It is a massive top-5 matchup on Saturday as Indiana hosts Ohio State. Indiana and head coach Curt Cignetti have a tough task ahead of them in slowing down Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith. Cignetti has already heaped praise on Smith as he prepares to slow him down on Saturday.

Now, Cignetti is seemingly admitting defeat already when it comes to trying to slow down the wide receiver, per Nick Kosko of On3.

“We can’t play with 12 or 13, so we’re up the creek I guess,” Cignetti said.

Cignetti's comments go right in line with something Ohio State coach Ryan Day previously said about Smith.

“If he's one-on-one, he's open. If he's double covered, he's kind of open. If he's triple-covered, he's covered,” Day said.

Teams have tried to double and triple cover Smith all year, but it has not worked. He has 48 receptions in six games for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has had over 150 yards in four of the six games, while scoring two or more touchdowns in four of the six as well. Further, Smith has two 200-yard games already this year. One came on a 12 receptions 217 yards with four touchdowns against Illinois. He followed that up with 11 receptions for 206 yards and two touchdowns against Iowa the next week.

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Cignetti has had some success against Smith in the past, having faced him twice before. In the first contest, coming in 2024 when Smith was a freshman, the receiver was held to just three receptions for 34 yards. Last year, in the Big Ten Championship, Smith hauled in eight receptions for 144 yards, but did not find the end zone.

Ohio State is set to visit Indiana on Saturday with kickoff at 12 pm ET.