Ball State University Athletics
Saturday, September 19
Lynchburg, VA
4 p.m.
Ball State University
at
Liberty
Photo by: Sam Findley/Ball State Athletics
FOOTBALL GAMEDAY: Cardinals Battle the Flames in Week 3 After Home-Opening Win in Muncie
September 16, 2026 | Football
| Ball State (1-1, 0-0 MAC) at Liberty (1-1, 0-0 CUSA) | |
| Game 3 - at Liberty | Saturday, Sept. 19 at 4:00 p.m. ET Live Stats | ESPN+ |
| Ball State Gainbridge Radio Network | Radio Pre- and Postgame: 3:00 p.m. ET on WMUN 92.5 FM/1340 AM Game Broadcast: 4:00 p.m. ET on WLBC 104.1 FM WMUN Listen Live | WLBC Listen Live |
| Game Notes and Media Info | Ball State | Liberty | MAC | Media Center |
| Ball State Ticket Information | 2026 Season Tickets | Community Day vs. Toledo (Oct. 3, Time TBD) |
| Social Media | X (Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook |
| TOGETHER - A Ball State Sports Link Documentary Series | Episode 1 | Episode 2 |
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State travels to Lynchburg, Virginia, this Saturday, to face Conference USA-foe Liberty, in what is the second meeting between the schools. The Cardinals and Flames last played in Muncie in 2010, with Liberty prevailing 27-23.
-- Ball State beat Stony Brook 41-17 to win its home opener for the fourth straight season, and for the 16th time in the past 17 years. Ball State enters its third contest, following last week's victory and a Week 1 defeat to FBS No. 1-ranked Ohio State.
-- Ball State quarterback Keldric Luster was named the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Week, after completing 27-of-32 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns against the Seawolves. His .844 completion percentage set a program record by a quarterback with more than 30 pass attempts. It was just the second start of his career, compiling 270 yards total offense, individually, as part of the Cardinals' 482 total yards, overall.
-- Breakaway backs Jalen Bonds and TJ Horton provided the Cardinals' final two touchdowns, on fourth-quarter bursts of 49 and 54 yards, respectively. Horton capped his day with a career-high 125 yards on nine carries. Bonds scored touchdowns both rushing and receiving, and added his own career-high with 77 yards on only six carries.
-- Defensively, safety Kamron Chamble garnered attention with a pair of interceptions, the first of his career, against Stony Brook. At the line of scrimmage, Layton Starks led a pass-rush assault which led to four sacks. Starks (1.5 sacks & 2.5 TFL) paced a pack of sackers which included Ka'Shawn Thomas (1), Kendrick Gilbert (0.5), Ben Marsh (0.5) and Kaleb Stewart (0.5).
-- After booting a 54-yard field goal at Ohio State, placekicker Brody Boehm kicked a pair of field goals (38 & 30 yards) and produced 11 total points against Stony Brook. Punter Cole Stumbaugh averaged 49.7 yards on three kicks against the Seawolves, and now is tied for 10th in FBS rankings with 45.4 yards per punt over eight kicks this season. Stumbaugh has collected three punts of 50+ yards, with five falling inside the 20-yard line.
WHAT A WIN MEANS:
-- Ball State will win on the road for the first time in the Mike Uremovich Era. It would mark the Cardinals' first road win since Oct. 12, 2024 at Kent State (37-35). A win would mark Ball State's first non-league road win since defeating San Jose State in the 2020 Arizona Bowl.
-- Ball State will record back-to-back wins for the first time since downing Northern Illinois and Kent State in consecutive games during November 2023.
-- The Cardinals will earn two non-conference victories for the first time since beating UAB and Tennessee Tech during a 2-10 campaign in 2017.
INSIDE THE SERIES: LIBERTY
-- The Cardinals and Flames met once in 2010, but not since. Liberty won that meeting, 27-23 at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie.
-- The Cardinals travel to Lynchburg, Va. for the first time in program history.
-- The last time the Cardinals played a team who is currently a member of Conference USA was a season-opening victory over Missouri State in 2024. Ball State beat the Bears, 42-34 in Muncie, in what was Missouri State's final season as a member of the FCS Missouri Valley Conference.
-- Including the loss to Liberty in 2010, the Cardinals are 7-6 all-time against current Conference USA opponents: Liberty (0-1), Middle Tennessee (4-2),
BY THE NUMBERS:
10 -- Third-year punter Cole Stumbaugh ranks 10th nationally with an average of 45.4 yards over eight punts this season.
47 -- Stability on the starting offensive line stems from 47 career starts between LT Chris Hood, LG Cole Mosier and RT Tristan Cook.
10 & 100+ -- Against Stony Brook, Ball State utilized 10 different receivers in the same game as a 100-yard rusher for the first time since 2005.
.884 -- Keldric Luster's .844 passing percentage last week is tied as the second best in the nation through Week 2 of the college football season.
Players Mentioned
K/P
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
DT
/ Football
OL
/ Football
RB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OLB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
P
/ Football
DT
/ FootballThursday, September 17
Wednesday, September 16
Monday, September 14
Friday, September 11