'Superstar' Marvin Harrison Jr. Continues to Wow Fans as Ohio State Dominates Purdue

Since the close call against Notre Dame two weeks ago, Ohio State has been feeding Marvin Harrison Jr. the ball with great results.

The star wide receiver followed up his season-high 163-yard performance in the win over Maryland with 85 yards and a touchdown in the first half against Purdue on Saturday. He finished the game with 105 yards to lead the Buckeyes to a 41-7 victory.

Kyle McCord seems to have made a point of looking to the "superstar" Harrison. Harrison's first-half output nearly doubled Purdue's total passing yards through the first two quarters (47).

It's not a surprise that Harrison would be the standout player for Ohio State. The 2022 All-American is considered the second-best prospect in next year's draft class behind USC star quarterback Caleb Williams.

It's probably not a coincidence that Ohio State's worst offensive performances of the season have come when Harrison has been held in check. He had 18 yards in the season-opener against Indiana and briefly left the game with a shoulder injury.

Notre Dame's defense held Harrison to just 32 yards on three receptions, but Ohio State was able to steal a 17-14 win on Deamonte Trayanum's one-yard touchdown run with one second remaining.

Harrison left a lot of yards on the field today with multiple drops. It was an uncharacteristic performance by the junior wide receiver, though one that probably has more to do with the rain and wind in West Lafayette, Indiana, that made playing conditions difficult.

McCord turned in a solid performance that's better than his stat line because of the drops. The junior quarterback finished 16-of-28 for 276 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He's only thrown one pick in 170 pass attempts this season.

Ohio State will need Harrison to be at his best going forward because next week could be the team's biggest test of the season.

The Buckeyes will host No. 6 Penn State in a game that will have huge ramifications on the Big Ten East division race. Both teams are undefeated coming into this week. Penn State and Michigan are tied for the top spot in the division by virtue of having played one more conference game than Ohio State.

Ohio State has won 11 of its past 12 meetings with Penn State dating back to 2012, including six straight wins since the 2017 season. The Nittany Lions haven't won at the Horseshoe since Oct. 25, 2008.