EAST LANSING, Mich. – Ohio State appears to have its next great receiver.

Jeremiah Smith had a 19-yard touchdown run and a one-handed 17-yard catch for a score in the second quarter, helping the third-ranked Buckeyes pull away and beat Michigan State 38-7 on Saturday night.

The Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) were in a hard-fought game until their freshman phenom got the upper hand.

“It turned the game around,” coach Ryan Day said. “This is where the game has turned.”

The Spartans (3-2, 1-1) lost the football in the red zone three times in the first half, hurting their chances of advancing.

“If we don’t get those turnovers, it’s a different game,” Day said.

Smith’s speed allowed him to survive an end-around safely midway through the second quarter. His skills enabled him to jump and intercept Devin Brown’s pass with his right hand – three plays after he needed just one hand to make a twisting 27-yard catch between two defenders – and brought Ohio State within In the last minute of the game they took a 24:7 lead in the first half.

“What an incredible catch,” Day said. “I can’t believe he caught it.”

However, Smith said it wasn’t his favorite catch of the night.

“The previous one was my favorite,” he said.

The country’s top-rated recruit, a native of Miami Gardens, Florida, finished the game with five balls for 83 yards.

Smith lived up to his demand.

He became the first freshman to catch two touchdown passes in a season opener with a program that has a long tradition of receivers, recording 14 catches for 281 yards and four touchdowns in the first three games.

Marvin Harrison Jr., drafted No. 4 overall by Arizona, was the last star at the position for the powerhouse program, and the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Smith appears to be the youngest.

“He has all the intangibles you want in a prototypical receiver,” Emeka Egbuka said.

Will Howard, who took a hit in the first half that briefly knocked him out of the game, completed 21 of 31 passes for 244 yards. He had a 3-yard touchdown pass to Gee Scott in the first quarter and a 33-yard touchdown pass to Egbuka to convert a fourth-and-5 late in the third quarter.

Howard threw an interception that helped the Spartans get within three points early in the second quarter.

Aidan Chiles was 13 of 19 for 167 yards with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jaron Glover with 7:22 left in the first half, making the score 10-7. He threw an interception in the third quarter.

The Spartans made enough plays on their first two drives to get into the red zone, but didn’t score because Chiles was stuffed on a fourth-down sneak at the 20 and Jack Velling lost a fumble at the 11. Chiles coughed up the football at the Ohio State 16 in the second quarter.

“We didn’t help ourselves,” coach Jonathan Smith said.

Michigan State, he said, is “a long way from” being able to keep up with Ohio State.

“It’s in the details and the sales,” he said.

The takeaway food

Ohio State has one of the best receiver tandems in college football with Smith and Egbuka, a standout senior who had seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.

Michigan State entered the game with 10 turnovers in four games and added three more against the Buckeyes, continuing a troubling trend for its first-year coach.

Impact on the survey

The Buckeyes could be the No. 3 seed in the AP Top 25 for the fourth straight year.

Next

Ohio State hosts Iowa on Saturday.

Michigan State plays No. 8 Oregon on Saturday.

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