Jeremiah Smith and the Ohio State Buckeyes are gearing up for a rematch against the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks won the first matchup, but this game is at the Rose Bowl in a neutral site.

Ahead of the matchup, Smith offered a warning to the Ducks.

“I’m just laughing in my head. Why are y’all really playing man-on-man against us, or against me, I should say?” Smith said. “And when we see man [coverage] against any of our receivers, we’re going to take a shot down the field. So I’m just letting everybody know right now that if you play man Wednesday, we’re taking a shot.”

Smith burst on the scene as a freshman in 2024. The talented receiver has caught 63 passes for 1,037 yards and 12 touchdowns so far and narrowly missed out on winning the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award.

In the first meeting against Oregon, Smith caught 9 passes for 100 yards and 1 TD. Smith’s efforts weren’t enough, however, as the Buckeyes went on to lose 32-31. The freshman phenom is warning the Ducks, though, that he’s a different player now.

“They’re going to see a completely different player than the last time,” said Smith “Even Coach Hartline told me the other day that I’m a whole different player from the first time we played Oregon until now. It started with understanding the game plan and knowing what the defense is trying to do.”

In spite of losing the first game against the Ducks, Ohio State is heading into the rematch as a 2.5-point favorite per bet365. Be sure to use the best Ohio sports betting promos to get in on the action ahead of kickoff.

The Buckeyes and Ducks will kick off from the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day at 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT.