Arizona State RB Kalen Ballage ties Howard Griffith’s NCAA single game TD record

You know the old adage: records are made to be broken. Strangely enough, they can also be tied, and that’s exactly what happened on Saturday night when Arizona State running back Kalen Ballage equalled Howard Griffith’s NCAA record for touchdowns in a single game. The junior broke into the end zone an astounding eight times during a high-scoring affair against Texas Tech.

Griffith, of course, set the original record at Illinois back in 1990 during a 56-21 victory over Southern Illinois. The former Illini great had 21 carries for 208 yards, and he was carried off the field by his teammates after tallying that historic eighth score.

Illinois Fighting Illini Links

- Illinois is on the right track, just not there yet (The Daily Illini)

"The biggest thing is we were right there," [Joe] Spencer said. "This year I think you can pinpoint a little bit more where our mistakes were made and what we can fix."

- Lovie Smith’s importance unparalleled at Illinois (The News-Gazette)

Smith has proven over time that he is fair, trustworthy and capable. He comes across, and he knows the route to the NFL, which is the goal of college players. In a changing world — and that change is accelerating — he is in the forefront as one of 11 black head coaches out of 128 Division I schools.

- Soft Opening for Illinois Football (Illini Board)

This was what a team in Game Two looks like playing a team in Year Five. One team that knew exactly what they were doing – just operating on muscle memory at this point – and one team that had to think about every single move.