It is the sixth consecutive victory by Toledo over Central MI. I think it shows the character of our team to be down 21 points like that and scratch and claw our way back into the football game.
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A mega chance for CMU to take the lead late in the third quarter fell by the wayside as a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line eventually turned into a 51-yard field goal attempt which was missed by Brian Eavey. Rush’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete.
Toledo took control and drove 64 yards in 10 plays with Hunt finishing it with a 3-yard TD run to extend the lead to 28-17. This week, we have a referee calling out the Central MI Chippewas cheerleaders for making noise to hinder the visiting Toledo Rockets’ snap count.
The Chippewas would respond after the punt with their second touchdown of the night on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Rush to junior Corey Willis to cut the Toledo lead to 21-17. It was the first third-quarter touchdown UT has given up this season. After a Toledo timeout the Chippewas made a decision to go for it on fourth down but CMU’s fourth down pass was broken up by senior defensive back DeJuan Rogers. Quarterback Phillip Ely was sharp, completing 6-for-7 passes and a two-yard shovel pass to tight end Michael Roberts for a touchdown.
The Toledo Rockets were outscored by a 13-3 margin in the 4th quarter and dropped their first game of the season (7-1 season, 4-1 MAC West) after being defeated 32-27 by the Northern IL Huskies. It was the longest run of Hunt’s season. Early in the second quarter, Ely found Diontae Johnson down the sideline for a 36-yard TD.
Eavey got the Chippewas on the board with a career-long 48-yard field goal midway through the second quarter.
After Rush converted on fourth-and-four near midfield, CMU running back Jay Roberson carried the ball to the goal line before he fumbled the ball into the end zone.
The Rockets were efficient on offense to start, but struggled during the middle part of the game.
Cornerback Josh Cox and the CMU secondary got torched deep in coverage and looked overmatched for much of the first half.
After a scoreless stretch and halftime, the Chippewas struck first in the second half. Tony Annese led the way for Central Michigan’s defense with a team-high nine tackles, including six solo stops in the victory at Akron. He finished with almost 400 yards of total offense, including two touchdown passes and the game-ending interception.
The Golden Flashes entered this week’s action as the second-most penalized team in the MAC. Western MI (6-3, 5-0 MAC) and NIU (6-3, 4-1 MAC) are also both firmly in contention in the division.
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While redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Graham had a phenomenal game coming off the bench in the comeback win at Toledo, he’s had all week to let it soak in that he’s the starter for the Huskies the rest of the way.
