Ball State — Mid-American
PPA off / def
0.00 / 0.18
2025
Class rank
#113
class of 2026
Returning PPA
6%
returning production
2026 schedule
2025 results (4–8)
Statistical comps — 2025 Ball State's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (24 in / 18 out)
Origins
Letterman is the alumnus everyone names, which tells you the football history. The 2008 team went 12-0 in the regular season behind Nate Davis before losing the MAC title game.
Founded 1918 · Bought by the Ball brothers with glass-jar money and given to the state · first football 1924 · defined by David Letterman
All-time record
All-time
285–316–6
1932–2025
Win %
47.4%
60 seasons played
Winning seasons
21
35% of seasons
By level: ii/iii 3–9–1 (1932–1972) · FBS 282–307–5 (1973–2025)
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2008 | 12 | 2 | Mid-American |
| 1978 | 10 | 1 | Mid-American |
| 2013 | 10 | 3 | Mid-American |
| 1977 | 9 | 2 | Mid-American |
| 1975 | 9 | 2 | Mid-American |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1932 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 264 | 66% |
32% | 136 of 136 | 4.6 | 10% |
| 2nd down | 220 | 58% |
33% | 132 of 136 | 4.7 | 8% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 35 | 57% |
60% | — | 3.2 | 9% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 46 | 24% |
35% | — | 4.7 | 13% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 70 | 39% |
17% | — | 3.0 | 11% |
| 4th down | 18 | 28% |
50% | — | 8.8 | 39% |
141 drives · 20% ended in points · 6.7 plays and 32.5 yards per drive · 0.01 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 8 | Akron |
Qua Ashley run for 69 yds for a TD (Carson Holmer KICK) |
69 | 6.19 |
| 9 | Northern Illinois |
End of 4th quarter. |
98 | 5.64 |
| 3 | New Hampshire |
Qua Ashley run for 72 yds for a TD (Carson Holmer KICK) |
72 | 5.59 |
| 6 | Ohio |
Qian Magwood 43 Yd pass from Kiael Kelly (Kiael Kelly Pass to Donovan Hamilton for Two-Poi… |
43 | 4.54 |
| 13 | Toledo |
(10:52) No Huddle-Shotgun #1 K.Kelly pass complete short middle to #22 J.Bonds caught at B… |
54 | 4.50 |
| 8 | Akron |
Kiael Kelly run for 33 yds to the AKR 26 for a 1ST down |
33 | 4.29 |
| 4 | UConn |
Kiael Kelly pass complete to Qian Magwood for 53 yds to the CONN 28 for a 1ST down |
53 | 4.09 |
| 1 | Purdue |
Kiael Kelly pass complete to Elijah Jackson for 37 yds to the PUR 30 for a 1ST down |
37 | 4.08 |