Marvin Harrison Jr. will need to play huge if TreVeyon Henderson can’t go in 2nd half

The Michigan Wolverines went into halftime with a 14-10 lead, but Ohio State had a lot of momentum with quarterback Kyle McCord finding a rhythm before halftime. Ohio State’s running game didn’t give McCord much help, largely because TreVeyon Henderson was hampered by a right ankle injury.

Trainers taped up his ankle on the sideline in the first half against Michigan, and Henderson managed just 19 yards on eight carries. He did catch three passes for 19 more yards, but Ohio State’s best offense has been throwing the ball to Marvin Harrison Jr.

The junior superstar receiver has two catches for 68 of McCord’s 156 first-half passing yards. The best of his two grabs came right before half and helped get the Buckeyes into field goal range on a drive that began in the shadow of their own goalline.

Henderson returned to the game after having his ankle taped up, but Ohio State’s running game still did not get going. Henderson even got popped on a dump-off from his quarterback.

Henderson will try to go in the second half, but if he is limited at all, then even more attention turns to Harrison Jr. Henderson came into this matchup with 794 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 118 carries.

Harrison Jr. on the other hand came in already over 1,000 yards at 1,093 on 62 grabs. Last season in The Game, Michigan pulled away in the second half with a physical running game that wore down the Ohio State defense.

The Buckeyes may not be able to flip the script with a dominant rushing attack of their own, but the talent of Harrison Jr. may be too much for Will Johnson and the Michigan secondary to deal with.