Dan Mullen claims Oregon, Washington still better teams than Penn State, Ohio State

Ohio State and Penn State kicked off college football Saturday as the most anticipated game of the week, but the result left Dan Mullen underwhelmed. The Buckeyes led most of the way as they came away with a 20-12 victory, leading the former Florida and Mississippi State coach turned ESPN analyst to take to social media with his thoughts after the game.

Mullen tweeted that he wasn’t as impressed with either team as he was with Oregon and Washington in last week’s marquee matchup. The Huskies edged out the Ducks 36-33 in an exciting game, and Mullen believes both Pac-12 schools look like the better teams based on what he saw.

“Don’t think @PennStateFball and @OhioStateFB are as good as @oregonfootball or @UW_Football,” he wrote.

Don’t think @PennStateFball and @OhioStateFB are as good as @oregonfootball or @UW_Football

— Dan Mullen (@CoachDanMullen) October 21, 2023

Admittedly, Saturday’s game between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions wasn’t the most explosive offensively. Seven of the first nine drives of the game resulted in punts, and the first touchdown wasn’t scored until 7:31 remaining in the first half.

Penn State in particular struggled to move the ball, going just 1-of-16 on its third down conversion attempts and finishing with 255 total yards. Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. did have a big outing, finishing with 11 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown.

Still, the game didn’t quite carry the excitement that last week’s Pac-12 showdown did. Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. led the team on a go-ahead touchdown drive to score with 1:38 remaining before Oregon missed the game-winning field goal.

Penix finished the game with 302 yards passing, four touchdowns and an interception. Ducks quarterback Bo Nix also put together a respectable game with 337 yards and a pair of touchdown throws.

It’s not hard to see based on the way these two games played out how Mullen would come to that conclusion on Ohio State and Penn State. Still, with the win the Buckeyes have put themselves in a good position to compete for a Playoff spot and Big Ten title, with a matchup against Michigan looming at the end of the year.

Ryan Day praises Marvin Harrison Jr. for performance vs. Penn State

There wasn’t a lot of offense in Saturday’s Big Ten showdown between Ohio State and Penn State, but Marvin Harrison Jr. provided his share of explosive plays to lead the Buckeyes to a 20-12 victory.

Harrison caught 11 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown as he continues to look like the best receiver in the country and one of the top players in college football.

Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day spoke about his star receiver after the win.

“He’s a tremendous talent – and this is what every defensive coordinator’s going to say, ‘The first thing we’re going to do is not let Marvin Harrison beat us.’ So you stay up late trying to figure out ways to get him the ball,” Day said to Fox following the game. “I thought we were creative.”

Harrison was targeted 16 times on the afternoon and he caught the majority of them