If you didn't know about ASU running back Kalen Ballage before Saturday night's performance, there's a good chance you do now.
Ballage tore up the record books by scoring a mind-boggling eight touchdowns in ASU's 68-55 victory over Texas Tech.
And yes, you read that right, Ballage scored eight touchdowns — seven on the ground and one through the air.
Coincidentally, Ballage's night earned him a place at the top of many Football Bowl Subdivision records:
- Most touchdowns scored by one player in a game in Pac-12 history
- Tied FBS record for touchdowns in a game versus a major college opponent
- Tied for most touchdowns in an FBS game with Howard Griffith (Illinois, 1990)
"He's just starting to scratch the surface of his potential, Kalen is," ASU head coach Todd Graham said.
As for Ballage's statistics, he ran for 137 yards and seven touchdowns, except he did it on only 13 carries, giving him an average of 10.5 rushing yards per attempt.
Ballage played like an absolute monster last night, specifically when ASU featured him in the Wildcat formation where Ballage took a direct snap.
The Sun Devils offensive line bullied the Red Raiders' defensive front in this formation, which was used in goal line situations. Ballage took advantage, scoring six of his eight touchdowns when lined up in the Wildcat.
This was Ballage's coming out party, and even if he never scores another touchdown this season, his game on Saturday night will be forever revered by Sun Devil fans.
Scoring eight touchdowns in a single game looks like a stat line out of a video game. It seemed like whenever Ballage had the ball in his hands, he ended up in the end zone.
Consider this: Ballage had 15 touches in last night's game (13 rushes, two receptions), and he scored a touchdown on eight of them, which would be over half the times he touched the ball.
And let's be clear, Ballage is going to be a big time playmaker for ASU heading into the rest of the season.
Along with fellow running back Demario Richard, who also had a good night on Saturday with 109 rushing yards, the Sun Devils' two running back attack should be lethal in 2016.
But don't let Ballage's game overshadow how great ASU redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins played on Saturday night.
Wilkins was very effective in his quick reads, whether he was throwing slant patterns to wide receivers freshman N'Keal Harry and junior Jalen Harvey, or finding senior tight end Kody Kohl for wide open completions.
Some of the credit has to go to ASU offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey for setting up Wilkins for success. Even though many of Wilkins' throws were more down the field, they were still designed to give him easy completions, which is critical because it helps build up confidence for a quarterback that is still relatively inexperienced.
That said, Wilkins wasn't just a game manager against Texas Tech. The redshirt sophomore went 28 of 37 through the air for 351 yards and two touchdowns, the first of which was a perfectly placed ball to Harry in the end zone.
With the running back duo of Ballage and Richard, the dual-threat ability of Wilkins, and the play making abilities of the wide receivers, this ASU offense has a chance to be special.
Despite all of ASU's gaudy numbers on offense, it is worth nothing that Texas Tech's defense is pitiful. But when you put up over 300 yards of both rushing and passing like the Sun Devils did, the offense is clearly doing something right.
Looking ahead, the next few opponents for ASU (University of Texas San Antonio, Cal and USC) all have suspect defenses, so don't be surprised if the Sun Devils try take advantage once again.
Kalen Ballage and the ASU offense are just getting into the swing of things and don't look for them to slow down anytime soon.
Reach the columnist at mpharri7@asu.edu or follow @Harris_Mark7 on Twitter.
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