In an ugly game dominated by defense last year in Columbus the Ohio State Buckeyes had one major trump card in their 20-12 win over Penn State, Marvin Harrison Jr. The son of a legendary wide receiver played up to his name with 11 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown against the Nittany Lions, but even with Harrison Jr. now playing professionally for the Arizona Cardinals, the Buckeyes still present a significant mismatch for the Penn State secondary.
Harrison Jr. won the Biletnikoff Award as the best pass-catcher in college football in 2023, but remarkably, he’s been seamlessly replaced by 18-year-old true freshman Jeremiah Smith. The 6-foot-3 product of Miami Gardens, Florida leads the No. 4 team in the nation with 623 receiving yards on 35 catches with eight touchdowns, but it’s his veteran counterpart who is best positioned to dominate at Beaver Stadium as No. 3 Penn State hosts the Buckeyes on Saturday afternoon.
Emeka Egbuka played in Harrison Jr.’s shadow last season, so instead of heading to the NFL after his junior season, where he likely would’ve been a first or second-round pick, the 6-foot-1 wide receiver returned to Columbus with unfinished business. Egbuka and other veteran teammates were desperate to end Ohio State’s three-game losing skid to Michigan, as were NIL donors with deep pockets, and now through the first seven games of his final collegiate season, Egbuka has a team-high 43 catches for 546 yards and six scores…