It’s not too often a college football team has four players gain 1,000 yards at their position. But the Ohio State Buckeyes have a chance to do just that on Monday night against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Despite all the talented players coming through Columbus, this has never been done before in Buckeyes program history. We may see it tonight. Ohio State is poised to make history on the stat sheet in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Four Buckeyes Set to Make Program Record With 1,000 Yards on the Season
Ohio State can make program history against Notre Dame Fighting on Monday night. And no, it’s not just winning the national championship that will set them apart in Buckeye history.
Four Ohio State offensive players can each have 1,000-yard seasons at their respective positions: wide receiver and running back.
True freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith has already passed that threshold, totaling 1,227 receiving yards on the season. He reached that mark in the first round of the College Football Playoff against the Tennessee Volunteers, in which he caught six passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns — which wasn’t even his best performance in the postseason tournament.
Fellow receiver Emeka Egbuka, widely-regarded as a first-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, needs 53 yards against the Fighting Irish to reach 1,000. He’s averaging 63.1 receiving yards per game this season, making it a doable accomplishment — although Notre Dame is currently second in the nation in passing yards allowed.
The extra attention paid to Smith will likely lead to more opportunities for other Ohio State pass-catchers, namely Egbuka.
The running back duo, Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson are each well within reach of 1,000 yards as well. Judkins needs 40 yards, while Henderson needs 33 yards in the title game to surpass that mark.
While Henderson has exceeded that number in each of the CFP games, Judkins may be the most at risk of the three Buckeyes needing more yards to reach 1,000. He’s gone under 40 yards in two of the three CFP games, with nine and 10 carries in those games. Against the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl, he toted the ball 17 times and rewarded offensive coordinator Chip Kelly with 85 yards.
It should be noted that the expansion of the CFP has allowed total season stats like this to occur. The Buckeyes played 12 regular-season games and, by virtue of their number eight ranking in the CFP, have played four post season games. They’ve reached that point, and the stats have accumulated accordingly.
But that shouldn’t take away from the sheer talent and skill of these four players. Smith is arguably the best wide receiver in college football, coming into his own in the playoffs. Egbuka is perhaps the best second-option a team can have in the sport — the fact that he’s expected to become a go-to receiver in the pros points towards the excellence of Smith as well as Egbuka’s selflessness.
In the backfield, Henderson and Judkins each enjoyed great success before teaming up prior to the 2024 season. In two seasons with the Ole Miss Rebels, Judkins totaled over 2,700 yards, while Henderson reached that number across his first three seasons in Columbus.
Regardless of the 12-team playoff and the 16 games the Buckeyes will have played when the title game is finished, this is an extremely talented bunch of skill position players.
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If they are poised to win the National Championship, the first thing that’s pointed out won’t be if Egbuka, Henderson, and Judkins reached 1,000 yards on the season, but it will be a pretty cool anecdote—a program-first and arguably the most talented group of skill players on one Buckeyes team ever.
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