LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jeremiah Smith told Oregon’s defense Monday whether it will decide to cover him or one of the Ohio State receivers individually.

“I’m just laughing in my head. Why are you all really playing man-to-man against us, or me, I should say?’ Smith said. “And if we see man (coverage) against one of our receivers, we’re going to take a hit down the field.”

“So now I’m letting everyone know that if you play the man on Wednesday, we’ll give it a try.”

Smith, Ohio State’s dynamic freshman receiver, paced Tennessee with six catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes’ 42-17 win over the Vols on Dec. 21 in the first round of the College Football Playoff. He was a one-man destruction team against Tennessee’s man coverage.

Smith will be the focal point for Oregon in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential when the two teams meet Wednesday in a rematch of their Oct. 12 game, which the Ducks won 32-31 in Eugene.

“You’re going to see a completely different player than you did last time,” said Smith, who caught nine passes for 100 yards and a touchdown in the first game against Oregon. “Even (receivers) coach (Brian) Hartline told me the other day that I’m a completely different player than I was in the first game against Oregon so far. “It started with understanding the game plan and what the defense is trying to do.”

Smith said the entire Ohio State team was “mad” about the 13-10 home loss to Michigan at the end of the regular season and played like that against Tennessee. He said the same was true in the Buckeyes’ first loss of the start of the season against Oregon.

“We were ready to put that bad taste out of our mouths, let it all go and dominate Tennessee,” Smith said. “Here’s a chance to do it again.”

It was an “angry” team that took the field against Tennessee, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard said.

“And you could see it,” Howard said. “And I think when we play like that we are hard to beat and we have to keep the same mentality. I think that’s really the difference, that anger, being (pissed off), that chip on our shoulder,” and that’s going to be crucial in this game.

The same goes for passing the ball to Smith, who leads the team in receiving yards (1,037) and touchdown catches (12). He said he arrived on campus weighing 208 pounds but now weighs 225 pounds — and hasn’t lost a step.

Senior cornerback Denzel Burke is amazed every time he sees the 6-foot-3 Smith make an opposing cornerback look helpless.

“He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen and I think he’ll be the best to come through here and I’ve seen and played with a lot of great ones,” Burke said, ticking off the names of NFL receiver Garrett on Wilson, Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. “You see all the same qualities. He is calm. His work ethic is crazy and he performs at his best on game day.”

“He’s just different. He is a dog. You don’t see that in a young 18-year-old coming out of high school.”

Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who has been a head coach in both college and the NFL, said Monday that he has never seen a receiver like Smith.

“Not with that combination of size and speed and ability to catch and chase the ball,” Kelly said. “There were some other guys who were smaller and could do it, and guys who were the same size but didn’t run and move like him. And then it’s his approach and his way of thinking that really make him special.”

“We have to pull him back sometimes in training. Some people with these skills will say, ‘No, I have that.’ But he never wants to miss anything. He will continue to grow because he wants to.

Smith said the team’s leaders, starters and fifth-year seniors, helped Ohio State weather the storm this season and get the Buckeyes to a point where, despite the loss, they still have a chance, a national one Championship winning losses to Michigan and Oregon. The loss against the Wolverines was particularly tough. Ohio State was the favorite by three touchdowns and has now lost four straight in the rivalry after winning eight straight.

“Nobody wants to lose to (Michigan). Everyone knows this and I know the fans hate it. This has been happening for a few years and I know they are tired of it,” Smith said. “But we wanted to keep going and the leaders of our team were going to make sure that happened. We wanted to be prepared for the opponent we play first (in the playoffs), and I can promise you we will be ready for this game and any others that come next.”

ESPN’s Pete Thamel contributed to this story.