2026 Ball State
2–5 (1–2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Mike Uremovich. The season’s Wikipedia article records 1–5, over six games to the seven on file here. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Stony Brook 41–17Sep 12
By 24 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Bowling Green 32–31Oct 17
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at 1Ohio State | L 3–56 | 9% |
| Sep 12 | vs Stony Brook | W 41–17 | 67% |
| Sep 19 | at Liberty | L 15–51 | 35% |
| Sep 26 | at Kent State | L 13–26 | 41% |
| Oct 3 | vs Toledo | L 24–39 | 29% |
| Oct 10 | at Northwestern | L 14–45 | 15% |
| Oct 17 | at Bowling Green | W 32–31 | 32% |
| Oct 24 | vs Sacramento State | Preview | 70% |
| Nov 4 | at Massachusetts | Preview | 42% |
| Nov 11 | vs Buffalo | Preview | 39% |
| Nov 17 | at Ohio | Preview | 15% |
| Nov 28 | vs Central Michigan | Preview | 44% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
- Record
- 2–5
- Conference
- 1–2 tied for 8th in Mid-American Conference
- AP now
- Unranked
- Points
- 142–265
- Coach
- Mike Uremovich
- Elo
- 1338 −45 this season
- SP+ rating
- -25.2 No. 136 of 138; offense No. 131, defense No. 134, special teams No. 123
- SRS
- −15.4 No. 124 of 138 in FBS
- Returning
- 6% of last season’s EPA, No. 126 of 136
- Recruiting class
- No. 113 roster talent No. 113 in FBS
- Defensive coordinator
- Jeff Knowles
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.04 | 38% | 1.36 | 97th of 138 |
| Defense | 0.35 | 46% | 1.43 | 135th of 138 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.07 off 0.25 def | 38% off 44% def | — | 96th off 138th def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 41% | 7.1 yds | 11% | 2.80 | 20% |
| Defense | 51% | 9.4 yds | 13% | 3.00 | 17% |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.8 | own 26 | 17% allowed |
| Defense | 4.6 | own 28 | 14% caused |
CORE rating -17.6, 130th of 138 (offense -3.9, defense 13.7).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Keldric Luster QB | 1,066 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Keldric Luster QB | 7 TD |
| Rushing yards | T.J. Horton RB | 393 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | T.J. Horton RB | 7 TD |
| Receiving yards | Donovan Hamilton WR | 273 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Jabari Smith WR | 2 TD |
| Tackles | Stu Smith DB | 36 tkl |
| Sacks | Ben Marsh DE | 2 sacks |
| Interceptions | Kamron Chamble DB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2026 class
| Tayshon Bardo WR | ★★★ | No. 966 |
| Mason Atkins QB | ★★★ | No. 1754 |
| Mark Hanniford WR | ★★★ | No. 1754 |
| Stone Perkins ATH | ★★★ | No. 1806 |
| Ace Cooper WR | ★★★ | No. 2052 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2026 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.857 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.838 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.860 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.840 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.836 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.825 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.839 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 3.0 | 0.842 |
| Whole class | 18 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Roster 117
The 2026 roster117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 24
The 2026 portal Jabari Smith WR | ★★★ | from  Florida Atlantic |
| Jacob Jeudy OL | ★★★ | from Concord |
 Jared Badie DE | ★★★ | from  San Diego State |
 Kendrick Gilbert DL | ★★★ | from  Louisville |
| Tyler Mizzell QB | ★★★ | from Concord |
 Corey Thompson Jr. WR | ★★★ | from  Utah State |
| D.J. Young WR | ★★★ | from Siena Heights |
 Johnny Thompson Jr. RB | ★★★ | from  Kansas |
 Keilan Smith DL | ★★★ | from  Cincinnati |
 Maverick Gracio DE | ★★★ | from  Pittsburgh |
 Misael Sandoval OT | ★★★ | from  Vanderbilt |
 Alex Scherle TE | ★★★ | from  Rice |
And 12 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 18
 Kameron Anthony TE | ★★★ | to  Rutgers |
| Darin Conley DL | ★★★ | to  Washington |
| Roman Pearson CB | ★★★ | to Kansas |
| Ty Robinson WR | ★★★ | to  Illinois |
| Walter Taylor TE | ★★★ | to Vanderbilt |
| Ashton Whitner S | ★★★ | to  Liberty |
| Caden Johnson LB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Derek Fields Jr. S | ★★★ | returned to  Ball State |
| Jahmad Harmon S | ★★★ | to  Massachusetts |
| DeJuan Echoles LB | ★★★ | to  Western Michigan |
| Qua Ashley RB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Eric McClain CB | ★★★ | to  New Mexico |
And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2026 Mid-American Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 3–0 | 5–2 | |
 Western Michigan | 3–0 | 5–2 | |
 Eastern Michigan | 3–1 | 4–4 | |
| Toledo | 2–1 | 5–2 | |
| Buffalo | 2–1 | 4–3 | |
 Miami (OH) | 2–1 | 4–3 | |
| Bowling Green | 2–1 | 2–5 | |
| Central Michigan | 1–2 | 3–4 | |
| Ball State | 1–2 | 2–5 | |
| Kent State | 1–2 | 2–5 | |
| Massachusetts | 1–3 | 4–3 | |
| Sacramento State | 0–4 | 1–6 | |
 Akron | 0–3 | 1–6 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.