Smith-Njigba “just a little piece” of offense
Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba breaks away on a 58-yard catch early in the third quarter in the Buckeyes' 33-24 win against Penn State on Oct. 30. Photo by Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.
After setting a record in No. 5 Ohio State’s (8-1, 6-0 Big Ten) 26-17 win against Nebraska (3-7, 1-6) on Saturday afternoon, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba took to the podium afterward to talk about his performance.
“It felt good, you know … and I just want to thank God and thank my teammates. You know, I’m just a little piece of this offense,” he said.
The sophomore had just broken David Boston’s record of 14 catches in a single game by hauling in 15 against the Cornhuskers. Smith-Njigba almost set another record with 240 receiving yards, a mere 14 shy of breaking Terry Glenn’s 253, which was set in a game at Pitt in 1995. Even still, that’s only the fifth-ever 200-yard receiving performance in OSU history and now ranks as the second-most for a single game.
It’s one thing to be humble but come on Jaxon, you just broke a school record set by one of the school’s most prolific receivers and a guy that went on to play six years in the NFL. Certainly you can puff out your chest a little bit?
“I just try to be there when they need me, really. Like I said, I’m just a small piece and (quarterback) C.J. (Stroud), you know, we have a nice little chemistry going. (The) offensive line protected and him just getting me the ball, it’s been working out so hopefully we build on that.”
One reason for Stroud seeming to look his way more often was the absence of receiver Garrett Wilson.
Two hours before the game, the team released their official “unavailable report” and the junior was on it.
Wilson had been the team’s leading receiver in catches and yards, coming into the Nebraska game with 43 for 687. He was second to fellow receiver Chris Olave’s nine touchdown catches with six.
That meant Smith-Njigba and Olave along with tight end Jeremy Ruckert were more than likely going to pick up the slack.
And that JSN did.
Stroud said his 2020 classmate is amazing and always has been.
“He was amazing, I mean he’s always been amazing,” said Stroud. “This (performance) doesn’t surprise me. Jaxon is the reason I’m here at Ohio State, he was the main one who recruited me. So just to see him prevail and have a great game, I’m really happy for him.”
Head coach Ryan Day said Smith-Njigba’s performance was “gritty” especially when Smith-Njigba began dealing with some cramping issues.
“I thought he played well … and I think he was gritty,” said Day. “In the third quarter, he was kind of cramping up and he came out at one point … but then he kind of got himself (back) to (normal)again. But I think he was still kind of working through and he was still kind of cramping on the field. So not only did he perform, he was gritty out there(and) worked through some things and did a good job.”
One play where Smith-Njigba showed some grit was his lone touchdown catch of the game, a 75-yarder where he displayed some nifty moves and afterburners while benefitting from some great blocking by Olave.
“I was open, C.J. put it on me, (the) O-line protected very well, made one cut (and) Chris did a great job of blocking downfield. I really appreciate him, you know, the brotherhood,” said Smith-Njigba.
“I just tried to pick my knees up and go.”
For him to say he’s “just a small piece” to the offense is obviously an understatement.
He was already tied with Olave for second on the team in catches (35), was second to Wilson in yards (648) and third to those two with three touchdowns.
Now, he’s the team’s top wideout with 50 catches for 848 yards, which is well above Wilson’s 687 and Olave’s 623. However, he still sits third with four TD’s.
And it came on a day where points and yards were becoming apparent that they weren’t going to be easy to come by.
On Ohio State’s first drive, they made it to Nebraska’s 43 yard line, but couldn’t convert on fourth-and-1 when Stroud’s pass found Ruckert over the middle but was knocked away by the covering linebacker at the last second.
After the Buckeyes lucked out when Nebraska kicker Chase Contreraz missed a 45-yard field goal, OSU still couldn’t do anything on their second possession and it ended when they got all the way down to the Huskers’ 22. That’s when Stroud threw his fourth interception of the season when he was trying to tight rope a pass to Smith-Njigba along the sideline but Nebraska linebacker JoJo Domann was waiting and stepped in front to make the pick.
The two teams would trade possessions with punts and it took until 11:25 left in the second quarter until either team would draw first blood and that was a 26-yard Noah Ruggles field goal that gave the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead.
After forcing Nebraska to punt again, OSU found the end zone after a seven-play, 49-yard drive that was capped off by a three-yard toss from Stroud to Olave in the corner of the end zone.
Nebraska would answer back on the following possession with a 39-yard Contreraz field goal but Ohio State would counter-punch with a solid uppercut when Stroud hit Smith-Njigba for the 75-yarder with 3:34 to go in the half.
However, the Cornhuskers countered back two plays later with an uppercut of their own when quarterback Adrian Martinez found receiver Samori Toure wide open over the middle as he beat safety Lathan Ransom in one-on-one coverage and the senior was off to the races, untouched, for a 72-yard score.
At that point, someone turned on the fire hose as back-to-back 70-plus yard touchdowns were tossed in the span of a minute and 27 combined points were scored in the second quarter alone.
Ohio State took a 17-10 lead into the locker room and it looked like a potential scoring bonanza could break out in the second half.
But those two first half TD’s would be the only touchdowns of the game for Ohio State and much like in last week's nine-point win against Penn State, the Buckeyes had to rely on Ruggles for points as the North Carolina graduate transfer continued his unblemished kicking this season with three second half field goals.
Martinez would punch in a one-yard rushing score in the third quarter but were held scoreless in the fourth.
Ruggles finished 4-of-4 in field goals for the second game in a row, the first time in school history a kicker has made four field goals in back-to-back games, and is 15-of-15 on the year. He’s also made all 49 of his extra-point attempts and is currently second in the Big Ten in scoring with 94 points.
Stroud finished with his third 400-yard passing game of the year with 405 yards going 36-of-54 with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
As a team, the Buckeyes held the Cornhuskers to their lowest offensive output of the season at 361 total yards and a season-low 2-of-13 on third down. They also put up the most amount of offensive yards Nebraska has given up this year with 495.
Martinez finished 16-of-31 through the air for 248 yards, one TD and one INT. He ran 18 times for 51 yards and the one rushing score.
Olave ended with seven catches for 61 yards and the TD catch.
OSU running back TreVeyon Henderson finished with 21 carries for 92 yards.
Ohio State (8-1, 6-0) will take on Purdue (6-3, 4-2) at home this Saturday, as the Boilermakers are fresh off a 40-29 upset of previously undefeated, No. 3 Michigan State. Kickoff is set for 3:30 EST and will air on ABC.