MAC Notebook: Ball State, Ohio, Sacramento State name starting QBs

College football season is on the horizon. It's time for fall camp to subside, depth charts to surface, and quarterback competitions to be settled.

Several MAC QB battles were settled over the penultimate weekend in August. The Ball State Cardinals, Ohio Bobcats, and Sacramento State Hornets were among the MAC teams which decided their QB1 for 2026:

Ball State Cardinals

Keldric Luster (R-Jr.)

Ball State will have a sixth different Week 1 starter in six years. The Cardinals named Keldric Luster as the signal caller to lead its 2026 offense, per ESPN's Pete Thamel. Luster arrives from the Lone Star State, where he spent two seasons as a backup at SMU and another as a backup at Texas State. Over that timeframe, Luster completed 4-of-12 passes for 37 yards and added 76 yards on 16 attempts as a runner.

Luster won the quarterback competition over Division II transfer Tyler Mizzell, who recorded 2,889 passing yards and 26 touchdowns as an all-conference selection in 2025. Luster's start since 2022 at McKinney High School will be an uphill battle, as the Cardinals enter The Horseshoe to challenge No. 1 Ohio State.

Ohio Bobcats

Nick Poulos (Gr.)

The whole theme of Ohio's program is continuity. Every three head coaches since Frank Solich were internally hired assistants. And all three starting quarterbacks since Nathan Rourke were incumbent backups, who worked behind the previous QB1. Nick Poulos is next in line, taking the reins from Parker Navarro. Per EPSN's Pete Thamel, Poulos got the nod over FCS New Hampshire transfer Matt Vezza, who posted 2,673 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, 601 rushing yards, and eight rushing touchdowns in 2025.

Ohio's Week 1 opener at Nebraska won't be Poulos' first career start. During the Bobcats' 2024 MAC championship season, Poulos earned a Week 4 start at Kentucky when Navarro was sidelined due to injury. Across 12 career appearances with limited playing time, the 6'6", 243-pound quarterback has 290 passing yards and 183 rushing yards on a 5.1 average — continuing the Bobcats' tradition of mobile QBs.

Sacramento State Hornets

Carson Conklin (R-Jr.)

To very little surprise, Sacramento State named Carson Conklin its starting quarterback, per ESPN's Pete Thamel... once again. Conklin served as the program's full-time starter in 2024, back when the Hornets were in the FCS. He threw for 2,858 yards, 28 touchdowns, and eight interceptions on a 62.8 completion rate, warranting FCS Freshman All-American honors and finishing third voting for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the FCS's top freshman.

Conklin leveraged his success into a transfer to Fresno State, where he made six appearances and three starts — including an upset victory over Mountain West champion Boise State. After throwing for 354 yards as a Bulldog, Conklin boomeranged back to California's state capital, where he will lead the Hornets in their FBS debut season under first-year head coach Alonzo Carter. Sacramento State's 2026 season gets an early start: the Hornets travel to Eastern Michigan for a Week 0 conference matchup on Aug. 29.