Ball State starts season with 56-3 loss to Ohio State

The Ball State Cardinals (0-1) walked into Ohio Stadium as a 50-point underdog by every sportsbook to the Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0), and after the first two drives, looked pretty sporting.

A three-and-out on Ohio State's first possession and then an excellent punt pinning the Buckeyes to their own one-yard line afterwards put the Cardinals in intriguing position early in the first quarter.

Ball State stuffed the Buckeye run game on the first two plays of OSU's second offensive possession to force a third-and-seven– but potential Heisman Trophy hopeful Jeremiah Smith managed to elude the defense for an 18-yard gain and break the deadlock. Two more plays of 10+ yards would set-up Smith for a 48-yard touchdown reception on a wide-open, over-the-shoulder look to put Ohio State up 7-0 with 8:47 to go in the first quarter.

The Buckeyes would follow that up with another touchdown drive, this time with Devin McCuin on the other end of a Julian Sayin pass to put the Buckeyes up 14-0 before the end of the first period of play.

Ball State faltered in response, with a false start on the first play of the new drive, forcing them into a passing situation. Three plays later, TJ Alford would intercept Keldric Luster and set up Julian Sayin's fourth-and-goal rushing touchdown from three yards out to push the lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter.

The Cardinals stopped the bleeding with a 54-yard field goal from Brady Boehm on their best drive of the game to that point to cut the margin to 21-3, but Smith's second TD of the night put the halftime score at 28-3.

Ohio State pushed on the gas pedal from there, with two touchdowns in each of the third and fourth quarters to put the game at its final tally.

Smith was the star of the show, with 151 yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions. Bo Jackson (nine carries) and Ja'Kobi Jackson (eight carries) galloped over the Ball State defense, each claiming 83 yards and a touchdown.

Julian Sayin had a near-perfect day at quarterback, with 320 yards and three touchdowns on 84 percent completion. Two other OSU QBs also saw the field, adding two touchdowns of their own.

Riley Pettijohn led the OSU defense with six tackles, with TJ Alford getting a pick and Epi Sitanilei getting the team's lone sack.

Ball State had a rough time of it, averaging 2.8 yards per play on offense and giving up 671 yards of offense.

Keldric Luster had 89 yards passing and 10 yards rushing on the afternoon in his first start as a Cardinal, completing 54 percent of his passes. Elijah Jackson led the team with 20 rushing yards, while Tate Hoover led the team in receptions (five, for 20 yards) and Elisha Durham's 26-yard reception put him atop the table.

Quentavius Scandrett and Lucas Szymborski tied for the team lead in total tackles (six) for Ball State, while Anthony Pinnace got a sack and two TFLs. Cedric Franklin intercepted OSU's Luke Fahey late in the contest.

Ball State opens their home schedule against FCS squad Stony Brook next Saturday afternoon for a scheduled 2 p.m. Eastern kickoff. Ohio State goes on the road to face Texas for a Saturday night primetime showdown in Austin, with kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m. Eastern.