Off the Cuff: What to watch for when Ohio State takes on Ball State in Saturday’s season-opener

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Every Friday, Land Grant Holy Land is giving you real, raw, and unfiltered insight into what to look for in Ohio State’s upcoming game on Saturday. This is meant to be a loosely written, free-flowing column, as if you were asking us on the spot to deliver our insights on the upcoming game.

Finally, it’s game day… well, almost.

In just over 24 hours, the Buckeyes will take the field for the first time in 2026 when they take on the Ball State Cardinals.

The last time the Buckeyes played a game that counted was in 2025. The clock hadn’t even struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, and the Buckeyes were already out of the College Football Playoff.

Eight months and a handful of days have followed, and whoa, have they felt long.

Ohio State kicks off the season No. 1 in the AP Preseason Top 25, their first time opening in the pole position since 2015. Even with all of the questions we’ve had this offseason about this Buckeyes team, now that the season is here, we’re all talking ourselves into Ohio State being able to win the national championship.

For good reason, too.

One of the biggest concerns this offseason is whether Ohio State will be able to run the football this season. Bo Jackson is looking to build on a strong freshman season, and he has a strong offensive line in front of him to do just that.

After a subpar year, by their standards, up front offensively last year, the Buckeyes return four starting offensive linemen. That’s a much-needed boost for the entire offense, in addition to the running game.

On top of that, Arthur Smith is now the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator. He knows a thing or two about running the football. Look at what he did in Tennessee with Derrick Henry, culminating in Henry rushing for over 2,000 yards in 2020. 

Ball State allowed 178.8 rushing yards per game last year. Ohio State should be able to have success on the ground on Saturday, setting the tone that they’re going to be a difference-maker running the football this season.

The Cardinals are picked to finish 11th out of 13 teams in the MAC. It’s a team that lost a lot on both sides of the ball, 38 lettermen in total. Forty-three players on this year’s Cardinals’ roster are four-year transfers, with the addition of six junior college transfers.

Keldric Luster is set to make his first college start in the fourth season of his college career, starting at SMU before transferring to Texas State. He’ll have head coach Mike Uremovich in his corner, whose offensive background will help Luster get acclimated to Ball State’s system.

But playing in The Shoe against Matt Patricia and Ohio State’s defense in his first career start will be no easy task.

I’m very curious to see what the Buckeyes’ new-look defense is actually going to look like. They only have three returning starters.

Last year, they had Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, and Arvell Reese returning. They don’t have that luxury this year, but there are great players in Jermaine Mathews Jr., Kenyatta Jackson Jr., and Jaylen McClain returning as starters.

After what Matt Patricia did last year, there’s confidence this Buckeyes’ defense will still be elite.

How have I gone this long without mentioning Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith? They should be able to connect early and often Saturday afternoon. The only question I have is how long will they play on Saturday?

Hopefully, three quarters and a little of the fourth. The Buckeyes should be up big going into the final 15 minutes.

Look, can we really take away a lot from Week 1 against Ball State? Yes and no.

This is one of only 12 games, so yes, you can take away a lot. But it’s Ball State. It’s a Group of Six school picked to finish towards the bottom of the Mid-American Conference. You hope there aren’t any concerning takeaways from this game.

But we will be able to take away something about Arthur Smith’s offense, which does matter against even Ball State. The running game will be dissected extensively after this game, as will their offensive line.

The Cardinals averaged less than 300 yards per game on offense last year and allowed over 400. That’s not a good combination, and they have a largely new roster this year.

Ohio State is No. 1 in the country with a ton of star power. They should roll in this game, and Sayin, Smith, and the rest of the 22 starters should be sitting on the sidelines during the fourth quarter.

Game Prediction: Buckeyes 63 — Cardinals 14

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