage and tackling.
Bet: UNDER 50.5
Forget the names on the jerseys for a second and look at the defenses. Ohio State has been especially difficult to throw against. Indiana needed two late touchdown drives to escape Nebraska after converting just 1-of-10 third downs. Sustaining possessions could be tougher here.
Indiana's pressure can stall Ohio State drives even when the Buckeyes connect on big plays. Last year, Smith caught eight passes for 144 yards against the Hoosiers despite Ohio State giving up five sacks and scoring only 10 points. That concern remains: Sayin has been sacked seven times across road games at Texas and Iowa this season. Smith can pile up yards without Ohio State piling up points.
The pace is the concern, since both teams are comfortable playing quickly. But Ohio State has shown that moving the ball doesn't always mean keeping the scoreboard moving. The Buckeyes scored only three second-half points at Texas this season and none against Indiana last season, despite Smith having huge games. Even their 31-14 road win at Iowa shows there's room for substantial offensive production without clearing a higher total.
I'm counting on enough sacks, difficult third downs, while still leaving room for big catches and an effective offensive performance without four quarters of steady scoring.
Bet: Jeremiah Smith 130+ receiving yards (-103)
Ohio State keeps giving Smith more chances, and he keeps doing more with them, averaging 11 targets per game, up from 8.2 last season, while his yards per catch have increased from 14.3 to 19.1.
Look at the road games. Smith drew 16 targets at Texas and 14 at Iowa, finishing with 164 and 206 yards. If Indiana keeps this competitive, I expect Sayin to keep looking for him. Indiana can get stops, but it has also given up big passing plays, which fits how Ohio State uses Smith: more than 62% of his targets are at least 10 yards downfield. He'll get enough chances to turn a few completions into substantial gains.
With a bigger workload this season, I like 130+ at -103, an opportunity to boost his Heisman résumé even further.
Is Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith the best WR college football has ever seen?
by: Jake Trotter
Oct 14, 2026
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Two years ago during spring practice, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard overthrew a freshman wide receiver in the end zone.
Coach Ryan Day came unglued.
"Are you not going to give the best receiver to potentially ever play the game a chance?" Day demanded, according to Howard.
"And I was like, 'Are you talking about this freshman, who hasn't even stepped on the field yet? You're calling him the best receiver ever?'" Howard recalled thinking. "That's a crazy thing to say."
Two years later, it doesn't seem so crazy.
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Jeremiah Smith isn't just rewriting the Ohio State record books. He isn't just the clear favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
He's building a case to be the greatest wide receiver in college football history.
"Jeremiah's a freak," said Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, whose teams have faced Smith three times. "He can strike the fear of God in you on any snap."
In 2004, Sarkisian was in the Oakland Raiders' draft room when owner Al Davis asked about a wide receiver they were considering with the No. 2 pick.
"Is he Randy Moss?" Davis asked, according to Sarkisian.
"No," Oakland's offensive coordinator replied. "Randy Moss is a freak."
"Well, that's what I want," Davis said. "I want a freak."
The Raiders selected offensive tackle Robert Gallery with the second pick, and Pitt wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald went one pick later to the Arizona Cardinals.
Jeremiah Smith broke Ohio State's career receiving yardage record during the game against Kent State. Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire
Fitzgerald was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year, two years after entering the College Football Hall of Fame.
More than two decades later, Sarkisian sees another college receiver with Moss-like ability.
"If there's anybody that could probably compare to somebody who could take over a game similar to Randy Moss, I would say it'd be Jeremiah Smith," Sarkisian said. "I mean, he's that good. He's got length, he's got strength, he's got speed, he's got ability to adjust to the ball, he's got catch-and-run ability, he's a smart player. He garners your attention on every snap."
Fitzgerald also sees similarities.
