Coming off a 56-3 blowout victory over Ball State in their 2026 season opener, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day believes his team gained a crucial early advantage heading into their highly anticipated Week 2 clash against Steve Sarkisian’s No. 5 Texas Longhorns.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
According to a tweet from Chase Brown, Day noted that opening the season against Ball State allowed the Buckeyes to flush out early-season mistakes. Brown also added that Day feels his team is fresh following the Week 1 win.
This isn’t the first time Day has used lower-tier non-conference tune-ups as an intentional testing ground before a marquee battle. Throughout his tenure in Columbus, Day has consistently scheduled MAC opponents like Toledo or Akron early in September specifically to test real-time communication and iron out special teams rotational hiccups under live game conditions.
By treating these early blowouts as high-speed practices, his staff intentionally isolates execution errors on tape, using the low-stakes environment to build player trust before facing elite, championship-caliber rosters.
The scoreboard reflected a dominant performance, with Ohio State outgaining the Cardinals 671 to 165 in total yardage. However, Day spoke to Sports Illustrated and was quick to point out that talent alone covered up several execution errors that would be heavily penalized against a high-caliber opponent like Texas.
“There are times where I say that the talent in the players sometimes overcome some of the coaching. That’s kind of how that works. But we know in matchup games, that’s not going to work.”
Our own earlier report highlights that freshman Legend Bey twice ignored instructions from senior captain Brandon Inniss to take a knee for a touchback. Instead, Bey returned the ball, leaving the offense backed up at their own 16 and 10-yard lines. Day addressed the blunder directly as he said, “Nobody felt worse than Legend on that, but those are trust things that we’re going to have to continue to work on.”
That approach mirrors how Day has historically handled raw freshmen when stepping into major early-season matchups. When past young playmakers made early-game missteps, much like Jeremiah Smith facing early drop issues in his own debut, Day kept them on the field rather than benching them, prioritizing game-speed corrections over immediate perfection.
Using Week 1 to let freshman talents like Bey experience and fix high-pressure mistakes directly addresses Ohio State’s recurring early-season obstacle: ensuring young contributors are fully vetted before walking into hostile road environments like Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.
The Ball State game also provided Ohio State’s coaching staff an opportunity to work through schematic adjustments in real time. SI further added that while the Buckeyes’ rushing attack initially struggled to establish itself in the first half, Day credited offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and run game coordinator Tyler Bowen for identifying Ball State’s defensive movements and making vital halftime changes. The adjustments paid off immediately, as the Buckeyes exploded in the second half.
According to game recaps, running backs Bo Jackson and Ja’Kobi Jackson broke off touchdown runs of 65 and 49 yards, respectively, helping Ohio State finish with 237 rushing yards.
With the early-season jitters out of their system and their star players kept fresh, receiver Jeremiah Smith was held out for the entire second half to protect him, as stated by SI, and it also adds that the Buckeyes have immediately shifted their focus to their road trip to Texas, as Day told the publication, “There’ll be times we enjoy this through the night and then wake up tomorrow and move on to the next opponent. Not this one. The minute we leave the locker room, it’s on to Texas.”