Ohio State opens up its 2026 season on Saturday against Ball State. This year’s Buckeyes have more than their fair share of familiar faces, but also a bunch of new blood — both on the roster and on the coaching staff. We will find out for the first time in just a few short days how exactly that all comes together.
That said, this weekend’s opener isn’t expected to be a slugfest. Ohio State is favored by more than 50 points, so while the outcome of the game shouldn’t be in doubt, this matchup is about
more than the final score.
As such, what are you more looking forward to seeing from Ohio State when they take on Ball State?
Question: What do you want to see from the Ball State game?
Gene’s take: How the freshmen are utilized/how they perform
Ohio State turned over a chunk of its roster from 2025, and there are a handful of freshmen who will play a major role in 2026.
The obvious name to watch here is Chris Henry Jr., whom many believe is going to step in and immediately assume the WR2 role opposite Jeremiah Smith, previously manned by Carnell Tate. They are some incredibly big shoes to fill, as Tate was selected No. 4 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, but Henry Jr. has lofty expectations of his own.
One of the best receivers in the 2026 class, it will be interesting to see how the 6-foot-5 pass-catcher performs in his very first game at the collegiate level. Will we see a Smith-esque debut performance right out of the gate (Smith caught six passes for 92 yards with 2 TDs in his first-ever game against Akron) or will there be some growing pains?
Henry Jr. is the freshman headliner, but there are other first-year guys expected to make an impact right away.
Jay Timmons is someone I’m super intrigued to watch against Ball State.
The Buckeyes’ secondary saw the loss of several mainstays, including, of course, Caleb Downs in addition to Davison Igbinosun, Lorenzo Styles and others. Ohio State looked to fill those losses in the transfer portal with the additions of Earl Little Jr., Terry Moore and Cam Calhoun, but Timmons has made a name for himself in preseason camp.
Will Timmons earn a starting job in year one? It was expected that Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Devin Sanchez would hold it down at corner with Jaylen McClain, Moore and Little Jr. at the safety spots, but could Timmons push someone like Moore for playing time?
I’m excited to see the five-star at work against Ball State, whether it’s in garbage time or early on.
Then there are the other freshmen receivers besides Henry Jr. Brock Boyd and Jerquaden Guilford were both highly touted prospects in their own rights, and with many mouths to feed on offense they could be behind the eight ball a bit, but they are both talented enough to see the field early.
There is one other wildcard freshman that I’m very excited about: Legend Bey.
One of the most dramatic recruitments we’ve seen in a while, Bey ended up at Ohio State where he always wanted to be, and now he has a chance to be a secret weapon for Ryan Day and Arthur Smith. Whether at running back, wide receiver or H-back, how will the Buckeyes look to deploy the talented speedster?
There is a ton of young talent on this team to be enthusiastic about, and we finally get to see those guys on the field for the very first time come Saturday.
Matt’s take: What does Arthur Smith’s offense look like?
Admittedly, there are only so many conclusions that can reasonably be drawn from an Ohio State game against Ball State. The Buckeyes will enter Saturday as overwhelming favorites, they will have a significant talent advantage at every position on the field, and, barring something going catastrophically wrong, the final score should not be in doubt for very long. When you throw in the fact that there’s no real reason to put anything meaningful on tape with a trip to Austin to take on the Longhorns looming, I’m not going to put a ton of stock in what we see on Saturday.
However, that does not mean there won’t be things worth watching, and for me, perhaps the most interesting part of the Buckeyes’ season opener will be getting our first real look at what an Arthur Smith offense actually looks like at the collegiate level and with Ohio State’s level of talent.
We have spent the entire offseason talking about what Smith’s arrival could mean for OSU. We know that his best offenses have generally been built around physical running games, multiple tight ends, play action, pre-snap movement, and finding ways to make defenses uncomfortable without necessarily asking the quarterback to throw the ball 45 times per game.
We also know that Ohio State is not the Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, or Pittsburgh Steelers, and Smith would be committing coaching malpractice if he looked at a roster featuring Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith, and the collection of absurdly talented skill players surrounding them and decided that the best course of action was trying to run a ground-and-pound, 14-personnel package as the Buckeyes’ primary offense.
We know he’s not going to do that; that’s not why Ryan Day hired him. So what will the Arthur Smith scheme look like? How will it adjust his natural tendencies to accommodate an absurdly efficient Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback and the best receiver in college football?
For most of Day’s tenure, Ohio State’s offensive identity has started with the quarterback and wide receivers and worked backward from there, and for obvious, prolific reasons. Now Day has brought in an offensive coordinator whose résumé suggests a slightly different worldview. I don’t expect the Buckeyes to suddenly become a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust operation — nor should they — but I am extremely interested to see where Smith’s preferences begin to show themselves. How a more run-game focused approach actually opens things up for a more explosive passing game.
Saturday should give us our first clues. How frequently will Ohio State use two-tight-end sets? How much motion and misdirection will Smith incorporate? Will the Buckeyes make a concerted effort to establish Bo Jackson and Isaiah West early, even when they could probably throw the ball at will? What does the play-action game look like with Sayin? Perhaps most importantly, what does Ohio State do with Arthur Smith calling the offense that it would not have done a year ago, especially in the red zone?
We probably won’t get a full answer against Ball State, and perhaps not even against Texas the following week. Ohio State will undoubtedly add to its offensive playbook throughout the course of the season as the conference schedule progresses, but after months of theorizing about what Smith’s arrival means, Saturday will finally give us something tangible to evaluate. The opponent might not tell us how good this offense ultimately will be, but it should begin to tell us exactly what kind of offense Arthur Smith wants it to become.
