Florida Falls Hard as Jeremiah Smith and Miami Make Statements
College football Saturdays can change a season quickly.
One week after No. 8 Florida looked like one of the biggest risers in the country, the Gators came crashing back to earth. Meanwhile, Jeremiah Smith continued rewriting Ohio State's record book, and No. 4 Miami walked into Clemson and left no doubt about who controlled the night.
Three games. Three very different statements.
And one Saturday that could reshape how all three teams are viewed moving forward.
Florida's Rise Comes to a Screeching Halt
A week ago, Florida was celebrating.
After dismantling then-No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28, the Gators jumped 13 spots in the AP Top 25 from No. 21 to No. 8.
Then came Missouri.
No. 25 Missouri dominated Florida 45-17 Saturday afternoon in Columbia, handing the Gators their first loss of the season and immediately challenging everything Florida appeared to establish one week earlier.
The game was tied 10-10 late in the second quarter.
Missouri responded by scoring 35 consecutive points.
Austin Simmons completed 23 of 30 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns, while Jamal Roberts overwhelmed Florida on the ground with 211 yards and three touchdowns.
Missouri finished with 560 total yards.
Florida managed only 325.
Even more striking was what happened to Jadan Baugh.
After entering Saturday as one of the nation's leading rushers with 600 yards and 11 touchdowns, Baugh was held to just 13 yards on 12 carries.
Florida didn't simply lose a ranked SEC road game.
The Gators were overwhelmed.
For Missouri, the victory snapped a nine-game losing streak against ranked opponents and marked the program's first victory over an AP top-10 opponent since 2013.
For Florida, the questions return almost as quickly as they disappeared.
Was the Ole Miss victory the beginning of Florida's return to national relevance?
Or did Missouri expose a team that wasn't ready for its sudden rise?
The Gators will have to answer that themselves.
Jeremiah Smith Keeps Rewriting Ohio State History
While Florida spent Saturday trying to understand what went wrong, Jeremiah Smith spent his afternoon rewriting Ohio State's record book.
Again.
Smith caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns as No. 5 Ohio State defeated No. 14 Iowa 31-14 at Kinnick Stadium.
But this wasn't merely another dominant performance from one of college football's best receivers.
Smith's 36th career touchdown reception moved him past Chris Olave for the most receiving touchdowns in Ohio State history.
Then came another record.
Smith recorded his 206th career reception, passing Emeka Egbuka for the most catches in program history.
He had already become Ohio State's career receiving-yards leader.
That means Smith now sits atop the Buckeyes' record book in career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
And he did it while producing more than 200 receiving yards against a ranked Iowa team on the road.
At this point, the conversation surrounding Smith has moved beyond whether he's college football's best receiver.
The bigger question is how seriously he should be considered among the best players in the country, regardless of position.
Performances like Saturday's make that conversation increasingly difficult to avoid.
Miami Walks Into Clemson and Takes Control
Then came Miami.
No. 4 Miami entered Death Valley undefeated and left with perhaps its clearest statement yet.
The Hurricanes defeated Clemson 41-13, improving to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in ACC play while taking sole possession of first place in the conference.
Miami struck immediately with a 61-yard touchdown from Darian Mensah to Cooper Barkate.
It never relinquished control.
Mensah finished with 227 passing yards, a passing touchdown and a rushing score. Mark Fletcher Jr. added two rushing touchdowns, while Miami's defense made life miserable for Clemson quarterback Tait Reynolds.
The Hurricanes recorded six sacks and finished the night without committing a turnover.
Miami hadn't won at Clemson since 2010.
It didn't merely end that drought Saturday.
It dominated.
The Hurricanes scored 17 fourth-quarter points, including a late pick-six from JJ Dunnigan, turning an already convincing road victory into a 28-point statement.
Three Statements, Three Different Directions
Florida, Ohio State and Miami entered Saturday with different expectations.
They left it headed in very different directions.
Florida's rapid climb into the top 10 now faces an equally rapid correction after one of the weekend's most surprising blowouts.
Ohio State continues recovering from its earlier loss to Texas, and Smith is building a season that could eventually place a wide receiver directly in the middle of college football's biggest individual award conversation.
Miami remains undefeated and just walked into one of the ACC's most recognizable venues and won by four touchdowns.
October has arrived.
The margin for error is shrinking.
For Florida, Saturday brought questions.
For Ohio State and Miami, it brought statements.
And college football's picture just changed again.
