Meet Your Insider
Howdy, Cardinals fans, and welcome to The Cover Window! I'm Gus Ponder, your Ball State insider. By day I produce community radio here in Muncie. By night I chart Ball State special teams on a whiteboard in my garage. I travel with this team and I live with this team. I have one dad joke per punt, and yes, the punt count is tracked. Why did the football coach go to the bank? To get his quarterback. You're welcome. When we win, I wear my celebratory cat tie and tell a joke so bad it's good. When we lose, I sigh, "Sounds like a Monday," and pull up the punt chart. Every week you'll get the players, the coaches and the matchup, with a groan or two. "Here's a joke and a punt chart."
The School in 60 Seconds
Ball State plays at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, listed at 22,500. This Saturday is special: the university is celebrating 100 years of homecoming on campus. A century of parades, floats and mums. And our opponent is a brand-new one. Sacramento State is in its first season in the MAC, a football-only member taking the spot of Northern Illinois. It's the first meeting between the two schools. What do you call a first-time opponent? A blind date with shoulder pads.
The Coach and the Scheme
Mike Uremovich was named Ball State's 19th head coach in December 2024. He came from Butler, where he led the Bulldogs to three straight winning seasons, their first such run in nearly four decades. Before that, he spent six seasons as an assistant at Northern Illinois and helped win MAC titles in 2012 and 2018. His stated plan: run the ball on offense, be physical on defense, be good on special teams, and don't beat yourself. In 2026 the offense is half runs, with 10 rushing touchdowns and 8 passing. We average 20.3 points (118th). The defense is where the punt chart gets lonely: 37.9 points allowed (135th) and 201.6 rushing yards a game (131st). Opponents convert 45.7% of third downs (126th). And penalties average 70.3 yards a game (116th). Sounds like a Monday. But a Saturday win last week helps. In his introductory interview, Uremovich said the goal at the start of every season is a MAC championship, and he talked about how rewarding it is to watch players who haven't won much celebrate in the locker room. They did that in Bowling Green last week. I heard the singing all the way from the garage. (I did not. That's a dad exaggeration.)
Players to Know
QB Keldric Luster (No. 6): 1,066 yards, 7 TD, 4 INT, 64.7% completions. Against Bowling Green he threw for 195 yards and a touchdown and ran 17 times for 125 yards and another score. That's a two-joke performance.
RB T.J. Horton (No. 4): 393 yards and 7 TD on 59 carries. He had 81 yards and two TDs at Bowling Green.
WR Donovan Hamilton: 22 catches, 273 yards, 1 TD. WR C.J. Nelson: six catches for 59 yards last week.
The Conference Picture
We're 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the MAC, 1-1 at home and 1-4 on the road. The wins: Stony Brook 41-17 and last week's 32-31 thriller at Bowling Green. The losses came at Ohio State, at Liberty, at Kent State 26-13, at home to Toledo 39-24, and at Northwestern 45-14. A one-point road win in the MAC? Now that's a joke with a happy ending.
This Week: Sacramento State (1-6) at Ball State (2-5)
Saturday, Oct. 24 · 3:30 p.m. ET · Scheumann Stadium · ESPN+ · 100 Years of Homecoming.
Last week: we won 32-31 at Bowling Green. Sacramento State lost 48-7 to Ohio.
Our offense vs. their defense: Sacramento State's run defense allows 176.1 yards a game (107th), and its pass defense is solid at 188.9 (37th). The whiteboard says run the ball with Luster and Horton.
Their offense vs. our defense: Sacramento State scores 15.0 points a game (135th) and converts 33.0% of third downs (120th). WR Matthew Coleman has 473 yards and 4 TDs. Our pass defense allows 243.7 yards a game (112th), so we need to keep an eye on Coleman.
Series: first meeting.
Availability: I found no official availability report for either team as of Oct. 18, 2026.
What decides it: (1) Turnovers. Sacramento State is minus-10, and we need to take advantage. (2) The red zone. Our red-zone offense ranks 113th. Finish drives, or I tell another joke. (3) Penalties. Both teams rank 116th or worse.
And to Mateo Villaseñor, Sacramento State's insider: welcome to Muncie, chef. Why did the cookie go to the doctor? It felt crummy. We'll save you a seat at the parade.
My call: Ball State Cardinals 32, Sacramento State Hornets 22.