To hear Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith tell it, Oregon better play zone defense during Wednesday's College Football Playoff quarterfinal showdown.

"I'm just laughing in my head. Why are y'all really playing man-on-man against us, or against me, I should say?" Smith told reporters Monday. "And when we see man [coverage] against any of our receivers, we're going to take a shot down the field.

"So I'm just letting everybody know right now that if you play man Wednesday, we're taking a shot."

The Buckeyes are typically loaded at the wide receiver position, and this season is no different. Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate make up one of the best trios in the nation, although the freshman stands out among them all.

He stands out so much, in fact, that draft analyst Todd McShay recently said he would be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft if he was eligible.

Tennessee tried playing some man coverage against Smith in the first round of the College Football Playoff, and he ended up with six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns. The matchup between Smith and star cornerback Jermod McCoy drew attention before the game, but the Buckeyes wide receiver had the last laugh:

And he might be playing his best ball coming into Wednesday's contest, which is concerning for an Oregon team that saw him post nine catches for 100 yards and a touchdown in their regular-season matchup.

"They're going to see a completely different player than the last time," he said. "Even [receivers] Coach [Brian] Hartline told me the other day that I'm a whole different player from the first time we played Oregon until now. It started with understanding the game plan and knowing what the defense is trying to do."

Defeating Oregon will be much easier said than done for the Buckeyes, who lost by just a single point in their first meeting and have since lost multiple star offensive linemen in center Seth McLaughlin and left tackle Josh Simmons.

But it will start with getting Smith the ball early and often, whether he is facing zone coverage or man-to-man looks.

The throws just might go for a lot longer if Oregon tries the man approach.