To start last season, the Ohio State football team had one of its toughest games of the season. Texas traveled to the Shoe in a rematch of the Cotton Bowl from 2024. The Longhorns were hoping for revenge after the Buckeyes beat them en route to a national championship.
It did not end up that way, as the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Longhorns 14-7 on their way to an undefeated regular season. Ohio State gets to play Texas again this year, although it's in Austin. Ohio State also gets a warm-up game before taking them on.
Ball State comes to Columbus for the first game of the season, which is great. It allows Ryan Day to learn a little about his team before traveling to Austin in Week 2. Vegas doesn't believe this game will be close, either. They project the Buckeyes as massive favorites.
Ohio State projected to crush its Week 1 opponent
According to DraftKings, the Buckeyes are 49.5-point favorites. That is a massive number, even though Ohio State is clearly better. The Cardinals are one of the worst teams in the MAC, so perhaps that's why the number is so large. Ohio State's offense is also projected to be explosive.
Jeremiah Smith returns as the best player in college football. Julian Sayin was a Heisman Finalist last year in his first year as a starter. Those factors combined are probably why Ball State is projected to barely put a dent in the scoreboard against the mighty Buckeyes.
Ball State will likely struggle to score the ball, as well. Last season, they had the fifth-worst scoring offense in the country. Meanwhile, Ohio State had the best scoring defense out there. That combination does not bode well for the Cardinals, especially on the road in the Shoe.
This should be an easy victory for Ohio State that should allow them to get plenty of backups some snaps. Those snaps are valuable for depth purposes. That depth also won't get as many snaps this season with the Buckeyes playing a tougher schedule, so they need to capitalize on them when they can.
Ohio State is thankful to have a warm-up game this season
Starting the year knowing they can win a game without playing their A+ game has to make the Buckeyes feel good. Last season, that was clearly not the case. They were conservative and uptight from the beginning, not wanting to push the ball down the field and make a mistake.
This year's matchup against Texas will likely be much different. This game against Ball State, it will allow the offense to warm up before taking on a much better Texas defense. That will certainly help Ryan Day sleep a little better before that first matchup of the year.
This opening game could be a good game to rack up some Heisman stats for both Sayin and Smith. They are two preseason favorites for that prestigious award. A big game against the Cardinals would give them a good start for that.
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