Arizona State RB Kalen Ballage ties NCAA mark with 8 TDs

ByMITCH SHERMAN
September 11, 2016, 3:40 AM

— -- TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State running back Kalen Ballage tied the 26-year-old NCAA record for touchdowns in a game Saturday, when the Sun Devils beat Texas Tech 68-55.

Ballage equaled the mark of Howard Griffith, who scored eight times for Illinois in a 1990 win over Southern Illinois.

"It wasn't me -- it was God and my offensive linemen," Ballage said in an on-field interview after the game.?

A junior from Peyton, Colorado, Ballage had rushed for seven touchdowns on 13 attempts, gaining 137 yards. His career-long, 75-yard run with 9:11 to play in the fourth quarter allowed him to match the NCAA record.

He also caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Manny Wilkins in the second quarter.

Ballage had scored nine touchdowns in his career before Saturday, including one on the ground in the Sun Devils' season-opening win over Northern Arizona.