"The way he attacks the football and uses his body to shield defenders away, it kind of feels familiar," Fitzgerald told ESPN. "At Pitt, I took a lot of pride in giving my quarterback somebody they could trust, even when I wasn't necessarily open. I definitely see that quality in Jeremiah, even though he's open a heck of a lot more than I [was] with his physical abilities. He's doing things athletically that I never had the ability to do. The athleticism reminds me a lot of Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson."
Fitzgerald finished second in the 2003 Heisman Trophy voting. But Smith is running away with this Heisman race.
Said Texas coach Steve Sarkisian of Smith: "He's got length, he's got strength, he's got speed, he's got ability to adjust to the ball, he's got catch-and-run ability, he's a smart player." Ben Jackson/Getty Images
According to DraftKings, he is the overwhelming favorite (-220), well ahead of Miami quarterback Darian Mensah (+950) and Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr (+1000).
Despite facing constant double-teams, Smith has 48 receptions for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns, ranking second nationally in all three categories.
He also has already broken Ohio State's career records for receptions (211), receiving yards (3,474) and touchdown catches (38).
"If it's one-on-one, he's open. If he's double-covered, he's sort of open," Day said of 6-foot-4, 220-pound Smith. "If he's triple-covered, he's covered, so that means somebody's got to be open somewhere else -- I say that half-kidding."
Over the past five drafts, Day has had six wide receivers selected in the first round. But even among that group, Day said recently, "It's hard to put anybody above him."
Smith capped his remarkable freshman season with a game-clinching 56-yard reception from Howard on third-and-11, sealing Ohio State's victory over Notre Dame for its first national championship in a decade.
One NFL general manager even told ESPN during the 2025 combine that Smith would've been the No. 1 pick in that year's draft -- after only one college season.
Since then, Smith has only gotten better.
"He's bigger, faster, stronger," said Jaxon Smith-Njigba, one of the Buckeyes' six recent first-round receivers and the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year. "His route running has gotten better. I can definitely tell that he's worked on that."
While lining up far more frequently in the slot than in his first two seasons, Smith leads the nation with 6.03 yards per route run. Indiana's Charlie Becker ranks second at 4.34.
Smith also accounts for 38% of Ohio State's targets, the second-highest share nationally. Yet he still has generated 48 targets with no defender within an arm's length when the pass arrives, also ranking second nationally.
"There are a lot of talented receivers," Fitzgerald said. "But the special ones can keep winning even when everybody, every defensive coordinator knows the ball's coming their way."
Smith is special.
But is he the greatest in college football history?
That depends on how greatness is measured.
Moss was nearly unstoppable at Marshall, catching a then-FBS-record 26 touchdown passes in 1997 while leading the Thundering Herd to 10 wins.
Fitzgerald dominated at Pitt even when opponents knew the ball was coming his way, finishing runner-up to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White in one of the closest Heisman votes in history. At Texas Tech, Michael Crabtree became the first receiver to win the Biletnikoff Award twice.
Johnson overwhelmed defenders with a combination of size and athleticism few had ever seen, becoming the first three-time first-team All-ACC selection in Georgia Tech history.
Jeremiah Smith strikes the Heisman pose after breaking the Ohio State career receiving touchdowns record at Iowa. Matthew Holst/Getty Images
In 2020, Alabama's DeVonta Smith became the first wide receiver in nearly three decades to win the Heisman Trophy, capping his season with a national championship.
Unlike those receivers, Jeremiah Smith has yet to win the Biletnikoff, given annually to the nation's most outstanding receiver.
He also has never been even a Heisman finalist, much less won the award.
Yet.
"Having those accolades would definitely put the cherry on top," Smith-Njigba told ESPN.
They could also put Smith at the top of the list.
"I'm always careful trying to rank guys because I have a ton of respect for the Randy Mosses and the Michael Crabtrees and the Calvin Johnsons and guys who have come before them and help write the story of college football," Fitzgerald said.
"But based on what he's done over these first three years, he's earned the right to be in that conversation."
Monday, October 12, 2026
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Week 6 College Football TV Times October 9 -10, 2026
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