Ohio State superstar sees this year's team better than last year's National champs

A perfect 7-0 record and no currently ranked opponents on schedule until a visit to Ann Arbor on the last week of the regular season has the Ohio State Buckeyes thinking big.

Historically big.

After last Saturday’s shutout win over Wisconsin, Buckeyes star wideout Jeremiah Smith didn’t hold back when asked about his expectations for the 2025 team.

"This year's team, we're gonna make a name for ourselves, we wanna go down in the history books as the team that did it back to back," stated a very confident Smith to CBS Sports on the field after the win.

And, if that statement wasn’t bold enough, he casually added:

"I feel like this team is better than last year's team."

Jeremiah Smith on the 2025 Buckeyes, who are looking to win back-to-back national titles pic.twitter.com/AHt0oYhzLQ
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 19, 2025

"I feel like this year's team is better than last year's team."

That’s last year’s National Champion team, mind you.

As arguably the most explosive player on last year’s champs, Smith obviously knows what he’s talking about. And, the Buckeyes’ current campaign, one that started with a takedown of 1 Texas in the season opener by a score of 14-7, is still a perfect one.

So, is history in the making for these Buckeyes? Head coach Ryan Day’s pupils certainly have their eye on the prize, one never before obtained by an Ohio State football team. Even with 9 claimed National Championships to their name, the Buckeyes still haven’t been able to win it all in back-to-back campaigns.

Even after giving up a ton of talent to the NFL Draft -- 14 prospects, including four first-rounders -- the Buckeyes have simply reloaded. And, if you choose the quarterback position as your starting point, where Julian Sayin has taken a front-row seat in the Heisman race next to Smith himself, then Ohio State’s wideout could have a point.

Nothing against Will Howard, of course. But even to the casual observer, Sayin’s potential is so much higher. Then, there’s fellow wide receiver Carnell Tate, who has filled in more than adequately for Emeka. And, linebacker Arvell Reese has been a revelation.

Naturally, there are still a lot of pitfalls along the way. Anything can happen from here to there, and of course there’s still a pending matter with the school up north, whom the Buckeyes haven’t defeated in four straight tries.

But, by the way the Buckeyes' schedule is laid out, there should be no issues in reaching “The Game” with an undefeated status, and this is as good an opportunity as any for Day to shake off the Michigan malaise.

After that, 3 Indiana could still pose a serious threat before the CFP bracket begins play, when the Big Ten Championship is decided in Indianapolis, if the Hoosiers stay their course.

Ohio State’s experience will then come in handy once the College Football Playoff’s 12 teams begin taking each other out with Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium as the final destination.

Yes, this Ohio State looks like it might be a better team than the one that dropped two regular season games on its way to a National title last year. But there’s so much football left to be played, that even a better team has nothing guaranteed come the month of January.