Luster's Long Passes and Horton's Runs Sink Sacramento State
Keldric Luster threw for 234 yards, and 120 of them came on two plays. A 65-yarder to Isaiah Thacker and a 55-yarder to Jamarion McDougle, both in the second quarter, did most of the work as Ball State beat Sacramento State 34-17.
Sacramento State had a fine first half in the sense that it got ahead twice. Grant Meadors kicked a 47-yard field goal to open the scoring, and after Thacker's touchdown Jackson Sharman answered with a 65-yard pass to Jace Wilson to make it 10-7. Then the lead flipped for good. McDougle's catch put Ball State up 13-10 (the extra point failed), and TJ Horton scored from a yard out with 15 seconds left in the half for a 20-10 lead. Luster ran in a six-yard touchdown to start the second half and it was 27-10.
Sacramento State stayed in range for a little while. Sharman hit Matt Coleman from four yards out to make it 27-17 in the third quarter. Horton's six-yard run in the fourth made it 34-17, and that was the end of the scoring.
The ground game shaped the stat sheet. Ball State outgained its opponent 419 yards to 267 and out-rushed it 185 yards to 55. Luster did throw two interceptions, which made the whole thing a little less tidy than the score suggests, and Sharman lost a fumble. Ball State is 3-5, which is a decent bounce after a bumpy start. Sacramento State is 1-7, and the one thing it got right was a 65-yard touchdown pass to Wilson.
Fantasy takeaway: Luster's 34.2 Promethium points were a season high even with the interceptions.