Junior wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. jukes freshman cornerback Derrick Rogers Jr. in the first quarter of Ohio State’s 41-7 win against Purdue. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
Marvin Harrison Jr. is rewriting Ohio State history with every catch.
The junior wide receiver recorded his 11th career 100-yard receiving game, totaling 105 yards, during Saturday’s 40-18 victory against Purdue.
He now ties former Buckeye and current New Orleans Saint Chris Olave for second place in the Buckeyes’ all-time list.
After tying Michael Jenkins and Garret Wilson in 100-yard receiving games in the Buckeyes’ previous game against Maryland, Harrison wasted little time to no time continuing his dominance.
The 100-yard feat came on Harrison’s last catch of the game, a 20-yard pass from junior quarterback Kyle McCord early in the fourth quarter.
The play advanced the ball to Ohio State’s 32-yard line and the Buckeyes went on to score a touchdown three plays later, with Harrison being the man behind the end zone.
Before making the impressive play, the Philadelphia native had already achieved a significant milestone.
Along with surpassing Olave, Harrison also exceeded the career receiving yards of another legendary Buckeye receiver, Ted Ginn Jr.
Ginn recorded 1,943 yards in his three-year career at Ohio State, but Harrison managed to break this record early on with the help of his high school teammate, McCord.
After a 15-yard catch to the left, Harrison only needed 27 more yards to pass Ginn’s career receiving yards. However, he surpassed this number and caught a deep 34-yarder up the sidelines with 11:54 remaining in the first quarter, with freshman cornerback Derrick Rogers Jr. draped over him.
Harrison had the opportunity to tie the record of 23 career touchdown receptions held by former Buckeye and New York Jet receiver, Wilson.
It seemed like he had achieved it when he caught a 4-yard pass in the end zone. But upon further review, it was deemed that he had stepped out of bounds and the catch was ruled no good.
Despite the ruling, Harrison still reached over 100 receiving yards in back-to-back games.
He also grabbed six more receptions, which puts him two catches away from tying with Devin Smith and John Frank.
Ohio State still has six games left on its schedule, giving Harrison ample opportunity to further establish himself as one of the Buckeyes’ all-time greats.
