You’re Nuts: Which Ohio State backup will have the best game vs Ball State?

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After a long winter/spring/summer, we have finally made it to a week where Ohio State plays actual football that counts! On Saturday afternoon, the Buckeyes open up their 2026 season by hosting the Ball State Cardinals at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State will enter the game riding a 26-game winning streak in season openers, which is the longest active streak among FBS schools. The last team to beat the Buckeyes in an opener was Miami back in 1999.

It’s very likely Ohio State will extend its winning streak in season openers to 27 straight games, as they are 50-point favorites over Ball State. While Ryan Day likely wants to get his starters some work, with a trip to Texas coming up next Saturday, Buckeye Nation could see the backups play more on Saturday if the game against the Cardinals gets out of hand early.

Since it is likely Buckeye Nation could see a heavy dosage of second- and third-stringers on Saturday as long as the starters act accordingly, today we want to know which Ohio State backup could have a good game against Ball State. Maybe it’s a transfer who didn’t get the start but still wants to show they belong, or it could be an underclassman who is looking to make a name for themselves early in their career in the scarlet and gray.

Today’s question: Which Ohio State backup are you most excited to see in the season opener?

We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.

Brett’s answer: Isaiah West

Reports out of preseason camp had Isaiah West pushing returning starter Bo Jackson hard at running back. Last season Jackson impressed with nearly 1,100 yards rushing. West, who was also a freshman last season, came on in the second half of the year, seeing at least six carries in five Big Ten games. Even though West only ran for 310 yards in 2025, he did average more than five yards per carry.

What also hurt West early on when it came to seeing time on the field is that he had C.J. Donaldson and James Peoples ahead of him on the depth chart. Donaldson is now in the NFL, while Peoples transferred to Penn State. Now that both Jackson and West each have a year of college football under their belt, it sounds like they could be more of a one-two combination than a starter/backup situation.

The fact that Jackson is the starter will also make West hungrier this week, as he’ll want to show he is deserving of more carries next week in Austin against the Longhorns. West’s production will also be helped because he’ll be running behind most of the starters on the Buckeye offensive line, who will be eager to put forth a strong performance after the way they finished the season in 2025.

I would not be surprised if West saw anywhere from 12-15 carries on Saturday and ran for at least 100 yards and found the end zone a couple times. Even though the Buckeyes have Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith, they are likely to keep the offense pretty vanilla against Ball State, so they don’t put a lot on tape for the Longhorns to gameplan for. Because of that, both Jackson and West should reach triple digits on the ground.

Matt’s answer: The entire defensive line

First off, I know I am cheating… sue me. But for years, one of the most consistent complaints about Larry Johnson’s defensive lines at Ohio State was that he rotated too many players. Whenever the Buckeyes failed to get enough pressure on an opposing quarterback, fans and journalists (I’m counting myself in both categories) alike would inevitably wonder why Johnson wasn’t simply leaving his best four linemen on the field and allowing them to establish some rhythm.

Funny how things change. Whether because of injuries, a lack of proven depth, or simply fewer available snaps as the Buckeyes significantly slowed down their offensive tempo, Johnson’s rotation narrowed considerably in recent seasons. By the end of last year, Ohio State was leaning incredibly heavily on its starters, especially at defensive end.

Caden Curry played 608 of the Buckeyes’ 706 defensive snaps, an absurd 86.1%, while defensive tackle Kayden McDonald was on the field for 446 snaps, or 63.2%. Tywone Malone Jr. added another 298 snaps, accounting for 42.2% of Ohio State’s defensive plays. Considering that Ohio State won eight games last year by three touchdowns or more (including a 70-0 skunking in Week 2 against Grambling State), that means that they all played nearly every meaningful snap.

So, when asked which backup I expect to have a good game against Ball State on Saturday, I am going to say: whichever defensive linemen end up being the backups.

With Curry, McDonald, and Malone all gone from last year’s d-line, there are hundreds upon hundreds of snaps suddenly available, and perhaps the most interesting thing about this year’s group is that I’m not entirely sure the distinction between “starter” and “backup” is going to matter very much. We can make our best guesses about who Johnson sends onto the field for the first defensive possession against Ball State, but with veterans, younger players, and transfers all battling for roles, I would not be surprised if the starting combination changes multiple times throughout the season.

That is what makes Saturday so interesting to me. We already know returning contributors Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Eddrick Houston, Beau Atkinson, and Will Smith Jr. are going to factor heavily into the equation, but there are plenty of other guys who should have an opportunity to force their way into the rotation. Transfers James Smith, John Walker, and Qua Russaw have been earning praise. True sophomore Zion Grady and veteran Jason Moore are also expected to be in the mix.

So, against an opponent like Ball State, L.J. should have the freedom to experiment with combinations and snap counts that might not be possible once Big Ten play begins. Considering that a trip to Austin to take on the Longhorns is looming, it doesn’t benefit the Buckeyes to tip their hand, so might as well throw as many guys out there as possible.

There was a time when Buckeye fans wanted Johnson to stop rotating so many defensive linemen. On Saturday, I want exactly the opposite. Give me waves of new Rushmen coming in every snap of every series. Give me different combinations every possession. Give me the young guys, give me the transfers, give me the veterans.

Right now, I don’t particularly care which four defensive linemen start against Ball State; I am far more interested in figuring out which eight, nine, or 10 Johnson trusts enough to play once the games really start to matter.

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