Marvin Harrison Jr.'s First-Half Performance Powers Buckeyes Offense In Win

Every good quarterback needs a reliable wide receiver, and Ohio State Buckeyes' Marvin Harrison Jr. was just that for their offense Saturday.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said the Buckeyes were going to find "creative ways" to get wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. the ball, and Saturday they did just that.

After many were worried and asking why Harrison only had two catches for 18 yards in the season-opener against the Indiana Hoosiers, he put those questions to bed, and he only needed one half to do so.

Harrison showed the prowess that led to him being a Biletnikoff Award finalist a season ago, making a mockery of the Youngstown State Penguins secondary Saturday. The Philadelphia native caught seven passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns in Ohio State's 35-7 win in its first game at Ohio Stadium in 2023.

"The one last week that got called back, obviously we wanted that," quarterback Kyle McCord said postgame on Big Ten Network. "Getting two of them in the end zone this week is good. Like I said, a step in the right direction, but definitely room for improvement." 

The Buckeyes won the coin toss and elected to receive to try and get the offense in a rhythm early, and they did just that.

Just four plays into the game, McCord hit a wide-open Harrison down the left sideline for a career-long 71-yard touchdown early on in the first quarter, beating the Penguins' defense to the end zone for the first of two touchdown connections. The touchdown was the first time the two had linked up while both wearing Buckeye uniforms, as the quarterback-receiver duo torched the high school football scene at St. Joseph's Prep.

The play call on Harrison's first touchdown reception wasn't intended for him, Day said.

"He popped on it," Day said. "It kind of surprised all of us on third down. The guy you think they'd be doubling would be him, and all of a sudden he popped and Kyle found him."

On Ohio State's third drive of the game, McCord hit Harrison for an 8-yard completion before a 24-yard pitch-and-catch from McCord to wide receiver Emeka Egbuka set the Buckeyes up on Youngstown State's 39-yard line.

Harrison streaked down the field past the Penguins' secondary on the next play, getting turned around on McCord's throw, and back-pedaling while making the grab in the end zone.

"When you know you're in for one of these days that you know that the clock is going to get milked out a little bit," Day said after the game. "You want to make sure that you get those touches early on."

An anomaly happened late in the second quarter on second-and-10, though. McCord was looking for Harrison across the middle and he hit them in the hands, but Harrison dropped the pass that would have gone for at least a first down. In 2022, Harrison had not dropped a pass until the Michigan game in Week 12.

Harrison had just two targets in the second half. One didn't count in the stat sheet due to a pass interference, but the other fell incomplete.

The quarterbacks started to distribute the ball a little more to other receivers in the second half, including Egbuka who got involved in the passing game. After a three-catch, 69-yard, one-touchdown first half, Egbuka hauled in two passes for 25 yards from quarterback Devin Brown in the second.

Despite the slow start for both in the season-opener against Indiana, Harrison and Egbuka proved Saturday that there is nothing to worry about when it comes to their offensive productivity in the passing game.