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Ball State football schedule 2026
12 regular-season games, 5 at home and 7 away, from Sep 5 to Nov 28. 8 in the MAC. Next up: away at Northwestern on Oct 10.
September 2026 4 games
| Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at Ohio State 3-56 | |
| Sep 12 | vs Stony Brook 41-17 | |
| Sep 19 | at Liberty 15-51 | |
| Sep 26 | at Kent State 13-26 |
October 2026 4 games
| Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 3 | vs Toledo 24-39 | |
| Oct 10 | at Northwestern | |
| Oct 17 | at Bowling Green | |
| Oct 24 | vs Sacramento State | TBC |
November 2026 4 games
| Date | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | at Massachusetts | TBC |
| Nov 11 | vs Buffalo | TBC |
| Nov 17 | at Ohio | |
| Nov 28 | vs Central Michigan |
Ball State's 2026 season
The season finishes at home against Central Michigan on Nov 28. The tightest turnaround is 2 games in seven days, from Nov 11 to Nov 17.
The non-conference games are against Ohio State on Sep 5, Stony Brook on Sep 12, Liberty on Sep 19, Northwestern on Oct 10. Those opponents are not in the MAC, so they do not appear as rows on the conference grid — a cell naming one carries a dotted underline there to say so. They are part of this team's season all the same, which is why they are on the grid at all rather than left as blank weeks.
Kick-off times are shown in your own timezone rather than US Eastern time — detected automatically, and overridable in the “Times in” control above. A Saturday-evening game in the United States is the small hours of Sunday morning across Europe, and a game that crosses midnight carries a +1 so it cannot be mistaken for the same evening. 3 of these games have no confirmed kick-off time yet and show a “?” rather than a guess. To see how Ball State's season compares with the rest of the conference — who has the harder stretch, and whose non-conference run is heaviest — the full MAC grid puts all 13 teams side by side.
Frequently asked questions
When does Ball State play next?
Ball State's next game is away at Northwestern on Oct 10. The list below shows every remaining game, with kick-off times in your own timezone.
How many games does Ball State play in 2026?
12 regular-season games: 5 at home at Scheumann Stadium and 7 away, from Sep 5 to Nov 28. 8 are against MAC opponents and 4 are not. Conference championship games, bowls and the College Football Playoff are not included.
Who does Ball State play outside the MAC in 2026?
4 games: Ohio State on Sep 5, Stony Brook on Sep 12, Liberty on Sep 19, Northwestern on Oct 10. Those opponents are not in the MAC, so they have no row of their own on the conference grid — they are marked there with a dotted underline, and named in full on this page.
Why do some of Ball State's games have no kick-off time?
Because the networks have not chosen it yet. 3 of 12 games have a date but no confirmed time; college football kick-offs are fixed a week or two ahead, and a game can still move to a different day. Those carry a "?" instead of a time, because a placeholder you could not tell from a real time would be worse than none.
What time do Ball State's games start in my timezone?
Every confirmed kick-off on this page is converted to the timezone your browser reports, with a manual override in the "Times in" control. College football is published in US Eastern time, so a Saturday-evening game there starts in the small hours of Sunday across Europe, and those carry a +1 mark.
Other MAC teams
Akron Bowling Green Buffalo Central Michigan Eastern Michigan Kent State Massachusetts Miami (OH) Ohio Sacramento State Toledo Western Michigan