Kalamazoo, Mich. – Sophomore quarterback Eli Peters came off the bench to replace the injured Mitchell Guadagni and lead Toledo to a 51-24 victory over Western Michigan in Kalamazoo Thursday night.

      Guadagni had the Toledo offense rolling in the first half, pacing UT to a 23-17 advantage, but suffered an apparent injury on the next-to-last play of the half. Peters came in and took a roughing the passer penalty that set up a Jameson Vest field goal on the final play of the half.

      Peters kicked the offense into overdrive in the second half, driving the Rockets to three quick touchdowns to open up a 44-17 lead that proved too big a hole for the Broncos to climb out of. For the game, Peters was 8-of-14 for 107 yards and three touchdowns. Guadagni was 10-of-18 for 140 yards and two scores. Senior Cody Thompson led the receiving corps with six receptions and three TDs. Toledo's offense racked up 515 yards of total offense, compared to 432 for WMU. Redshirt freshman Bryant Koback paced the rushing attack with 99 yards and one score.

      For the second straight game, Toledo's defense slowed down a potent offense. Western, which came in the game as the MAC's leader with an average of 467.1 yards per game, did rack up yardage but was held to just seven points in the second half. The Rockets ended the night with five sacks and several key stops on third and fourth down in the second half. Linebackers Richard Olekanma and Jordan Fisher led the defense with nine and eight tackles, respectively.

      The win puts Toledo (4-4, 2-2 MAC) squarely back in the MAC West title picture with four league games remaining. WMU falls to 6-3 overall, 4-1 MAC.

First Quarter

      Toledo took advantage of a short field to get on the board first, going 43 yards in four plays. Guadagni hit Cody Thompson for a 10-yarder in the back of the end zone to give UT an early 7-0 lead. Western struck back quickly, using 42-yard run by Jamari Bogan and a 25-yard TD pass from Kaleb Elebe to Jayden Reed to tie the score. Toledo came right back and marched 78 yards on nine plays in just over three minutes to take a 14-7 lead. Guadagni finished it off with a two-yard TD toss to Diontae Johnson.

Second Quarter

      The Rockets extended their lead to 17-7 on a 25-yard field goal by Jameson Vest. WMU matched that kick with a 25-yard field goal of its own to cap a 15-play, 67-yard drive and make the score 17-10. Vest connected again, this time from 28 yards out to make the score 20-10 with just over a minute to play. The Broncos responded with a big play, a 62-yard bomb down the middle from Elebe to Reed with just 24 seconds left in the half. Toledo wouldn't quit, however, taking advantage of a roughing the passer penalty on sophomore Eli Peters on the final play of the half to convert a 45-yard field goal by Vest.

Third Quarter

      With Guadagni out with an injury suffered during Toledo's final drive of the first half, Peters took over and led the Rockets to three quick scores. The first came on a flea-flicker, with Desmond Phillips tossing it back to Peters who hit junior tight end Reggie Gilliam down the sidelines for a 34-yard score. UT then recovered a Bronco fumble, which set up an 18-yard scoring strike from Peters to Thompson. Toledo's special teams then came up with a big play as Gilliam got a piece of a WMU punt that gave the ball to UT at the WMU 38-yard line. Four plays later, Bryant Koback ran it in from three yards out to extend the Rocket lead to 44-17. Western struck back with a one-yard TD run by Bogan to trim the lead to 44-24 with 4:43 left in the quarter. Toledo's defense then came up with big third-down stop at the end of the quarter, keyed by a sack Tuzar Skipper and Reggie Howard.

Fourth Quarter

      The Rocket D came up big again early in the quarter, halting WMU on a fourth-and-two pass that ended up less than a yard short of a first down on the UT 39-yard line. Redshirt freshman Zachary Ford made the stop that took the air out of the Broncos' comeback hopes. The Rocket offense followed that up with an eight-yard TD reception by Thompson, his third of the game, with 8:13 to play. The Toledo defense held Western Michigan to just nine total yards for the remainder of the game.

Up Next

      The Rockets return home for a Halloween match up with Ball State at the Glass Bowl on Wednesday, Oct. 31.




Head Coach Jason Candle. 

Senior Wide Receiver Cody Thompson.


Sophomore Quarterback Eli Peters.


Senior Linebacker Richard Olekanma