🚨 OHIO OPENING DAY: Several Ohio legends are reportedly set to return to Ohio Stadium for the season opener against Ball State, with a special on-field appearance planned before kickoff…

Ohio Stadium is preparing for an opening day filled with nostalgia, tradition and Buckeye pride as Ohio State gets ready to begin the 2026 football season against Ball State on Saturday, September 5. With kickoff scheduled for 12:30 p.m., the opening game is expected to carry an atmosphere that reaches far beyond the first snap of the new campaign.

The Buckeyes are entering their 137th football season, and the university has placed a strong emphasis on celebrating the people and traditions that have helped define Ohio State football. Among the most anticipated elements surrounding the opener is the return of former Buckeye greats and influential figures to Ohio Stadium, giving fans an opportunity to reconnect with some of the personalities who helped shape the program’s modern history.

One of the most prominent figures confirmed for the occasion is Maurice Clarett, the former Ohio State running back and centerpiece of the 2002 national championship team. Clarett is scheduled to serve as the first Victory Bell Ringer of the 2026 season, a role that will place him directly in the middle of the pregame festivities. The former star will ring the Victory Bell ahead of the Ball State matchup, bringing one of the most recognizable players from Ohio State’s championship history back onto the field where his college career became legendary.

Clarett’s appearance carries particular significance because of what the 2002 team accomplished. Ohio State’s national championship that season remains one of the most celebrated chapters in the program’s history, and Clarett played a major role in that unforgettable run. His return allows a new generation of Buckeye supporters to see a former championship hero recognized inside Ohio Stadium while longtime fans revisit memories from one of the most dramatic seasons in school history.

The opening day celebrations will also center heavily around Jim Tressel, whose legacy at Ohio State continues to command enormous respect. Tressel, who coached the Buckeyes from 2001 through 2010, will be enshrined in the Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor during the Ball State game. The honor places him alongside Paul Brown and Woody Hayes as one of the select coaches whose names have received this distinction.

Tressel’s return gives the opener an additional historical dimension. During his tenure, Ohio State captured the 2002 national championship and six Big Ten titles, while his teams became especially associated with their success against Michigan. His era established a defining chapter of Buckeye football, and honoring him before a new season begins provides a symbolic connection between Ohio State’s past and its present.

The combination of Clarett’s Victory Bell appearance and Tressel’s Ring of Honor ceremony is expected to make the pregame period especially memorable. For many supporters, the significance will not simply be about watching former stars walk onto the field. It will be about seeing generations of Ohio State football history represented inside the stadium at the precise moment another season begins.

Ohio State has made it clear that the Ball State game is designed to be more than an ordinary season opener. The university’s official game themes include honoring Tressel, Alumni Band and Spirit Day, Buckeyes Care and Football Senior Day. The program will also recognize its student-athletes inside Ohio Stadium, creating an opening-day celebration built around both the history of the program and the players who currently represent it.

That balance between past and present is one of the defining features of college football. Former players may leave the program, but their accomplishments remain permanently connected to the stadium, the traditions and the supporters who watched them play. At Ohio State, where generations of championship teams and legendary players have passed through the same gates, bringing those figures back to Columbus can turn a routine football afternoon into a celebration of the entire program.

The timing is particularly fitting because the Buckeyes enter the season carrying one of the nation’s longest active season-opening winning streaks. Ohio State has won 26 consecutive season-opening games, and Ryan Day’s teams have remained unbeaten in their previous eight season openers. The Ball State game therefore represents both the beginning of another campaign and another opportunity for Ohio State to extend one of the most remarkable opening-day runs in college football.

Ohio Stadium itself will provide the backdrop for the occasion. The stadium is beginning its 104th season as the home of the Buckeyes, adding another layer of history to an afternoon already centered on tradition. With more than a century of football memories surrounding the venue, the presence of former champions and coaches reinforces the idea that every new Ohio State season is connected to the generations that came before it.

For supporters arriving in Columbus, the pregame ceremonies could become one of the emotional highlights of the day. Before the current Buckeyes take the field, attention will briefly turn toward the people who helped establish the standards that today’s players are expected to uphold. The Victory Bell, the Ring of Honor ceremony, the alumni presence and the stadium traditions will combine to create an atmosphere in which history is not simply remembered but brought back into the spotlight.

There is also a sense of anticipation surrounding what the current Ohio State team can accomplish. The opener against Ball State marks the first step in a schedule that will quickly become demanding. After hosting the Cardinals, Ohio State will travel to Austin to face Texas, before returning home to play Kent State and continuing into a Big Ten schedule featuring opponents such as Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Indiana, USC, Oregon, Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan.

That makes the opening day celebration even more meaningful. Before the attention shifts toward the challenges ahead, Buckeye Nation will have a chance to pause and celebrate the program’s heritage. The players on the field will be focused on beginning the season successfully, while the returning legends will serve as reminders of the championship standard that has defined Ohio State football for generations.

For Maurice Clarett, ringing the Victory Bell represents another connection to the program that he helped elevate more than two decades ago. For Jim Tressel, the Ring of Honor ceremony represents one of the highest recognitions Ohio State can bestow upon a coach. For the fans, their appearances provide a rare opportunity to see important pieces of Buckeye history recognized together on opening day.

When the band plays, the crowd rises and the current Buckeyes eventually run onto the field, the significance of the afternoon will extend beyond Ball State and the first game of a new schedule. Ohio State will be celebrating where it has been while beginning another chapter of where it intends to go.

The 2026 opening day at Ohio Stadium is therefore shaping up to be a celebration of legacy as much as football. With Maurice Clarett returning to ring the Victory Bell, Jim Tressel receiving his place in the Ohio Stadium Ring of Honor and alumni traditions surrounding the matchup, Buckeye Nation has plenty of reasons to arrive early and take in every moment before kickoff. The new season may belong to the current team, but on this particular Saturday in Columbus, the legends of Ohio State will have their moment in the spotlight once again.