College football season is officially here, and with just two days to go until Ohio State opens its 2026 schedule with Ball State, there are still questions that need answered.
While the first game might not give full answers for those questions, it will be a good starting point to figure out what the Buckeyes will be this year.
1. What will the pass rush look like?
Last season, it was Caden Curry who ended up being the top pass rusher for the Buckeyes, creating a good amount of pressure for opposing quarterbacks. Kenyatta Jackson Jr. started opposite Curry and finished the year with 6,5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
While that was a career best for Jackson, the Buckeyes are going to need someone to get into the backfield at least as much as Curry was when he had 11 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss.
Jackson has said this fall that he wasn’t fully unleashed last season when it came to rushing the passer and instead had to contain more often for the sake of the defense. Whatever the reason was, it worked out for the Buckeyes, who finished the season as the No. 1 total defense and scoring defense.
But will Jackson be able to provide more pressure? Will the first-year starter opposite Jackson, whomever that may be, be able to provide that?
On Wednesday, head coach Ryan Day mentioned Zion Grady as a candidate to earn a lot of playing time on the edge, along with Beau Atkinson and Qua Russaw. Whoever of the three ends up starting on Saturday will have a great chance to kickstart their 2026 season with a strong performance against the Cardinals.
2. Are the young receivers the real deal?
It’s been hard this fall camp to go a day without hearing about freshmen wide receivers Chris Henry Jr. and Brock Boyd. It seems like that’s for good reason, with the two quickly impressing coaches, players and media alike at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Boyd came in as a low-ranked receiver according to 247Sports composite, but he was widely considered to be the most underrated 2026 signee in the Buckeyes’ class, and he’s already proving why that was the case.
It’s no surprise to see Henry garnering the attention that he has in fall camp since he was the latest of many five-star receivers to sign with the Buckeyes. However, he has been able to deliver on that potential as much as a freshman can before they take the field for their first game.
But now that the first game is here, both Boyd and Henry will have the chance to walk the walk and actually accumulate real statistics that aren’t just catches on the practice field or highlight tapes posted to Twitter.
There’s no better situation for them to get started since they will surely see the field often in what should be a blowout victory for Ohio State.
3. Who’s the backup quarterback?
Sure, the battle to be the backup quarterback for a team might not be one of the most exciting things to talk about, but with one unfortunate misstep, it could be one of the most important.
While it hasn’t been an issue in recent memory for the Buckeyes, OSU fans know as well as anyone how impactful backup — and third-string — quarterbacks can be (Yes, I’m talking about Cardale Jones winning the 2014 national championship).
Should anything happen to second-year starter Julian Sayin at any point, either Tavien St. Clair or Luke Fahey become the starting QB for the No. 1 team in the country and have all of Buckeye Nation relying on them to deliver on their potential.
It’s unclear what that potential is for both of those quarterbacks at this point. Day has made it clear that the battle for the backup spot is still ongoing, which can be taken in at least two different ways.
One, St. Clair isn’t developing the way the Buckeyes hoped that he would as a former five-star recruit with the stature of an NFL quarterback.
Or two, Luke Fahey is impressing much more than anyone expected the three-star signal caller to, especially this early on in his Ohio State career.
More than likely, it’s somewhat of a mix of those two things.
If the game against Ball State looks like everyone is expecting it to, Sayin will come out of the game at some point in the second half. Day said that the competition for the backup role would continue into the first game, but at the very least, which quarterback goes in first behind Sayin will give us an idea of who is leading in that battle.
