Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith breaks Big Ten touchdown catch record in loss at USC

Jeremiah Smith now holds the Big Ten record for career touchdown catches. He got it on a night Ohio State mostly wants to forget. Late in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 30-18 loss at USC, backup quarterback Luke Fahey hit Smith for a 1-yard score. It was the 40th touchdown reception of Smith's career, which moved him past former Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards, according to ClutchPoints.

Edwards had held the record for 22 years. The Columbus Dispatch put his total at 39. Edwards sent Smith a video message. He admitted it stung to lose the mark to a Buckeye, but he also told Smith to "keep doing your thing, keep working hard," ClutchPoints reported. Smith tied the record two weeks earlier, when he came down with a 38-yard jump ball from Julian Sayin in the 19-15 win at Indiana.

The record-breaking catch came with the game mostly decided. Eleven Warriors reported that it was Ohio State's first touchdown of the night and came with just over two minutes left. It was also the Buckeyes' first game this season without Sayin, who is injured. Smith had 10 catches for 83 yards and passed 1,000 receiving yards for the third straight season, ClutchPoints reported. The outlet added that he worked closer to the line of scrimmage than usual as Fahey settled in. Bleacher Report noted that the Buckeyes held USC to three points in the fourth quarter. They couldn't get closer than the final margin.

What it means for Oregon

The loss drops Ohio State to 6-2. Both defeats came on the road and against strong teams: 24-23 at Texas in September and now 30-18 in Los Angeles. The offense has been thin for two weeks. The Buckeyes scored 19 points to win at Indiana and 18 at USC, after putting up at least 31 in five of their first six games. Whether Fahey and Smith can build on Saturday's late connection is the main question as Oregon visits Columbus on November 7 (CBS). ClutchPoints called the Ducks "suddenly recharged" after their win over Northwestern. Oregon also has a head-to-head result against the team that just beat Ohio State: it handled USC 41-27 earlier this season. USC is 7-2 and goes to Indiana on November 14.

The market still sees a clear gap. Ohio State is favored on this site's board, which tracks six venues. Novig has the Buckeyes at -426 on the moneyline, and the shortest price anywhere is FanDuel's -375. On Oregon's side, Novig shows +308 and bet365 has the longest price at +390. That spread across venues is wide enough to matter. The point spread varies too: FanDuel lists Ohio State at -10.5 and DraftKings has Oregon at +12.5, two full points apart. Totals run from 44.5 to 45.5, which suggests the market expects a low-scoring game given how the Buckeyes' offense has looked without Sayin. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline ranges from 4.2% to 6.6%.

Smith comes into the game with his name atop the conference record book. To keep its season on track, Ohio State needs more from him than a late touchdown in a loss.