Ball State CardinalsvsOhio State Buckeyes
BALL 3/OSU 56
Things to say
Ohio State throttled Ball State 56-3 at the Horseshoe.
01
opener
Never a contest. Ohio State was up 21 before Ball State got on the board, and even that was just a long field goal. The Cardinals couldn't move the ball all day.
02
key player
Jeremiah Smith is a problem. 8 catches, 151 yards, two scores, and he barely played the fourth quarter. Best receiver in the country and it's not close.
03
hot take
Sayin looks the real deal, but let's pump the brakes. 21 of 25 against a MAC team tells you nothing. Ask me again when they see a real defense.
04
deep cut
They emptied the bench and still scored. Third-string QB Tavien St. Clair threw a touchdown in garbage time. That's the depth everybody talks about.
05
exit
Anyway, cupcake game. The schedule gets real soon enough, that's the one I want to see.
The recap
This was a beatdown from the jump — Ohio State hung 21 on Ball State before the Cardinals ever sniffed the end zone, and it never got closer than that. Julian Sayin was surgical, 21-of-25 for 320 and three scores, and Jeremiah Smith just toyed with the secondary for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
Ball State couldn't move the ball all day, managing a lone field goal while Bo Jackson and Ja'Kobi Jackson took turns ripping off 60-plus-yard house calls. By the fourth quarter it was third and fourth stringers padding the box score in a 56-3 laugher.