Ball State football found itself on the business end of a blowout in its 2026 season opener, falling 56-3 on the road to No. 1 Ohio State. The top-ranked Buckeyes imposed their will offensively, racking up 434 yards through the air and 237 yards on the ground for a grand total of 671 yards. Their defense was equally dominant, holding Ball State to 165 total yards and keeping the Cardinals out of the end zone.
But progress is relative at the Group of Six level, especially in games against top-ranked opponents, and Ball State has clearly made progress as it enters year two of the Mike Uremovich coaching era.
"There's a lot of positives on both sides of the ball," Uremovich said. "This game won't define our football season. We're going to do nothing but build from here. These guys competed their asses off."
The biggest positive Uremovich noted was the special teams unit, specifically the punt and kick return coverage. The Cardinals only kicked it off twice — once to start the game and once after their lone field goal — and tackled the Buckeyes' kick returners short of the 20-yard line both times. On punt coverage, four of the Cardinals' eight punts were returned, and Ohio State only managed 10 total punt return yards. Punter Cole Stumbaugh also pinned the Buckeyes' offense inside the 10-yard line three times, including his first punt landing at the 1-yard line.
However, it was kicker Brody Boehm who provided the Cardinals with their biggest special teams highlight and their only points of the game. The former Missouri transfer drilled his first career field goal attempt from 54 yards out with plenty of room to spare, living up to his status as college football's "freakiest" kicker.
"I knew he'd make it because I've seen it all camp," Uremovich said. "These guys have seen him make 55, 56 yarders in training camp at the end of two-minute drill, so it's nice to have him as a weapon."
Other than special teams, the biggest bright spot was the Cardinals' first-half run defense. Ball State limited Ohio State to just 35 rushing yards on 17 carries for an average of 2.1 yards per rush in the first half. Defensive tackles Ameir Glenn and Ka'Shawn Thomas provided some good penetration, while linebacker Gavin Forsha did a nice job filling gaps and bringing down ball carriers on first contact.
The Buckeyes did finish with 237 yards after re-emphasizing the run game in the second half, but the first half was a very promising start for a Ball State front seven that features all new starters.
"I feel like we all were just fast, physical and giving it our all," Forsha said. "I feel like we did pretty well, especially in the first half. That's a great team we played against, so I'm excited for the rest of the year."
The game also marked the highly anticipated Ball State debut for quarterback Keldric Luster. He didn't exactly light up the stat sheet, going 18-of-33 for 89 yards and an interception, but he did flash some of the traits that won him the starting job. Despite consistent pressure from the Ohio State front, Luster used his strength to break away from several sacks and was only brought down in the backfield one time. He also showed a willingness to scramble and fight through contact as a runner, kept his eyes downfield when outside the pocket and seemed to have a strong command of the offense in general.
Although he was thrown to the proverbial wolves with his first career start, Luster valued the opportunity to make his debut against what is most likely the toughest defense he'll see all season.
"Obviously, not the outcome that we wanted, but it feels great knowing where we are as a team moving forward," Luster said. "I already told the guys, we're going to go back and watch this, then move on to next week. That's a national championship-contending team, so like I said, just have to watch it and move on."
It's tough to find encouragement from a 53-point loss, but when compared to last season's opener, it's clear Ball State is in a better spot than it was at this time a year ago. Last year, the Cardinals only crossed the 50 three times in a 31-0 loss at Purdue, who finished dead last in the Big Ten with a 2-10 record. This year, the Cardinals managed to cross midfield four times, the defense forced a turnover (an interception by Cedric Franklin II) and they actually put points on the board against a No. 1-ranked opponent expected to contend for the national title.
It may seem small, but progress is progress, and any progress is significant.
"I just know there's a lot of stuff we can fix," Uremovich said. "There's a lot of stuff that we're going to fix as players, as coaches, as staff. We're going to be watching Stony Brook on the bus back to Muncie and get ready to go play next week."
Source: Read the original article on sports.yahoo.com
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