Ohio State’s season opener did plenty to calm the crowd inside Ohio Stadium, but it didn’t do much to settle the bigger debates hanging over this team.
The Buckeyes handled Ball State in front of more than 101,000 fans, and the first look at the 2025 version of Ohio State came with all the expected visual changes: new uniforms, a new turf surface with painted stripes, and 51 new players wearing those grey stripes. But for all the fresh faces and the easy win, the same questions that followed this team into the opener are still there.
The biggest one on offense remains the line. It wasn’t a disaster, but it also wasn’t sharp enough to inspire total confidence.
The run game managed just 3.8 yards per carry sack adjusted in the first half, and pass protection had issues too, especially at right tackle. Phillip Daniels struggled again after a rough Big Ten run last season, and at one point he was even taken out for a drive.
Austin Siereveld shifted over, Gabe VanSickle took over at right guard, and at times it looked like Julian Sayin was expecting pressure off that right side before it even arrived. Texas will almost certainly try to test that spot next week.
Ohio State also leaned heavily on rotation from the jump, even while the game was still in the first half. Six wide receivers, four running backs, four tight ends, ten defensive linemen, four linebackers and six corners all got work.
That kind of distribution makes sense in a game the Buckeyes could control from the start, but it also leaves the depth chart fuzzy. It tells you plenty about who got snaps.
It doesn’t tell you much about where the staff truly stands on a lot of those players.
That uncertainty was most obvious at running back. Isaiah West was talked up all through fall camp, but Saturday suggested he may be further down the pecking order than many expected.
The buzz had made him sound like a possible 1B to Bo Jackson’s 1A. Instead, it was Ja'Kobi Jackson sharing the workload with Jackson.
West was getting late reps with the backups and finished with one fewer carry than Legend Bey. Maybe Ohio State wants to keep him fresh for the long haul, but based on this opener, he’s not being treated like the clear No. 2 many assumed he’d be.
And the fact that Ja'Kobi Jackson was 15th in rushing yards for a bad Florida team last season only makes the picture stranger.
Still, there was plenty Ohio State did well. Jeremiah Smith put up big numbers and didn’t even need the second half.
Julian Sayin was clean and efficient throwing the ball. The defensive line controlled the action.
The secondary was active and aggressive. None of that was shocking.
What did stand out was Sayin using his legs on fourth and goal for a touchdown without hesitation. That kind of scramble doesn’t have to become a central part of his game, but it does matter that he can create in a key moment when the play breaks down.
The backup quarterback picture is the other spot worth watching now. Camp chatter centered on a battle between three-star freshman Luke Fahey and five-star sophomore Tavien St.
Clair for the No. 2 job. St.
Clair arrived with the expectation that he’d be Ohio State’s starter by his junior season, while Fahey was viewed more as depth. Most people treated the competition talk as a way to push St.
Clair in practice and reward Fahey for the work he’s put in. On Saturday, though, Fahey was the second quarterback to see the field.
That doesn’t automatically mean the depth chart has flipped, and St. Clair still feels like the likelier backup if Sayin were unavailable.
But the position is now officially worth monitoring, and Buckeye fans will probably be happy if that debate gets shelved until the Kent State game.
For now, the larger takeaway is simple: Ball State didn’t reveal much. Ohio State kept things fairly basic with Texas looming, and the Arthur Smith offense didn’t show anything flashy.
The defense played mostly straight up, too. Next week should tell a lot more about what has actually changed, and how much faith the staff really has in its depth when the stakes get real.
At least the Buckeyes didn’t need a phantom second to survive.
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Michigan's QB Uncertainty Just Added Intrigue To The Game
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Underwoods uneven play has only deepened the questions around Michigans offense, and it carries extra weight because of what this game means beyond one Saturday in September. For Ohio State, any uncertainty on the other sideline only adds to the intrigue heading into a meeting where the Buckeyes will be paying attention to whether Michigan can steady itself, or whether the Wolverines are heading toward a bigger change than anyone expected. [Read more 🡒]