Rockets Shoot Down Cardinals, 37-19, on Senior Night

Wednesday, November 16

Toledo, OH

7:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

9-2 , 6-1

Ball State

4-7 , 1-6

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Ball State

TOLEDO

Senior Corey Jones celebrates a first-half touchdown.

Rockets Shoot Down Cardinals, 37-19, on Senior Night

11/16/2016 11:30:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photos Final Stats (PDF)Post-Game Notes vs. Ball State Post-Game Quotes vs. Ball State

Toledo, OH –It was Senior Night for Toledo but the evening belonged to junior quarterback Logan Woodside, who threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-19 Rocket victory over Ball State in a fog-filled Glass Bowl Wednesday night.

Woodside, who leads the nation with 40 TD passes, set the UT single-season passing yardage record with 3,653, breaking the previous mark of 3,518 set by Bruce Gradkowski in 2004. More importantly, the victory kept the Rockets (9-2, 6-1 MAC) in the hunt for the MAC West Division title and a showdown with division leader Western Michigan on Nov. 25.

Not to be overshadowed by Woodside, senior Kareem Hunt rushed for 107 yards and added six receptions and a career-high 98 receiving yards. Hunt's 71-yard TD reception on the second play of the second half was his career long, and gave Toledo a comfortable 27-10 lead. Junior Cody Thompson also had six receptions for a game-high 105 yards and one score.

Toledo's defense held the Cardinals (4-7, 1-6 MAC) in check, limiting BSU to 393 yards of total offense. Seniors John Stepec and DeJuan Rogers led the Rockets with nine tackles a piece.

The Rockets came out firing, finding paydirt on their first possession after moving 93 yards in eight plays. Jon'Vea Johnson finished the drive by snagging a 28-yard pass from Woodside at the right edge of the end zone to give UT a 7-0 lead. Later in the quarter, Corey Jones returned a punt 63 yards to make the score 14-0.

Toledo's next score came after defensive end Zach Quinn recovered a Cardinal fumble, setting up a 37-yard field goal by Jameson Vest.

Ball State got on the board with 10:40 left in the first half when Riley Neal hit Corey Lacanaria on a roll-out for a 10-yard score to cut the lead to 17-7. On the Cardinals' next possession, Morgan Hagee knocked down a 24-yard field goal to make the score 17-10. Toledo answered with a 37-yard field goal by Vest with no time left on the clock to take a 20-10 lead into the locker room.

Toledo wasted no time getting back on the board in the second half, as Woodside hit Hunt on a short pass on the second play from scrimmage that the senior took 71 yards for the score, putting UT up, 27-10. That also was the play that moved Woodside ahead of Gradkowski on UT's all-time single-season list. After a Ball State three-and-out, Vest added three more points on a career-long 49 yard field goal to give the Rockets a substantial 30-10 lead midway through the third period.

Ball State trimmed the lead to 30-13 on a 37-yard field goal by Hagee, but UT came right back with a 42-yard bomb from Woodside to Cody Thompson to extend the lead to 37-13 late in the third quarter. BSU scored a late TD but failed on the two-point conversion to complete the scoring.

The Rockets will finish the regular season at Western Michigan (10-0, 6-0 MAC) on Friday, Nov. 25. The Rockets will be playing for at least a share of the MAC West Division title. The winner of the game will represent the West Division at the MAC Championship Game in Detroit on Dec. 2.

Head Coach Jason Candle post-game comments.

Logan Woodside post-game comments.

Kareem Hunt post-game comments.

John Stepec post-game comments.