Last year, all the analysts had Ohio State as a big question mark due to the quarterback position being taken over by a yet untested Julian Sayin. As the season progressed those questions changed into a certainty around a repeat national title. Even the fans in Columbus started to believe that they were unstoppable. Then it all came to a heartbreaking halt with losses to Indiana and Miami.

Jeremiah Smith has never been one to pick fights in comment sections. The Ohio State star wideout prefers letting his Saturdays speak for him. So when national analysts began openly questioning whether the Buckeyes would survive their brutal 2026 schedule, Smith didn’t lash out with a furious post. He simply kept a receipt.

On Friday, August 14, Smith came across a clip from the Cover 3 Podcast on Instagram. In the video, analysts Danny Kanell and Bud Elliott debated Ohio State’s playoff chances. Smith added just four laughing emojis: “😂😂😂😂.”

No long rant. No bold promises. Just a quiet bookmark from a player waiting for his moment. This low-key response fits a clear pattern for Smith, who consistently avoids online trash talk in favor of quietly saving fuel for Saturday nights.

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Meanwhile, the doubts about Ohio State having a successful campaign stem from its brutal 2026 schedule, which includes a ruthless run against Indiana, Texas, and USC, alongside home battles against Oregon and Michigan. Analysts called it “the toughest in the country.” They pointed out that the Buckeyes have never faced such a stretch during the Urban Meyer era.

While other contenders pad their slates with easy non-conference games, Ohio State scheduled non-conference power Texas alongside clashes with defending champion Indiana and Oregon.

That brutal outlook is why Kanell refuses to pencil Ohio State into the postseason field. “I think you could see a nine-and-three Ohio State team left out potentially, and then we could see Ryan Day up there making the same case that Sark did last year about strength of schedule and how tough it is,” he said. “I think they are a really good football team, but I do wonder when it all stacks up. If they’re nine and three, will the committee give them that edge?”

Kanell’s reference to Steve Sarkisian isn’t just throwaway television talk; it’s a fresh scar from 2025. Last season, Texas scheduled Ohio State early, dropped a tight non-conference game, and finished the season with a 9-3 (10-3 overall) record. Despite playing one of the hardest slates in America, Sarkisian watched the committee snub his Longhorns from the 12-team playoff. The lesson was brutally simple: in the modern playoff era, a high strength-of-schedule rating will not save a team with three losses.

Under the 12-team system, guaranteed automatic spots for conference champions compress the at-large field, proving that a tough schedule cannot salvage a three-loss season.

Now, Day faces the exact same trap. Ohio State must travel to Austin on September 12 for a revenge game against Texas, followed weeks later by a road clash against defending national champion Indiana. Throw in a trip to Los Angeles to play USC and home showdowns with Oregon and Michigan, and a three-loss regular season becomes a very real threat.

Then, playing against the Ducks and OSU’s biggest rival, Michigan, at home would only make the situation more complicated for the Buckeyes. After four consecutive losses to the Wolverines, in 2025 Ohio State broke that losing streak. But can OSU carry on that momentum?

“They’re not a lock to make the playoff. I think like they’re just a team that’s favored to get in. Like their win total is 9.5. In our lifetime, we’ve never seen Ohio State with a win total of nine and a half. They’re not a lock,” said Elliott.

But despite the dark predictions, Day isn’t backing down from the challenge.

Ohio State is ready for a tough test

Ryan has remained unfazed by the noise that the Buckeyes’ 2026 schedule has created. The head coach isn’t stressing at all about OSU’s toughest schedule, claiming that his team has prepared well.

“To me, it’s exciting. Because with the way the new playoff format is set, you know, we can learn a lot about ourselves and get really salty,” said the OSU head coach.

That confidence rests on a roster loaded with former top recruits, led by starting quarterback Julian Sayin and Smith himself. Day knows that beating Michigan and surviving September remain non-negotiable.

But as national commentators prepare the same warning for Columbus that derailed Texas a year ago, Smith is content to let the world doubt. He has saved the receipts, and September is right around the corner.