Ball State at Ohio State (#1) — Ohio State (#1) is favored by 49.5.
What’s at stake
Ohio State
- Ohio State is ranked #1 — a loss here would be a real blow to the résumé.
- Ohio State is the Midwest's standing answer — the program that does not ask permission to be in the conversation.
Ball State
- A win would be one of Ball State’s biggest of the season — a 222-spot gap in the power ratings.
Face-off
What each fanbase carries into this one.
Ball State
The chip · vs the national mediaBall State's title runs get treated as isolated upsets rather than a program with real periodic championship pedigree -- three decades, three different eras, the same result. Fans see a pattern the rest of the sport treats as a coincidence.
What this game touches
The long gaps between titles. 24 years passed between the 1996 and 2020 MAC titles. The program's identity is built on real championship pedigree, but also on long stretches of irrelevance in between -- 2025's 4-8 start under a new coach is the latest reminder of how far apart the good years can be.
Ohio State
The chip · vs the national mediaFans here believe the take that the titles are hollow as long as Michigan owns The Game — a narrative the 2024 championship was supposed to silence and somehow didn't. In Columbus, the asterisk is the rivalry, not the trophy.
Best players
Ohio State
- Jeremiah Smith (WR) · 2025: 1,243 receiving yards — Heisman odds: 6th (+1300)
- Julian Sayin (QB) · 2025: 3,610 passing yards — Heisman odds: 7th (+1200)
- Bo Jackson (RB) · 2025: 1,090 rushing yards — Heisman odds: 36th (+10000)
Ball State
- Alfred Chea (LB) · 2025: 59 tackles
- Nathan Voorhis (DE) · 2025: 49 tackles
- Joey Stemler (LB) · 2025: 44 tackles
The line, and the room
Ball State fans are feeling better about their season (22nd percentile) than Ohio State fans are (4th) — even with Ohio State favored here.
- Model · 99%
- Market · 100%
- Ohio State fans · 4th
- Ball State fans · 22nd
Home −49.5 · O/U 56.5
Conditions
80°F · 7 mph wind · Cloudy
Ohio State is 94% at home, 88% on the road since 2018 (51-3 home, 30-4 away).