Wk 1 · 2026

Ball State Cardinals at Ohio State Buckeyes — Sat, Sep 5

Sat, Sep 5 · Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH · BTN

Weather at kickoff

71°F light drizzle

9% chance of precipitation · wind 5 mph

Forecast from Open-Meteo

Ball State Cardinals

MAC · no games yet

12:30pET

OSU -50.5 · total 56.5 DraftKings

Ratings differential OSU by 35.4

#1 Ohio State Buckeyes

Big Ten · no games yet

What is at stake

A non-conference game. It moves both overall records but neither conference race. Ohio State is ranked #1 (AP Top 25 · 2026-08-17).

What the ratings imply

The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers: The CFB King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus 2.4 points of home field. It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026 games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have changed.

Efficiency · 2026 ratings

Ball State: -13.5#130

Efficiency margin

Ohio State: +19.5#4

Ball State: 17.0

Offense (pts/100)

Ohio State: 32.0

Ball State: 30.5

Defense (pts/100)

Ohio State: 12.5

Ball State: 65.5

Pace (plays/g)

Ohio State: 65.5

Ball State: no data

Yards / play

Ohio State: no data

Ball State: no data

Yards / play allowed

Ohio State: no data

Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College King's 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.

Team stats · 2026 per game

Ball State: no data

Points / game

Ohio State: no data

Ball State: no data

Points allowed

Ohio State: no data

Ball State: no data

Yards / game

Ohio State: no data

Ball State: no data

Yards allowed

Ohio State: no data

Ball State: no data

Pass yds allowed

Ohio State: no data

Ball State: no data

Rush yds allowed

Ohio State: no data

Ball State: no data

Turnovers / game

Ohio State: no data

From completed 2026 box scores; defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.

Ball State form

No completed games on record.

Ohio State form

No completed games on record.

Ball State this season

No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.

Ohio State this season

No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.

Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.

Common opponents · 2

Opponent	Ball State	Ohio State
Kent State MAC	at Wk 4 · scheduled preview	vs Wk 3 · scheduled preview
Northwestern Big Ten	at Wk 6 · scheduled preview	vs Wk 11 · scheduled preview

Open these two in the comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.

Series history · 2006–2026

These teams have not met in the 2006–2026 window.

Ball State leaders 2025 regular season

Passing	Kiael Kelly QB #1	154/273, 1583 YDS, 11 TD, 8 INT
	Ty Robinson WR #10	2/3, 77 YDS
Rushing	Kiael Kelly QB #1	211 CAR, 600 YDS, 5 TD
	Qua Ashley RB #9	118 CAR, 547 YDS, 4 TD
	TJ Horton RB #4	60 CAR, 180 YDS
Receiving	Qian Magwood WR #5	19 REC, 320 YDS, 1 TD
	Donovan Hamilton WR #1	20 REC, 244 YDS
	Eric Weatherly WR #3	29 REC, 238 YDS, 1 TD
	Koby Gross TE #6	10 REC, 141 YDS, 1 TD

Defense

Tackles	Alfred Chea LB #0	59
	Joey Stemler LB #21	54
	Michael Gravely Jr. DB #2	53
Sacks	Nathan Voorhis EDGE #44	12
	DeJuan Echoles Jr. DE #31	3
	Drew Hughes DT #47	2
Interceptions	Joedrick Lewis DB #1	3
	Eric McClain CB #9	2
	Muheem McCargo DB #16	1

full roster and per-player history

Ohio State leaders 2025 regular season

Passing	Julian Sayin QB #10	279/356, 3323 YDS, 31 TD, 6 INT
	Lincoln Kienholz QB #3	11/14, 139 YDS, 1 TD
Rushing	Bo Jackson RB #25	168 CAR, 1035 YDS, 5 TD
	James Peoples RB #1	61 CAR, 344 YDS, 3 TD
	CJ Donaldson RB #12	89 CAR, 330 YDS, 10 TD
Receiving	Jeremiah Smith WR #4	80 REC, 1086 YDS, 11 TD
	Carnell Tate WR #17	48 REC, 838 YDS, 9 TD
	Max Klare TE #86	43 REC, 448 YDS, 2 TD
	Brandon Inniss WR #1	32 REC, 237 YDS, 3 TD

Defense

Tackles	Sonny Styles LB #0	81
	Arvell Reese LB #8	62
	Caden Curry EDGE #92	60
Sacks	Caden Curry EDGE #92	11
	Arvell Reese LB #8	6.5
	Kenyatta Jackson Jr. DE #2	6.5
Interceptions	Davison Igbinosun CB #1	2
	Caleb Downs S #2	2
	Jermaine Mathews Jr. CB #7	2

full roster and per-player history

These are regular-season totals for the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year, taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still appears against the year he earned it; the roster pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is. A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.