University of Toledo Associate Athletic Director for Communications Paul Helgren shares his 12 favorite Rocket Football victories since 1998, the year he began working with Toledo Football. No. 8 on the list is the Rockets' stunning 16-12 victory over Arkansas in 2015.
Toledo 16, Arkansas 12 (Sept. 12, 2015)
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They say defense wins championships. It also comes in handy when you are trying to win on the road against a Top 25 SEC opponent.
In 2015, Toledo had just the kind of defense (its best since 2000, in my opinion) needed to pull off a big upset at No. 18 Arkansas. Often, when a MAC school lines up against a Power Five squad, you can literally see the difference in size and athleticism between the two defenses. Not this time. For the most part, Toledo matched up player-for-player with the Razorbacks.
Toledo's defense was filled with outstanding players who were also great senior leaders, guys like Trent Voss, Cheatham Norrils, Chase Murdock, Orion Jones and Rolan Milligan. The underclass ranks were filled with budding stars too, with Treyvon Hester, DeJuan Rogers, Ja'Wuan Woodley and John Stepec already taking their place as leaders. The defensive line was so deep that Head Coach Matt Campbell could literally rotate his front four like a hockey shift, with no noticeable drop-off in production.
Never mind that Toledo had never defeated an SEC team or a ranked opponent on its home field. The Rockets had the confidence of a veteran team that felt they could stand up to any foe, no matter what conference they played in. As to the home field, well there was a caveat there too. The game was played at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock instead of the campus facility in Fayetteville. It would still be a Hog-friendly crowd, but not nearly as big a home-field advantage as it would have been on Broyles Field.
By coincidence, Toledo's new president, Dr. Sharon Gaber, had recently assumed her new post after serving as provost at Arkansas. One of her go-to lines when she introduced herself around the campus that summer was to say that she told Campbell she expected no less than a victory against her former school…but don't worry, there's no pressure or anything.
The game was played on a beautiful, late summer day in Little Rock and the stadium was packed. Expectations were high among the Razorbacks' fans that season. There was even talk of Arkansas competing for an SEC title. An easy 48-13 win over UTEP in the season opener only ramped up the anticipation. What the faithful in Little Rock did not realize, however, was that Toledo was not UTEP.
The game opened on a positive note for the Rockets, with their defense and special teams getting them off to a good start. Arkansas was forced to punt on its first drive, and sophomore Zach Quinn took advantage of a bad snap to block the ensuing punt. Toledo took over on the Arkansas 25-yard line, setting up the game's first score. Facing third-and-15 from the 30-yard line, senior quarterback Phillip Ely hit senior wideout Kishon Wilcher over the middle for a 25-yard gain to the five-yard line. Moments later, Ely came through on third down again, this time hitting Corey Jones for a five-yard touchdown. Toledo failed on a two-point conversion attempt but still held a 6-0 lead.
After both teams missed field-goal attempts, Arkansas took a 7-6 lead midway through the second quarter on a 21-yard touchdown run by Alex Collins. Following a Toledo punt on its next possession, the Razorbacks moved into Toledo territory. Facing fourth-and-one from the UT 34-yard line, Collins' rushing attempt was stopped by Murdock and junior Jaylen Coleman. It was a huge momentum shift and the Rockets took advantage. Another big pass completion from Ely to Jones set up a 38-yard field goal by freshman Jameson Vest, giving Toledo a 9-7 lead it would take into the locker room at halftime.
The second half began with some trouble for the Rockets before their defense came through once again. After Arkansas returned a punt 43 yards to the UT 16-yard line, junior DeJuan Rogers picked off a Brandon Allen pass in the end zone for a touchback. Ely then marched the Rockets 80 yards in 10 plays, capped by an 11-yard TD run by Damion Jones-Moore that put Toledo up, 16-7.
From there on in, the Toledo defense ruled the day, bending but never snapping. Arkansas responded with a time-consuming 21-play drive but had to settle for three points; the Razorbacks were first-and-goal from the three-yard line but couldn't punch it in. The key play came from Milligan, who wrapped up Collins for a five-yard loss on third down. Arkansas' short field goal made it 16-10 with 9:30 left to play.
Following a Toledo punt, Arkansas marched down the field but once again came up empty. On fourth-and-goal from the seven-yard line, Allen's pass went incomplete, giving Toledo the ball with just 1:55 remaining. The Rockets were not able to run out the clock, however, setting up a dramatic finish.
With his team facing fourth-and four from its own 14-yard line, Campbell decided to take an intentional safety, reducing the Toledo edge to 16-12 but creating a longer field for Arkansas to try to score the winning touchdown. The Razorbacks started from their own 32-yard line, which meant they had to go 68 yards in 52 seconds with no timeouts lefts. Allen completed three passes to advance the Hogs to the 16-yard line with six seconds remaining. After Allen's pass to tight end Hunter Henry drifted wide of the mark, all eyes immediately looked up at the game clock: 0:01. Just one second remained in the game, but that was still enough to give Arkansas one final chance to pull out a comeback victory.
But this was Toledo's day. On the final play of the game, Allen scrambled left, pulled up near the line of scrimmage and let a pass fly toward the back of the end zone in the direction of Keon Hatcher. The toss sailed high over Hatcher's head, igniting a wild celebration on the Toledo bench.
At the same time, another celebration, less boisterous perhaps but joyous nonetheless, was taking place in a private suite high above the disappointed throngs of War Memorial Stadium.
Up there, the new Toledo president couldn't stop smiling. She got her not-so secret wish after all.
Paul Helgren's All-Time Favorite Rocket Victories
8. Toledo 16, Arkansas 12 (Sept. 12, 2015)
9. Toledo 33, Northern Illinois 30 (Nov. 23, 2002)
10. Toledo 42, Air Force 41 (Dec. 29, 2011 – Military Bowl)
11. Toledo 44, Bowling Green 41 (2OT) (Nov. 22, 2005)
12. Toledo 32, Temple 17 (Dec. 22, 2015 - Marmot Boca Raton Bowl)
