COLUMBUS — At the halfway point of the college football season, Ohio State has the best resume in the country.
Maybe the third-ranked Buckeyes aren’t the best team in the nation — that’s debatable.
But coach Ryan Day’s squad is the most accomplished to date — that’s not.
On Saturday, Ohio State claimed its second Top-10 victory of the season by controlling sixth-ranked Penn State 20-12 before 105,000-plus in a wired Ohio Stadium.
“I’m not sure if we didn’t just watch two of the best teams in college football, specifically on the defensive side of the ball,” Penn State coach James Franklin said.
This win, coupled with a victory last month at No. 9 Notre Dame, will make for a compelling case when the first college football rankings are released on Oct. 31.
Assuming the Buckeyes take care of business at Wisconsin next week, the argument will be made that Ohio State has authored the most impressive performance to date, and could launch the Buckeyes to No. 1 in the only rankings that truly mean anything.
Ah, but we’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves, aren’t we?
Let’s talk about a stirring victory against an elite defense.
“In terms of a resume, I don’t know if we could have a better resume right now, but that doesn’t mean anything if we don’t continue to win and continue to stack these games,” said quarterback Kyle McCord, who completed 22-of-35 passes for 286 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. “Everyone in that locker room has the next game mentality.
“As long as we continue to keep winning, everything else will take care of itself.”
Ohio State’s zero-turnover performance on offense (the one fumble was a botched punt return) was crucial on a day when starting tailback TreVeyon Henderson missed yet another game, and No. 2 wide receiver Emeka Egbuka was out with an injury.
The running attack did very little, gaining 79 yards on 41 attempts (1.9 average).
“If we want to take the next step as a team, we’re going to have to figure that part out,” Day said.
Still, this was a game the Buckeyes were never in danger of losing thanks largely to a smothering defense and the play of wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
“I think most teams, the first thing they look at is how to take away Marvin Harrison,” Day said. “I think we targeted him 16 times, and he was open on most of those plays. He showed up in a big spot today again.
“I haven’t seen everybody play across the country, but it would be hard for me to find somebody who’s better in the country. I don’t know how he gets on these lists or doesn’t get on these lists, but to me he’s one of the most special players in the country.”
Ohio State’s public relations team, which once upon a time mailed out magnetic refrigerator holders in the form of pancakes to support Orlando Pace’s Heisman campaign, may want to get organized for a Harrison promotional blitz.
The 6-foot-4 Philadelphia native put together a highlight-reel against Penn State’s talented defense. Harrison reeled in 11 catches for 162 yards (14.7 yards per catch) and a touchdown in the nation’s biggest game of the day.
“We went into this knowing we needed to have an awareness and limit the impact of 18 (Harrison),” Franklin said, “and we had a hard time doing that.
“The guy is a heckuva player.”
This year, finally, it seems there is a stout defense to balance such a weapon. Can the Ohio State defense continue to carry its weight — and maybe even more?
After all, it looked fine last year too, until imploding in the final two games.
Penn State was certainly no match for the Buckeyes’ defense. The Nittany Lions finished the day a woeful 1-16 in third-down conversions, managed just 49 yards rushing and a paltry 1.9 yards per attempt.
“Maybe in the past couple years, the offense couldn’t rely on us but that’s not the case this year,” cornerback Jordan Hancock said. “We just wanted to make a statement to the whole country that we can win games with defense.”
Saturday’s win might have made a bigger statement that that.