Ohio State Week 1 Winners and Losers vs. Ball State

Here are two winners and two losers from Ohio State's first game of the season, which resulted in a win over Ball State.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leads the team onto the field for the NCAA football game against the Ball State Cardinals at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Sept. 5, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Ohio State returned to action on Saturday with a 56-3 victory over Ball State, showcasing some players while others have room for improvement.

Here are the winners and losers from the contest.

Winners

Jeremiah Smith

Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney put on an impressive performance on Friday night in a 45-6 win over Stanford. He recorded 12 receptions for 234 yards and three touchdowns, which meant Smith needed to put on a show in his first game, and he did exactly that.

Smith finished the first half with eight receptions on nine targets, totaling 151 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown was the first of the season for the Buckeyes, coming when Julian Sayin connected with him on a 48-yard pass down the sideline in the first quarter. Sayin then found him again for a touchdown on a 2nd-and-goal from the three-yard line, with just 15 seconds left in the half.

Devin McCuin

We talked about the best receiver on the Buckeyes in Smith, but let's talk about the man who could be the No. 2 receiver on the team this season: UTSA transfer Devin McCuin.

McCuin also had a great first half like Smith, finishing with five receptions on six targets for 80 yards and a 17-yard touchdown grab in the first quarter.

Losers

Legend Bey on kickoff

Ohio State's true freshman running back, Legend Bey, didn't have the best afternoon on special teams, and it started on the very first play of the game. Bey is the Buckeyes' kick returner, and when Ball State kicked off to start the game, wide receiver Brandon Inniss — who is also on the kick return team — was telling Bey to take a knee in the end zone for a touchback. Instead, Bey decided to run the ball out. He only made it to Ohio State's 16-yard line.

It felt like Bey might have learned his lesson, but that didn't seem to be the case because he made the same mistake on Ball State's second kickoff of the game. Late in the first half, after Ball State kicked a field goal, it kicked off to Bey again, and the same thing happened. Ball State kicked it into the end zone where Bey caught it, and Inniss told him to kneel, but he didn’t. He brought it out and only managed to get to the Ohio State 10-yard line.

But Bey did redeem himself a little bit in the second half when the backups came in and had a great 25-yard touchdown reception.

Offensive line and running game in the first half

Ohio State's offensive line and running game struggled in the first half. The Buckeyes rushed for only 34 yards during this period, much of which was due to running backs getting hit right at the line of scrimmage.

One thing that hurt the Buckeyes against tough teams last season was their offensive line struggling in the passing and running game, and the first half didn’t give Ohio State fans much to be encouraged about.

But Ohio State finally popped off a run on its first drive of the second half when Bo Jackson took it for a 65-yard touchdown. Then Ja'Kobi Jackson had his own big-time score on the second drive of the second half when he ran one in for 49 yards.

The offensive line and running backs need to perform next week against Texas as they did in the second half of the Ball State game. If they play as they did in the first half, it will be a long day for the offense.