Key Matchup: USC Pass Defense vs. Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith

No. 2 Ohio State (6-1) receiver Jeremiah Smith is the No. 1 pass-catcher in the Big Ten.

He is a coverage nightmare personified.

Smith leads the league in receiving yards (984), touchdowns (12), yards per catch (18.92), and receiving yards per game (140.6).

As a result, Smith will present a significant challenge to the pass defense of USC (6-2).

The Trojans have only intercepted three passes this season, two by safety Prophet Brown, who returned one for a touchdown.

At a media gathering after practice on Wednesday, Brown compared Smith to other receivers they have faced this season, and spoke on how to defend Smith.

“KJ Duff was a really good receiver in his own right at Rutgers,” said Brown. “So, I mean, they're different players, of course, but in terms of game planning and strategizing, that's probably as close as you could get to what we got this week.”

This season, Smith has posted four games of over 100 yards receiving.

Against Illinois and Iowa in back-to-back weeks, Smith combined for 23 receptions for 423 yards and six touchdowns.

“Yeah, definitely limits and explosives,” said Brown. “They find a lot of different ways to get him the ball. So, it's not about like trying to completely eliminate him, but put a cap on him. Definitely, for sure. He's a great player, and it's a great opportunity for us.”

Smith has scored at least one receiving touchdown in six out of their seven games. In four of those games, Smith hauled in multiple TD passes.

The USC pass defense has been porous this season, and ranks near the bottom of the Big Ten. They have allowed over 1,700 yards receiving and 12 touchdowns so far this season.

The Trojans have allowed at least one TD pass in seven of their eight games this season. In five of their last six games, USC has allowed over 200 yards receiving.

In the loss to Oregon, USC allowed a season-high 366 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

However, in the road loss at Wisconsin, the Trojans allowed just 58 yards through the air.

There is one thing that could work against Smith and a high-output of production Saturday.

Smith will not catch passes from his starting quarterback, the injured Julian Sayin.

Instead, Smith will be catching passes from an inexperienced, true freshman quarterback, Luke Fahey.

Fahey has seen four games of action this season for the Buckeyes and has completed just nine passes.

USC, under Lincoln Riley, is 1-6 against top five teams. Riley will need his defense to put pressure on Fahey and stack up some negative plays in front of the home crowd in the Coliseum.

The defensive secondary of USC will have to play like they did against Wisconsin, and limit Smith’s impact on this game.

If the Trojans can do that, it would be one college football’s major upsets this season.