College Football

How far can Marvin Harrison Jr. carry Ohio State?

Updated Oct. 7, 2023 8:13 p.m. ET

College Football and College Basketball Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Having just secured the touchdown reception that finally put Saturday's slog against Maryland out of reach, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. climbed to his feet and reveled like a king, like the King, on a day when members of LeBron James' family were in the stadium as part of an unofficial recruiting visit for his youngest son, another budding basketball prospect. Harrison, who played the game in a gifted pair of LeBron's signature cleats, raised his knees and pushed his palms toward the turf in an homage to the hoops star's well-known "silencer" celebration.

Seconds later, he did it again: another touchdown, another "silencer" in the back of the end zone, another line item of proof that Harrison is the player keeping the Buckeyes' offense afloat as growing pains continue to linger, even as their record improved to 5-0 courtesy of 27 late, unanswered points in a 37-17 win over the Terrapins. His first touchdown — a 12-yarder from quarterback Kyle McCord — had been nullified by an illegal motion penalty against fellow wideout Xavier Johnson. But McCord went back to his No. 1 target on the very next snap for a 17-yard score that warranted a repeat celebration.

[Ohio State pushes past early threat, crushes Maryland]

"A few times I think they tried to double him or give him a little more attention," McCord said. "But if there's a one-on-one opportunity with Marvin, I don't care who's guarding him. I like Marvin 10 times out of 10."

Getting the ball to Harrison remains Ohio State's best — and, at times, only — reliable offensive strategy as the season nears its midway point. McCord targeted Harrison on 15 of his 29 passes while throwing for 320 yards and two scores against Maryland, and the best receiver in college football collected eight of them for a season-high 163 yards. Harrison accounted for 42.7% of the Buckeyes' total offensive output and had at least one catch or drew one pass interference penalty on every drive that reached the end zone. In doing so, Harrison recorded the 10th 100-yard receiving game of his career to tie Michael Jenkins and Garrett Wilson for third-most in program history with more than half a season still to play.

That Harrison has topped the century mark three times in Ohio State's first five games speaks more to individual transcendence than any kind of comprehensive offensive success. The Buckeyes entered the weekend ranked 33rd in total offense at 447.5 yards per game and finished 65 yards below their average on Saturday. They have a rushing attack that has slipped outside the top 70 and then churned out just 1.9 yards per carry against the Terrapins. They have injury concerns at tailback (TreVeyon Henderson) and wide receiver (Emeka Egbuka) after the former missed Saturday's game entirely and the latter dropped out to never return. The question that might define Ohio State's season is whether Harrison can keep his team unbeaten until the rest of the offense catches up.

"Some real good play by Marvin Harrison," Day said. "And we needed that because [Maryland was] putting a lot of guys in the box and left the middle of the field open at times. And we took advantage of that in the second half."

Breaking down Kyle McCord, Ohio State after win over Maryland

So explosive were Harrison's contributions that it was easy to forget he worked through Saturday's game with an injured ankle after getting rolled up on during an emotional victory over Notre Dame two weeks ago. Day told reporters Harrison would be ready to play against Maryland, but Harrison said the injury was worse than the ankle problem he battled last season while catching 77 passes for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns. During his postgame interview, Harrison repeatedly credited Ohio State's medical staff for the hours they spent working with him the last few days, trying and re-trying various tape jobs to find the most comfortable solution.

"I'm definitely going to feel it tomorrow," he said.

The one-dimensionality of Ohio State's offense was glaring in a game when the offensive line resembled a sieve for the better part of three quarters. A quintet of Josh Simmons (LT), Donovan Jackson (LG), Carson Hinzman (C), Matthew Jones (RG) and Josh Fryar (RT) left McCord to contend with waves of pressure as the Buckeyes' first five possessions yielded four punts and a turnover on downs. Ohio State's only touchdown in the opening half came on a pick-six by safety Josh Proctor near the midway point of the second quarter.

Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr.: 'Confidence. Confidence. Confidence.'

McCord's stat line included a career-high 320 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions, but the final numbers belied a series of frantic scrambles, underthrown passes and self-described recognition issues that contributed to a 4-for-10 start and failures on eight of the Buckeyes' first nine attempts on third down. Outside a blown coverage that produced a 37-yard completion to wideout Julian Fleming — and even then, the ball was so poorly thrown that Fleming was tackled short of what should have been a surefire touchdown — the 44-yard catch-and-run touchdown by tight end Cade Stover was McCord's only completion longer than 19 yards to anybody not named Harrison.

"Obviously early on I feel like I missed some opportunities or saw (them) just a second late," McCord said, "so that's nobody else but myself. That's just an area I have to continue to grow on and continue to find ways to start fast. If we can replicate what we did in the second half but just do that in the first half, I think that's a completely different game. And a lot of that starts with me."

Of greater concern is the rushing attack that was stonewalled by a Maryland run defense that entered Week 6 ranked sixth in the Big Ten. Without Henderson, whom Day said could have played if necessary, converted linebacker Chip Trayanum shouldered the load by smashing into bodies for 61 yards on 20 bruising carries, the longest of which measured 24 feet.

A look back at Marvin Harrison Jr.'s dominant game: 163 yards, TD

There was little opportunity afforded to last year's leading rusher, Miyan Williams, who carried six times for 23 yards, while former four-star recruit Dallan Hayden hasn't recorded a carry all season despite gaining 553 yards in 2022. It's unclear what is causing their respective reductions in playing time, but even the impending return of Henderson is not without unrest given his lengthy injury history.

"Just based on how everything played out last year [with Henderson's foot injury]," Day said, "the decision was made to hold him this week to make sure he was full-go next week because we know we've got a lot of football ahead of us."

Or maybe none of this stuff will really matter. Maybe Harrison is so good and so dominant and so much better than seemingly every defensive back in college football that he alone can get the Buckeyes to where they want to go. Maybe Day and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline can scheme enough chances for Harrison to imprint himself on games regardless of whether opponents choose to double him. Maybe McCord knows the smartest plan is simply throwing it to the player wearing No. 18.

It certainly worked against Maryland as Harrison embodied the King.

"LeBron does a lot for Ohio State as a whole," Harrison said. "So I gave him a shoutout there."

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.