ARLINGTON, Texas -- Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith came into the Cotton Bowl as the breakout star of the College Football Playoff. In wins over Tennessee and Oregon, Smith exploded for 290 yards and four touchdowns as the Buckeyes won the matchups by a combined 45 points.
Texas came into the matchup boasting perhaps the top defense in college football, especially against the pass. Led by Thorpe Award-winner Jahdae Barron, the Longhorns held opponents to a nation-best 5.5 yards per pass attempt. The unit knew the challenge it faced. They were ready.
"We knew going into this game that was somebody we'd have to defend," Texas defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell told CBS Sports. "We made him a priority throughout the week of preparation."
On the first drive, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard targeted Jeremiah Smith for a touchdown. He almost came down with a highlight-worthy catch, but Texas smothered him. On the Buckeyes' next position, Howard threw a short pass to Smith for three yards. It was the only reception that Smith logged the entire game. He was only targeted one more time.
Barron is the leader of the secondary, but Texas has tremendous depth and experience on the back end. Senior Michael Taaffe was an All-American after starting his career as a walk-on. Safety Andrew Mukuba earned all-conference honors. Cornerback Malik Muhammad is a rising star. Every player got serious snaps on Smith.
"They clouded him, they doubled him, they were finding different ways to get two guys over the top of him," Ohio State quarterback Will Howard said. "All that means is that we need to be smart and get the other guys involved. ... They like to keep a shell on things and make you work the ball down the field methodically. Credit to them, they've got a great defense and they've got some dudes."
His final line: three targets, one catch, three yards. Smith hadn't been held below either three catches or 35 all-purpose yards all year. Texas erased him.
In his stead, No. 2 receiver Emeka Egbuka and No. 3 receiver Carnell Tate stepped up. The duo combined for 12 catches for 138 yards in the win. Tight end Gee Scott got in on the action with five catches, too. But while the performance was enough for Ohio State to win, it wasn't enough for them to thrive.
With Smith stifled, Ohio State rushed for only 3.4 yards per carry. Running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins combined for just 78 yards. Outside of a 75-yard breakaway by Henderson on a screen pass, the Ohio State offense scored 14 points on 6.7 yards per attempt.
"Just hats off to [Kwiatkowski] and the game plan that we had, and just mastering PK's game plan," Barron said. "There's a lot of things that we should have done better to prevent them from scoring, but PK's game plan on No. 4 was amazing."
Now, the Buckeyes are set to play 7-seed Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Led by senior Xavier Watts, the Fighting Irish were right behind Texas when discussing the top passing defenses in college football. At the same time, Notre Dame doesn't have the sheer number of stars in the secondary.
Texas put out the game plan for how to shut down Smith and give Ohio State's offense fits. The only problem? It's unclear whether anyone but Texas can run it.