Whether it be catching balls that looked uncatchable or breaking records that appeared unbreakable, Ohio State Buckeyes freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith made a habit of surprising fans throughout his first season in Columbus. But perhaps the biggest surprise of the season thus far came in Ohio State's College Football Playoff semifinal matchup with the Texas Longhorns, because in the biggest game of the Buckeyes season, their biggest star was nowhere to be found.

Jeremiah Smith caught just one pass for three yards in Friday night's Cotton Bowl Classic against the Longhorns, which was a stunning development considering how dominant he had been in the Buckeyes' previous two College Football Playoff games. Over the first two rounds of the CFP, the freaky freshman had hauled in 13 receptions for 290 yards and four touchdowns against the the Tennessee Volunteers and Oregon Ducks.

Smith was targeted a season-low three times in the 28-14 win, but Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day noted that he didn't believe Texas played Smith any differently that other opponents had. Instead, he pointed to missed opportunities on offense as the reason why his star receiver was silent.

“It's a little bit more about execution than it is anything else,” Ryan Day said, according to Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com. “We weren't able to sustain a few of those drives and connect on a couple other plays. [Smith is] obviously a huge part of our offense, so there's different ways that teams will adjust based on what he's done and what he's capable of. We'll identify what those are in this game and then go from there.But to me, the story of this past game was the self-inflicted wounds that set us back.

Not to out Ryan Day or accuse him of being dishonest, but to me, this smells like a coach looking for every possible angle he can play to keep his team locked in on their final game of the postseason… a National Championship Game clash with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who have held opponents to just 14.3 points per game throughout the season and allow just 163 passing yards per game.

In reality, Texas was making a conscious effort to take Smith out of the game, and various Buckeyes players noticed it.

“We knew they were going to be keying him. Obviously, the first two rounds of the playoffs, he went off. We knew they were going to do something to try and take him away,” quarterback Will Howard said after the game, per John Leuzzi of USA Today. “They clouded him. They doubled him. They were finding different ways to get two guys over top of him. But all that means is that we need to be smart and get the ball to other guys.”

After the game, Smith admitted he was frustrated by his lack of involvement, but noted that he trusted in his coaches and teammates. He did take to social media after the win, quote tweeting a screenshot of a pre-snap look in which three Texas defenders were bracketing him.

Maybe it's not so crazy when you're dealing with a generational receiver like Jeremiah Smith.