Jeremiah Smith vs Beaux Collins statistical comparison for Ohio State vs Notre Dame in CFP National Championship Game

Ohio State's freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith has been one of the Buckeyes' most potent weapons in their rampant college football playoff run to the national championship game. In the national championship game against Notre Dame, Smith's opposite number will be senior wide receiver Beaux Collins who had a calf injury in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia.

What does the statistical comparison between Smith and Collins look like?

Jeremiah Smith vs Beaux Collins statistical comparison

After extensive hype in preseason, in his breakout season, Jeremiah Smith has tallied 1,227 yards on 71 receptions resulting in 14 touchdowns in 15 games. He was kept quiet by the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl Classic in the Buckeyes' 28-14 win managing only three yards on one reception.

Notre Dame's Beaux Collins transferred from the Clemson Tigers via the transfer portal last season and has registered 458 yards on 37 receptions resulting in three touchdowns. He managed 13 yards on one reception resulting in one touchdown against Georgia.

The Jeremiah Smith threat addressed

With the success that the Texas Longhorns had in keeping Jeremiah Smith quiet, Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore addressed the Ohio State wide receiver's threat during his weekly news conference.

"I think definitely a lot of teams have gone to a zone mindset with playing them," Moore said. "I think Penn State played a decent amount of man, because that's their identity. But I think that going into this game, we're not going to change who we are. We're going to play man coverage like we do every week. We're going to go out there and challenge the receivers."

Buckeyes coach Ryan Day also addressed how to best utilize Smith's explosiveness in the national championship game against the Fighting Irish after his quiet game against the Longhorns.

"We know how teams are going to take a look at us and play us. They're going to play some man. They'll certainly know where Jeremiah is, and then they'll play some one-high, and they'll play some two-high, and they'll mix it up," Day said.

"Jeremiah is obviously a huge part of our offense. There are different ways that teams will adjust based on what he's done and what he's capable of, and so we'll identify what those are in this game and then go from there.”

Beaux Collin's injury update

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman addressed Beaux Collin's calf injury during his weekly news conference and the wide receiver was noted as questionable for the national championship game in the Fighting Irish's injury report.

“Beaux is still healing from – he had a calf strain,” said Freeman. “So he’ll work back into practice here in the next couple of days. But I hope that – as long as he progresses, he’ll be good to go for the game but we’ve got to make sure that he progresses as we go through this week.”

The battle between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish might come down to the most efficient wide receiver between Jeremiah Smith and Beaux Collins.