Indiana's HC Curt Cignetti Begins Week With Massive Praise for Buckeyes' Jeremiah Smith

The newest rivalry in the Big Ten has to be Indiana and Ohio State. This upcoming Saturday will mark the third matchup between the two programs during the Curt Cignetti era. 

Ryan Day's group got the first one two years ago in Ohio Stadium, and then Indiana returned the favor last December by beating up the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship game. 

Saturday's game is the rubber match in the first best-of-three series between two of the now-best programs in the country, and all signs point to it being a heavyweight fight. The week got started on Monday with Hoosier's head coach Curt Cignetti giving Jeremiah Smith the ultimate respect. 

Cignetti was asked about Smith, and he commented that Smith has taken it up a notch this year from the place he was last year. He said that Smith is a "freak" and even acknowledged that he has two really good receivers on his team, and Smith clears them easily.

One of the great things about Curt Cignetti is that there is never any coach-speak with him, and he always speaks what is on his mind. He tells it how he sees it and never minces words. Hearing him say this is more validation for what Smith has been able to do already in this season. 

It is no surprise to Buckeye fans, but it is always interesting to see and hear what coaches think about him once they really get to dive into the tape.

In two tries, the Hoosiers have won one matchup and lost the other. In their first meeting, Smith was held to just 34 yards on three catches. Smith got back at them in the Big Ten Championship last year with an 8-catch, 144 yard performance.

He has yet to find the endzone against the Hoosiers, and for all intents and purposes, they have done a pretty nice job defending him. 

The positive for Smith is that he has shown to be unstoppable early on in this season. He is virtually unguardable, and when the ball is in his hands, he is nearly impossible to tackle.

However, I do think that last week against Maryland, the Terps were actually able to cover him decently down the football field. Yes, he got off for two huge touchdowns on throws that were barely beyond and behind the line of scrimmage. Those touchdowns were on pure athleticism and nothing more.

Indiana could have gotten a teach there; they definitely have a teach from their old fil but the fact remains: they have to go out and stop him. Much easier said than done, especially when "there is no one like him."

Just a few short days until the game of the year.