Penn State Week Mic Check: Ohio State Needs Marvin Harrison Jr. to Be a Difference Maker Versus Nittany Lions

Hold on to your butts, folks. Yeah, the Notre Dame win was a big one but this Saturday's clash between No. 3 Ohio State and No. 7 Penn State in Ohio Stadium is an even greater matchup considering the B1G East standings implications and therefore College Football Playoff significance. 

Ohio State has won six in a row over the Nittany Lions and 10 of the last 11 but these games are almost always dog fights and Saturday should be no different as both programs enter the contest with top-3 scoring defenses nationally. 

With the betting over/under hovering around 47 points, the experts certainly expect a low-scoring affair controlled by those defenses. That said, the best offensive weapon on either team comes in the form of Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. 

That fact isn't lost on James Franklin, who spoke about what makes Harrison special in his presser yesterday. 

Well, I think number one, the thing that jumps out to me is his body control and ball skills. He's got the ability to contort his body in the positions and catch the ball effortlessly. I think that's the first thing.

The other thing, he's just smooth and fluid. You know, a guy that you guys are familiar with that I think was smooth and fluid similar to him is Jahan [Dotson]. The difference is this guy is doing it at 6'3", 6'4". It's interesting, you watch him on tape and he looks like he's got good size, but when you see him in person he's a big dude.

And I think it's his consistency. He's just consistently made plays. Obviously, he makes spectacular plays, but he makes the routine plays as well. So, he's obviously somebody that we've got to be aware of at all times. We've got a ton of respect for him and how they use him. – Penn State head coach James Franklin

In Ohio State's 44-31 win over the Nittany Lions in State College last year, Harrison had his most prolific day as a collegian from a catches and yards standpoint with 10 receptions on 12 targets for 185 yards. Notably, he failed to find the end zone which is still the only time that's happened out of 11 games in which he posted at least 100 receiving yards. 

That said, all 10 of his catches in State College went for first downs and he caught four balls on five targets on third down plays for 74 yards. The first, a 37-yard strike on 3rd-and-10 set up an OSU field goal on the game's first possession. The last, a 12-yard hookup via a slant route on 3rd-and-10, paved the way for TreVeyon Henderson's 7-yard touchdown run making it 37-24 Buckeyes with 2:52 left in regulation. 

His effort in last year's game was also crucial in that the Nittany Lions largely bottled up Emeka Egbuka. Harrison's top sidekick posted six catches for 53 yards but 42 of those came on one play. 

This year, in a game expected to be a low scoring affair, Ryan Day and Kyle McCord need Harrison to be at his best which includes finding the end zone against a pass defense giving up just 121 receiving yards per game. Penn State has also allowed just one passing touchdown through six games. 

Sure there will be other key factors in Saturday's matchup but Ohio State would really benefit from Harrison having an elite performance against a defense poised to slow him down.