Kalen Ballage Ties NCAA Record with 8 Touchdowns vs. Texas Tech

Kalen Ballage touched the ball 15 times for Arizona State against Texas Tech. He took eight of them to the endzone, tying the NCAA record.

In a late-night matchup against Texas Tech in non-conference play on Saturday, Arizona State junior running back Kalen Ballage tied the NCAA all-division record for most points by a player in a game. Ballage notched seven rushing touchdowns and also caught a scoring pass from Sun Devils quarterback Manny Wilkins to match the FBS record set by Illinois’ Howard Griffith set back in 1990.

Getting to eight touchdowns required a combination of luck, solid blocking, and poor defending. All three converged exactly as needed for Ballage to etch his name into the record books.

Sep 10, 2016; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils running back Kalen Ballage (7) celebrates a touchdown against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first half at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

His first touchdown came with 13:17 remaining in the second quarter, a one-yard carry after a personal foul penalty had negated a Red Raiders fumble recovery on the previous play. Two minutes later, after Tech had scored their own quick touchdown in response, Ballage caught a 39-yard scoring strike from Wilkins for his second score of the game.

Ballage’s third touchdown came 8:30 before halftime, as Demario Richard was tackled a yard short of the goal line to pick up a first down and Ballage did the rest of the work. His third rushing touchdown and fourth score of the game came with just over two minutes remaining, as he punched the ball over the plane from four yards out.

Things didn’t slow down after halftime, as Ballage responded to Texas Tech reclaiming the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter by finishing off a quick Sun Devils drive with a two-yard scoring run. Touchdown number six came on a seven-yard run in the final minute of the third quarter, putting Ballage in position to break the record.

The seventh touchdown came only because Gump Hayes was tackled at the 1 before he could score on an interception return. When Arizona State got the ball back with nine minutes remaining in the game, Wilkins handed off to Ballage on first down — and the 6’3, 230-pound runner bulled back downfield for a 75-yard score to scribble an exclamation point on his record-tying night.

.theiaPostSlider_nav._lower { display: none !important }

Ballage certainly needed a little luck to tie Griffith’s record, benefitting from Texas Tech’s timely tackles of teammates close to the goal line, but in the end the junior scored on more than half of his touches on the night. Finishing the game with 13 carries for 137 yards and seven touchdowns and another two receptions for 48 yards and an eighth score, Ballage’s performance in Week 2 will go down in history as an all-time great scoring night.