Central Ohio is in full Buckeye mode as Ohio State’s 2026 season opener draws near, with scarlet and gray showing up everywhere and fans already treating Saturday like a holiday.
The Buckeyes will open against Ball State on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 12:30 p.m. at The Shoe, and there’s plenty of buzz around the program before the first snap. Ryan Day is heading into his eighth season with an 8-0 record in season openers, Ohio State is No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches preseason polls, and quarterback Julian Sayin is back as the starter for a second season. The Buckeyes also bring a 26-game winning streak in season openers, the longest active run in the country.
That anticipation has spilled into the campus district, where fans have been flocking to shop, talk football and lock in their game-day routines. ABC 6 stopped by College Traditions, the locally owned store that has been selling classic scarlet and gray gear since 1984, and the place was packed with people hunting for everything from clothing to accessories to game-day decorations.
For owner Kelly Dawes, the store is part of the ritual for a lot of customers.
“Our customers they have their own traditions for game day,” Kelly Dawes, Owner of College Traditions. “They get their face tattoos, or they get a button, or little tiny things. That is so cool because we're part of that tradition that they have.
That tradition stretches far beyond Columbus. One couple told ABC 6 they traveled from Florida for the game, and the sense of arrival around campus was impossible to miss.
The Buckeye pull also showed up in the Christian family. OSU football tight end #85 Bennett Christian’s father, Bill Christian, was shopping at College Traditions in search of the right game-day outfit. He said his own college ties used to point him in a different direction.
“We're just glad to be here," said Bill Christian. Bennett Christian’s father was once a Tennessee Volunteer, but said his son’s decision to play for Ohio State changed the family’s allegiance.
I was actually a Tennessee Vol. I played at Tennessee many years ago, and we always thought he would go to Tennessee, but he loved Coach Day and he loved Ohio State,” he said. “He's been here five years, so he's a Buckeye through and through, and so are we now.
The next wave of fans is already in the mix, too. Lanney was shopping for his granddaughter Elsie Mae’s first Ohio State outfit after she was born at the OSU Medical Center on Thursday, right in time for football season.
Elsie Mae is already a Buckeye. This is going to be her first little OSU outfit,” the beeming grandfather said.
Elsewhere, the game-day calendar is filling up fast with family gatherings and house parties. Marty Levi said she and her crew usually go all out.
“We usually have about 15 people over to the house and we're cooking and we just do the whole thing,” Marty Levi said. Levi worked at Ohio State for more than 40 years and her home is decked out in scarlet and gray.
Dawes said the energy keeps building as the season approaches, especially when students and parents are back in town and alumni start rolling through the doors again.
We're lucky because we get everyone in the store," Dawes said. "It was move-in a couple weeks ago and so we had parents and students coming in.
That's when the crowd bulks up and we feel that excitement for football. We love seeing the alumni and we get the same customers that come back year after year.
From longtime Buckeye households to first-time visitors, the common thread is simple: people want to be part of the scarlet-and-gray scene. And with kickoff almost here, that energy around Columbus is only getting stronger.
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