Ohio
Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate lift Ohio State in return at Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jeremiah Smith broke away from the coverage.
Smith had made a double move on Michigan cornerback Zeke Berry, leaving him open along the sideline for quarterback Julian Sayin.
As the pass landed in his grasp, Smith tumbled into the south end zone at Michigan Stadium for a 35-yard touchdown.
The early sequence in Ohio State’s 27-9 win at archrival Michigan sparked a moment of controversy. Officials reviewed whether Smith had maintained possession while crossing the goal line before upholding the call.
It instead endured as a turning point, allowing the Buckeyes to take control early in the second quarter of the 121st edition of The Game. After gaining a 10-6 lead, they never fell behind.
Smith was a vital piece of their offense as he and fellow star wide receiver Carnell Tate returned from unspecified injuries to provide deep threats.
Their chemistry with Sayin was evident. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said the play call that led to Smith’s touchdown catch on fourth-and-5 was one they had hardly practiced in the days leading up to kickoff.
Smith, who sat out last week’s win over Rutgers, had been limited in practices, leaving them to largely rep the play in walkthroughs.
“Some of the things you can practice,” Day said, “but some of them you can’t. That wasn’t a play we had a ton of practice at all. But we talked about it, we walked through it, and we have to give our guys credit.
“We felt like it was an aggressive call that we wanted to make in that moment, so we did, and they put on the field in a big way.”
Tate, who had been sidelined for three straight games, left his mark in the middle of the third quarter when he got over the top to catch a 50-yard touchdown to help put the game away.
During the Buckeyes’ four-game losing streak to Michigan, their vertical passing game had come and gone. The longest touchdown pass in Ohio State’s two most recent losses was 14 yards. Only once in four losses had they completed a pass for a touchdown of at least 30 yards.
It made the return of Smith and Tate, who had been listed as questionable on the pregame availability report, critical for the Buckeyes to end the Wolverines’ recent run of dominance in the series, tapping into an explosive element.
“Just having those guys back is just awesome,” Sayin said, “because they’re such elite receivers.”
Tate led the Buckeyes with five catches for 82 yards and one touchdown, which was his sixth this year to come on a deep ball, as defined by Pro Football Focus of at least 20 yards. Smith finished with three receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Day praised athletic trainers Shaun Barnhouse and Adam Stewart for their roles in helping the receivers in their rehabs, as well the resilience of Smith and Tate.
“If you really know how much work they put in to get on the field, how gutsy they are,” Day said, “I’m sure the fans and everybody would just appreciate what they did going out there and putting it on the line.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — As concerns have grown over the impact of social media on young people, lawmakers are pushing to keep protections in tact to keep children safe online.
This week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio’s law, the Social Media Parental Notification Act, requiring parental consent for children under the age of 16 to use social media must be restored. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the act into law in July 2023.
Netchoice, the trade group that represents Tik Tok, Snapchat, Meta and other tech companies contested Ohio’s law in 2024, arguing that it was overly broad, vague and represented an unconstitutional impediment to free speech.
“An unconstitutional law protects no one, and we remain focused on ensuring the First Amendment rights of Ohioans are protected,” Paul Taske, NetChoice Litigation Center Director said.
Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit’s panel does not agree with this view point, determined that the law is not unconstitutional and had the block on the law’s enforcement vacated.
“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Judge Eric Clay wrote. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”
The Social Media Parental Notification Act is a way to protect children’s mental health against the “intentionally addictive” nature of social media, according to U.S. senator Jon Husted.
The law requires companies to get parental permission for social media and gaming apps and to provide their privacy guidelines so families know what content would be censored or moderated on their child’s profile.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson says the ruling is “a win for Ohio families.”
“The court agreed that parents –- not social media companies –- should get a say in what kids see online,” he said in a statement. “We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet. This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”
LICKING COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) — When you think of wild animals in central Ohio, a black bear likely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. That’s why one Licking County family said they couldn’t believe their eyes.
It was an average afternoon drive home for father and son, Justin and Aaron Rhodes, when something walked into the road in front of them.
“I didn’t even think it was real at first, so that’s why I had to do the double take,” Justin said.
Aaron said he thought it was “just a weird looking dog”.
To their disbelief, it was a bear. The sighting comes just one year after the animal was spotted in Licking County for the first time in more than two decades.
“It’s kind of hard to believe that they’re even around this area,” Justin said. “I’ve lived in this area for about 24 years now, so it’s been quite a while, and I’ve never seen one before.”
These sightings are becoming more common. The Ohio Division of Wildlife said the black bear population is growing in the state, and they expect those trends to continue. Ohio saw a record number of confirmed sightings in 2025.
Lindsey Krusling, a wildlife communications specialist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said they are seeing more breeding females establish homes in the state, signaling the species is returning. Experts said the work restoring natural forest land is a big reason why.
“We’re starting to get some black bears coming in from neighboring states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky,” Krusling said. “They’re naturally crossing those state borders and coming back to Ohio because we have more of that habitat available to them, especially those forested areas.”
As the black bear population grows, the Division of Wildlife is expanding its research. They are putting radio collars on some bears they find in the state to help track data, such as if the bears are staying here, how far they’ve traveled and if they’re successfully having cubs.
“We’re trying to get quite a bit of data from these bears, and we’re super excited to see where this takes us,” Krusling said.
The research is in the beginning stages, but they expect population growth to continue, Krusling said.
Sighting reports can be submitted here to help the Division of Wildlife track black bear populations throughout the state.
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