For the second season in a row, Indiana’s top cornerback will face one of the toughest assignments of his career.No. 2 Indiana’s historic matchup against No. 1 Ohio State will be loaded with smaller matchups and games within the game, but few will have an opportunity to stand out more than the battle between D’Angelo Ponds, the Hoosiers’ top corner, and Jeremiah Smith, the Buckeyes’ top receiver.Ponds has seen plenty of college football between his time at James Madison as a freshman to his two seasons at Indiana. In that time he’s been exposed to a variety of different matchups and schemes that have pushed him to hone his game.He has a reputation for his work ethic around Indiana’s facilities. Few work harder on the field or in the film room than Ponds and the results show on Saturdays. At just 5’9” he’s not the biggest corner, but he has enough talent and fundamental skill to make up for any height discrepancies he faces.For that reason, Ponds gets thrown at more than most top corners. Opposing coaches figure they can bully an undersized corner and Ponds has proven that wrong time and again, making a play on the ball or keeping a reception from turning into yards after the catch.If you know football, you know about Smith. He capped an unreal true freshman season as the Buckeyes’ WR1 with a national championship and help seal the win over Notre Dame. He’s gonna be a first round pick and will in all likelihood go in the first ten if not first five picks of the draft, probably in 2027.The problem Ponds faces against Smith is the latter’s size. He’s all of 6’3” and 223 lbs and uses that large frame to go over the top of his defender and haul in the unlikeliest of catches. Quarterbacks can afford to throw less-than-ideal passes Smith’s way because he’s acrobatic and athletic enough to make something happen once the ball reaches him.He doesn’t necessarily win on routes because he doesn’t really need to, but he’s capable of shaking defensive backs out of their cleats to get open and is a menace in the redzone where he can just bully opposing secondaries, pulling in 11 touchdowns on the season.Ponds has the fundamentals and smarts, but he’s going to have to play almost perfect ball for a chance at containing Smith in one of the biggest games of his life up to this point. The two spent plenty of time matched up in 2024 and Smith pulled in just three catches for 34 yards.For the path to beat Ohio State to become realistic, Indiana has to slow down the Ohio State offense. Few, if any, have a more important role in doing so than Ponds.