"It's not Jeremiah Smith": CFB analyst hails Ohio State's underrated quality as Ryan Day & Co. gear up to face Texas

In Jeremiah Smith, the Ohio State Buckeyes could quite possibly have the best receiver in college football.

On3's Ari Wasserman believed that to be true just three weeks into the season. But there's another crucial Buckeyes quality he thinks a lot of people are overlooking ahead of their Colleg Football Playoff semifinal against the Texas Longhorns.

"The way that Ohio State's defense played against Oregon is the story of that game," Wasserman said on the 'Andy & Ari' On3 podcast. "It's not Jeremiah Smith. Jeremiah Smith is really, really good, and you can say it from the mountaintops 100 times."

Wasserman believes Smith, a true freshman, "could start in the NFL tomorrow." To say it was the unit on the other side of the ball that was more impressive — after Smith went for 187 yards and two touchdowns on seven grabs — means a good deal.

"Their defense is insanely good," Wasserman added.

"It was good all season, but it's gone up a level in the playoffs," Andy Staples said.

Why it's not just Jeremiah Smith propelling Ohio State

The Buckeyes have outscored their past two opponents 21-10 in the first half. Neither of those foes reached 300 total yards.

Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava had just 104 yards passing in the Volunteers' first-round College Football Playoff loss in Columbus. Ohio State even confounded veteran Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel for much of the evening in Pasadena.

"Ohio State just had them locked down," Staples said. "The behind-the-quarterback shot from the Ohio State/Tennessee game and the Ohio State/Oregon game, it looks like complete misery for the quarterback because there is an Ohio State player covering every single person. There's nobody open."

Even more shockingly, Oregon had negative 23 yards on the ground in the contest.

"Ohio State's defense, the way they played against Oregon made the best offensive unit look foolish for a large portion of that game," Wasserman said. "They were arriving at the football. They were hitting. They were containing. They were covering. They were doing everything imaginable. That's the defense that has been constructed here."

Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau impressed in their own right against the Ducks, combining for four sacks against stout offensive tackles. Those up front will decide the outcome of the Cotton Bowl and, in turn, send the winner to Atlanta for the national title game.

"It's going to be a line of scrimmage game even though there are so many star playmakers," Staples said. "Whether it's Jeremiah Smith, Matthew Golden the last few weeks for Texas has been awesome. ... But this really will be decided at the line of scrimmage."

Staples added that he thinks Texas has to put up at least 38 points to come out on the right side.

"They lost," Wasserman responded succinctly. "There's no way. ... They're not going to score 38 points, Andy. They're not."

Who do you think will win when the Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Friday? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.