​CHAMPAIGN, IL – OCTOBER 11: Ohio State Buckeyes RB Isaiah West (32) runs the ball during a college football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Illinois Fighting Illini on October 11, 2025 at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images After a long winter/spring/summer, we have finally made it to a week where Ohio State plays actual football that counts! On Saturday afternoon, the Buckeyes open up their 2026 season by hosting the Ball State Cardinals at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State will enter the game riding a 26-game winning streak in season openers, which is the longest active streak among FBS schools. The last team to beat the Buckeyes in an opener was Miami back in 1999.It’s very likely Ohio State will extend its winning streak in season openers to 27 straight games, as they are 50-point favorites over Ball State. While Ryan Day likely wants to get his starters some work, with a trip to Texas coming up next Saturday, Buckeye Nation could see the backups play more on Saturday if the game against the Cardinals gets out of hand early.Since it is likely Buckeye Nation could see a heavy dosage of second- and third-stringers on Saturday as long as the starters act accordingly, today we want to know which Ohio State backup could have a good game against Ball State. Maybe it’s a transfer who didn’t get the start but still wants to show they belong, or it could be an underclassman who is looking to make a name for themselves early in their career in the scarlet and gray.Today’s question: Which Ohio State backup are you most excited to see in the season opener?We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.Brett’s answer: Isaiah WestReports out of preseason camp had Isaiah West pushing returning starter Bo Jackson hard at running back. Last season Jackson impressed with nearly 1,100 yards rushing. West, who was also a freshman last season, came on in the second half of the year, seeing at least six carries in five Big Ten games. Even though West only ran for 310 yards in 2025, he did average more than five yards per carry. What also hurt West early on when it came to seeing time on the field is that he had C.J. Donaldson and James Peoples ahead of him on the depth chart. Donaldson is now in the NFL, while Peoples transferred to Penn State. Now that both Jackson and West each have a year of college football under their belt, it sounds like they could be more of a one-two combination than a starter/backup situation.The fact that Jackson is the starter will also make West hungrier this week, as he’ll want to show he is deserving of more carries next week in Austin against the Longhorns. West’s production will also be helped because he’ll be running behind most of the starters on the Buckeye offensive line, who will be eager to put forth a strong performance after the way they finishe