Ball State is heading into the kind of opener that tells you exactly where a team stands.
On Saturday in Columbus, the Cardinals will walk into Ohio Stadium as massive underdogs against No. 1 Ohio State, a 50.5-point favorite in a game that doubles as the first competitive snap of the season for both programs.
For Ball State, it’s a first-ever meeting with head coach Mike Uremovich leading the way against the Buckeyes. For Ohio State, it’s a chance to ease into 2026 before next week’s trip to No.
5 Texas.
Uremovich didn’t try to dress it up on Monday. He called Ohio State a program he respects more than any other for its “sustained excellence,” pointed to the Buckeyes’ resources and staff, and noted that if the current Playoff format had existed, they would have been in it for the last 12 years. He also cited Ryan Day’s 55-5 record in the best conference in college football right now and said Saturday would be “a great challenge” for his team.
Still, Ball State isn’t changing its approach just because the opponent is No. 1.
“We approach every game the exact same. Our guys get 12 opportunities to play, and from the moment we finish our last game, or in this case, we finish training camp, it's everything we possibly have to do to prepare to win this football game.
It'll be the same every Saturday. It doesn't matter who the opponent is.”
That mindset will be tested immediately. Uremovich laid out the obvious issues: Ohio State has playmakers everywhere, from wide receiver to quarterback to tailback, along with a strong offensive line.
Defensively, the Buckeyes bring a group that changes on third down, which means Ball State has to avoid third-and-long situations. Then there’s the atmosphere.
Uremovich said he has never coached there, but did his research this summer and knows how loud and difficult it can be to communicate, especially when safeties and linebackers are relaying calls.
He also sounded genuinely upbeat about where his own team stands entering the opener.
“I am excited to start the season. I really am.
We're a much better football team. We're a deeper football team.
I think we're a closer football team, which I know everyone is saying right now at every press conference, but we have to see how close we are the first time we face adversity. That might be the first quarter at Ohio State, it might be the second half of our second game, but adversity is going to come at some point in a college football season.
How do we handle that? How do we come together as a team?
We still have to show that, and I am confident we will do that, as a group and as a coaching staff.”
Depth is one of the biggest reasons he feels better about this roster. Uremovich said Ball State has enough across several positions that injuries won’t force major changes to the offense or defense. He specifically mentioned receiver, tailback and secondary depth as areas that should keep the Cardinals from having to alter the plan if someone goes down.
At quarterback, Keldric Luster earned the starting job after making what Uremovich described as a real jump from spring ball to training camp. The coach said Luster had a strong spring, then improved even more by working with receivers over the summer and getting more comfortable mastering the offense. Uremovich said Luster arrived at camp much better than he left spring practice, “which is how it should be.”
Luster kept his focus on the challenge in front of him.
“The personnel, really. They are the No. 1 team in the country.
Everybody knows that. They have really good players, but we have good players as well.
It's going to be a fun matchup.”
On the other side of the ball, defensive back Derek Fields said Ball State’s defense came out of fall camp feeling good about itself, even if the preseason had its ups and downs.
“Fall camp was amazing. We had a lot of ups.
We had a couple of downs, but during the downs, you see light, and we were able to have more ups. The defense is looking amazing.
We're going to be solid.”
Fields said the Cardinals aren’t backing down from the moment, either.
“We're not intimidated at all. Everybody knows [Ohio State] is a big-name school, but at the end of the day, if we go in and execute at our level, we will be in the game and have a shot.”
He also pointed to the obvious name at the top of Ohio State’s scouting report: Jeremiah Smith. Fields called him “probably the best receiver in the country right now” and said Ball State has been digging through film to study his tendencies, looking for any tell that could turn into a takeaway and a return the other way.
That’s the assignment for the Cardinals in Week 1: survive the environment, handle the talent, and see whether the confidence built in camp holds up when the lights come on in Columbus.
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