Marvin Harrison Jr. believes the Ohio State Buckeyes would have beaten the Georgia Bulldogs if he hadn't gotten injured in the College Football Playoff.
The Peach Bowl between Georgia and Ohio State was one of the most thrilling College Football Playoff Semifinals of the last few years.
The Buckeyes had the No. 1 team in the country on the ropes going into the fourth quarter, with a 38-27 lead. However, they also lost star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to a concussion in the waning seconds of the third quarter.
The receiver now says that injury changed the outcome of the game.
At Big Ten Media Days, Harrison Jr. was asked if the Buckeyes let that one against Georgia get away.
"Yeah we did," Harrison Jr. said, per 247Sports. "It came down to a couple plays here or there towards the end of the game. Unfortunately I wasn't there to play in that fourth quarter."
When asked whether his absence changed the game, Harrison Jr. made it clear it had.
"Yes, I think we go on to win that game against Georgia and I like our chances in the national championship," he said.
Did Marvin Harrison Jr.'s injury cost Ohio State victory vs. Georgia?
Georgia fans will scoff at that take. Even with Harrison Jr. on the field, the Bulldogs were more stout in the second half defensively. Their offensive coming alive in the fourth quarter gave them the surge they needed to win the game and advance to the college football playoff.
The Bulldogs pulled off a thrilling comeback with a field goal drive to start the fourth, then a 76-yard touchdown from Stetson Bennett IV to Arian Smith capped by a two-point conversion and another five-play touchdown drive to go up by one point. Their defense bent but didn't break, limiting the Buckeyes to an 11-play field goal drive and and 50-yard field goal attempt at the death that missed.
Still, the Buckeyes will always have their what ifs. What if that field goal drive had ended in a touchdown, with Harrison Jr. supplying the key play? What if Harrison Jr. had been able to get them a bit closer on that final field goal attempt?
A talented receiver who had five catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters of play can certainly believe he'd have had an impact.
My gut? Georgia finds a way to win it, either way.
