Sept. 5, 2026, 2:52 p.m. ET
It’s halftime in the ‘Shoe with Ohio State leading Ball State 28 to 3.
The passing game has been efficient and explosive, with Jeremiah Smith leaping tall buildings and consuming defenders with lightning bolts. It hasn’t been all rosy, however, because the running game has not been as advertised. At halftime of each game, we like to note three things that stood out, and there are definitely some lessons to be learned, as head coach Ryan Day wasn’t in a jovial mood heading into the locker room. Yes, the Buckeyes are winning easily and will likely seal the deal in a blowout, but there are bigger things ahead against Texas. Here are three takeaways from the first half of Ohio State and Ball State. Jeremiah Smith is making an early case for a bunch of awards The story of this game in the first half was the best player in college football (yes, take notice). Jeremiah Smith had eight catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
The last 90-yard drive before the end of the half saw Sayin hit him five times, including a 3-yard touchdown to cap it off. He’s still doing feats of athletic wonder when double-teamed, bracketed, or with the kitchen sink thrown at him.
Heck, he even went as far as to give the Heisman pose, and that really should be in the cards this year if we’re really going to give the trophy to the best player in college football. The offensive line needs to do better Day went as far as to say that the three interior offensive linemen were “walking on water” during fall camp, but the line has been drowning in water so far in this one. The passing game has been great, but there’s still been too much pressure on Sayin, and the running game has simply not been good enough.
Phillip Daniels at right tackle has especially stood out, and not in a good way. If this team is going to reach its goals this season, the offensive line has to be much, much better than what we’ve seen through 30 minutes of play. Things could get hairy next week against Texas if the unit doesn’t perform at a better level. Legend Bey has some learning to do as a freshman Legend Bey is going to be more than fine, but he’s trying to do too much as a freshman in returning kicks. Clearly, he’s trying to make an impression, but he took two kicks out of the end zone when he needed to take a knee, going against Captain Brandon Inniss’ instructions. Both times resulted in a long field, and he has to learn from mistakes. Day singled that out more than anything else before going into half and Bey might be in the doghouse now.
We’ll have to see if he takes a kick return the rest of the way in this one, if one is available. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
