AP Player of the Week: Ohio State's Smith set career highs, nears Big Ten receiving yards record

The Associated Press national player of the week in football for Week 4 of the season:

Smith caught 12 passes for 217 yards, both career highs, and tied the Ohio State record with four touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 42-19 victory over Illinois.

Smith is the nation's highest-graded receiver, according to Pro Football Focus. His game against Illinois moved him into the national lead for receiving yards (617) and average (154.3 per game), into a tie for first place in touchdown receptions (7) and into fourth place in total catches (33).

Smith became the first Ohio State player to go past 3,000 career receiving yards. He has 3,175 and needs 613 to break the Big Ten Conference record of 3,788 by Purdue’s John Standeford (2000-03).

Texas edge Colin Simmons' five sacks in a 20-17 win at Tennessee tied the Longhorns' record and were the most by a Football Bowl Subdivision player since 2019.

Simmons has a sack in eight of his last nine games and 14 1/2 career sacks against Top 25 opponents, with at least one in each of his last seven such games. He is tied with LSU's Princewill Umanmielen for the national lead with seven sacks in four games, more than halfway to his 2025 total of 13 in 12 games.

Indiana RB Lee Beebe Jr. carried 24 times for 203 yards, scored one touchdown and his late 70-yard burst set up Josh Hoover's game-winning TD run in a 29-23 victory over Northwestern ; Oregon QB Dylan Raiola Raiola relieved the injured Dante Moore in the second quarter and was 19 of 25 for 289 yards and two TDs in a 41-27 win over Southern California ; Mississippi State QB Kamario Taylor threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns, including a tiebreaking, 24-yard pass to Sanfrisco Magee to lead the Bulldogs past Missouri 31-24 ; Texas Tech LB Austin Romaine returned interceptions for touchdowns on back-to-back defensive plays in a 49-14 win over Sam Houston; Florida RB Jadan Baugh ran 29 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns in 52-28 win over Mississippi ; Wake Forest WR Carlos Hernandez caught nine passes for 194 yards in a 30-27 win over Louisville .

— Bowling Green's total of 33 points and three touchdowns through four games are the fewest at this point in a season since Florida International had 23 points and three TDs in 2013.

— Georgia's total of 219 points and 30 touchdowns through four games, both national highs, match Indiana's totals at this points last season.

— Notre Dame has held five straight opponents under 100 yards rushing after giving up just 40 in a 49-10 win over Purdue.

— Nate Sheppard, who leads the nation with 161 yards per game, would join Randy Cuthbert in 1989 as the only Duke players to rush for 100-plus yards in six straight games if he goes over the century mark against Georgia Tech on Oct. 10. The Blue Devils have an open date this week.

— Nevada LB EJ Smith made 21 tackles in a 36-33 double-overtime loss to Air Force , most in the FBS since Texas State's Treylin Payne made 24 against Marshall last October.

— Connor Carver of Division II Bemidji State put in a good day's work against Minot State, running 36 times for a school-record 335 yards and four touchdowns in the Beavers' 37-19 victory.

AP voters: Aaron Beard, Maura Carey, Pat Graham, Stephen Hawkins, Mark Long, John Marshall, Michael Marot, Steve Megargee, Eric Olson and Eddie Pells.

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