Ohio State – Ball State 9/5/2026 Preview: Romp for Ohio State is Expected

Kevin Sweeney
Ohio Stadium will host Ohio State and Ball State Saturday.

Ohio State will begin its football season this Saturday, September 5, when it hosts Ball State. Ohio State is around a fifty-point favorite, so this tuneup should allow the Buckeyes to play many of their second-string, third-string, and fourth-string players. As such, it will be important for readers to be familiar with the depth chart.

The main reason that good college football teams near the top of the rankings, like Ohio State, ranked number one, play host to much weaker opponents is that they want a low-stress tune-up. This is often because a team has a high-profile game upcoming. Ohio State travels to play at Texas next Saturday. The weaker teams, for their part, get a big payday for playing at a much tougher opponent. Do you think these games make sense?

Ohio State Against Ball State Game Preview

Sept. 9, 2023; Columbus, Oh., USA; Brutus Buckeye and Ohio State Buckeyes tight end Gee Scott Jr. (88) take a stance as the Ohio State Buckeyes huddle up before Saturday's NCAA Division I football game against the Youngstown State Penguins at Ohio Stadium. Credit USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
Sept. 9, 2023; Columbus, Oh., USA; Brutus Buckeye and Ohio State Buckeyes tight end Gee Scott Jr. (88) take a stance as the Ohio State Buckeyes huddle up before Saturday’s NCAA Division I football game against the Youngstown State Penguins at Ohio Stadium. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The game between Ohio State and Ball State will be at 12:30 pm on Saturday and will take place at Ohio Stadium. The game itself is easy to preview. Ohio State is favored by about fifty points and is only expected to play its starters for the first half. This should be an opportunity for the Buckeyes to leverage their depth. They have so many difficult games this season that this game, and the third one with Kent State in two weeks, may be the only chances to see some plateys who we have heard a lot about.

Notes about the Ball State football team include that it will be quarterbacked by a stocky guy. Keldric Luster is 5-10 and 250 pounds. He transferred to the team that was 4-8 last season, from Texas State. He and cornerback Deondre Shepherd were high school teammates of Ohio State linebacker Riley Pettijohn. This will be the first meeting ever between the two programs. The Ball State safety Dianté Griffin is the grandson of Ohio State legend Archie Griffin, the only person ever to win two Heisman trophies. He has a statue right outside the stadium.

Ohio State Depth Chart

Given the expected blowout, Ohio State should play some of its depth players. Many of the players were highly rated recruits, and this will be one of the few times this season that Ohio State will be able to play some of its depth. Because of that, it will be important to know just who those substitutes are. Here is a list.

Quarterback

  1. Julian Sayin
  2. Tavien St. Clair
  3. Luke Fahey

Running Back

  1. Bo Jackson
  2. Isaiah West
  3. Legend Bey
  4. Ja’Kobi Jackson

Defensive End

  1. Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
  2. Zion Grady
  3. Khary Wilder

Defensive End

  1. Beau Atkinson
  2. Qua Russaw
  3. Epi Sitanilei

Defensive Tackle (3-Tech)

  1. Eddrick Houston
  2. James Smith
  3. Damari Simeon

Defensive Tackle (Nose)

  1. John Walker
  2. Will Smith Jr.
  3. Jason Moore

Linebacker (Mike)

  1. Payton Pierce
  2. TJ Alford
  3. Cincere Johnson

Linebacker (Will)

  1. Christian Alliegro
  2. Riley Pettijohn
  3. Garrett Stover

Cornerback

  1. Devin Sanchez
  2. Cam Calhoun
  3. Jordan Thomas

Cornerback

  1. Jermaine Mathews Jr.
  2. Dominick Kelly
  3. Brenten “Inky” Jones
  1. Jay Timmons
  2. Simeon Caldwell
  3. Miles Lockhart

Free Safety

  1. Jaylen McClain
  2. Leroy Roker III
  3. Khmari Bing

Strong Safety

  1. Earl Little Jr.
  2. Terry Moore
  3. Blaine Bradford

Wide Receiver (X)

  1. Jeremiah Smith
  2. Chris Henry Jr.
  3. Jerquaden Guilford

Wide Receiver (Z)

  1. Devin McCuin
  2. Brock Boyd
  3. Phillip Bell

Wide Receiver (Slot)

  1. Brandon Inniss
  2. Kyle Parker
  3. De’zie Jones

Tight End

  1. Nate Roberts
  2. Mason Williams
  3. Bennett Christian
  4. Hunter Welcing

Left Tackle

  1. Ian Moore
  2. Carter Lowe
  3. Sam Greer

Left Guard

  1. Luke Montgomery
  2. Jake Cook
  3. Maxwell Riley

Center

  1. Carson Hinzman
  2. Joshua Padilla
  3. Mason Wilhelm

Right Guard

  1. Austin Siereveld
  2. Gabe VanSickle
  3. Landry Brede

Right Tackle

  1. Phillip Daniels
  2. Deontae Armstrong
  3. Vasean Washington

Kicker

  1. Connor Hawkins
  2. Marcello Diomede
  3. Cooper Peterson

Punter

  1. Joe McGuire
  2. Brady Young

Long Snapper

  1. Dalton Riggs
  2. Brody Jenkins
  3. Landon Beal

Kickoff Returner

  1. Legend Bey
  2. Brandon Inniss
  3. Kyle Parker

Punt Returner

  1. Brandon Inniss
  2. Brock Boyd
  3. Phillip Bell

Conclusion

The game between Ohio State and Ball State will be both lopsided and interesting. One of the nice things about college football is that even in blowouts, fans get the benefit of seeing the backups of the better team. Expect this to be the case on Saturday for the Buckeyes. Maurice Clarett is going to ring the victory bell before the game, and Jim Tressel is going to be inducted into the Ring of Honor.

Kevin Sweeney is a published author. He is the author of 8 books. He has written an autobiography, a book on stroke recovery, one on presidential politics, and four on sports. Kevin has a Ph.D. in political science; he has published 12 scholarly articles. He lives in Purcellville, VA, with his 3 sons and wife, Kelly. They were married in 2000.

You can get his books here:
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/bookshelf