TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter against Ball State, but a turnover on its final drive of the game ended the comeback attempt in a 27-24 loss at the Glass Bowl on Saturday.

Senior wide receiver Bryce Mitchell caught touchdown passes from quarterbacks Eli Peters and Carter Bradley in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to bring the Rockets within three. Toledo (2-2, 2-2 MAC) was driving into
BSU territory with a chance to win the game, but Cardinal linebacker Anthony Ekpe broke into the backfield and forced a fumble that was recovered by Ball State (3-1, 3-1 MAC) to end the game.

"We didn't have enough success to start the game on offense," head coach Jason Candle said. "Ball State did a good job of sustaining drives and staying on the field. We were playing from behind, we hadn't seen much success, and that's going to have an effect on your team's energy. When things started to get going, we started to get a little momentum. A lot of good things happened when we picked up momentum."

Peters threw for a career-high 363 yards and two touchdowns before exiting the game late with an apparent injury. Bradley quarterbacked the Rockets on the final two series of the afternoon and completed three of his four pass attempts for 44 yards and a TD. Mitchell caught five passes for 94 yards and two scores, while Isaiah Winstead led the team with 113 yards receiving on six receptions and a TD.

Junior defensive end Jamal Hines and senior Safety Tycen Anderson both recorded 11 tackles, a career-high total for Hines. Junior defensive end Terrance Taylor added a career-high 10 tackles. Sophomore safety Nate Bauer added a career-high eight tackles and snagged his second interception of the season.

First Quarter
Ball State wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, marching 75 yards in nine plays to take the early 7-0 lead on a two-yard rush by quarterback Drew Plitt. After stopping the Rockets on downs, the Cardinals came back and scored again, this time on an 11-yard pass from Plitt to Yo'Heinz Tyler.
 

Second Quarter
The Cardinals made it 17-0 on a 32-yard field goal early in the second quarter. BSU missed a chance to pad the lead when Knight missed a 36-yarder with 6:52 to play in the half. The Rockets came up with their first big play of the game when Nate Bauer picked off an errant screen pass from Plitt and returned it to the BSU 14-yard line. The Rockets could not advance the ball, however, and settled for a 37-yard field goal by Thomas Cluckey to trim the lead to 17-3.

Third Quarter
Toledo's defense got off to a good start in the second half, stopping Ball State on downs on its first drive. On the very next play, however, Peters was intercepted by Bryce Crosby, giving the Cardinals the ball on the UT 44-yard line. Pitt then completed passes of 34 and 10 yards, the second a touchdown toss to Tyler to make the score 24-3. Toledo countered with an eight-play, 84-yard drive that culminated with a 10-yard TD pass from Peters to Isaiah Winstead. The two-point attempt was no good, leaving the scorer at 24-9 with 3:31 to play in the quarter. Winstead also had a 45-yard reception on the drive.

Fourth Quarter
Ball State extended its lead to 27-9 with a 31-yard field goal by Knight. Toledo then scored 15 unanswered points to pull within three, 27-24. Peters found Mitchell for a 28-yard TD pass with 5:31 to go, then the duo connected on a successful two-point conversion attempt to make it a two-possession game. Bradley found an open Mitchell for an 18-yard score with 2:34 left in the fourth quarter to put the Rockets within three. A special teams snafu landed the Cardinals at the one-yard line on their ensuing drive, and they were forced to punt with a little over a minute remaining. Bradley hit Winstead on the first play of Toledo's final drive to push the team into BSU territory, but a costly fumble ended the game.

Up Next
The Rockets next travel to Northern Illinois on Saturday, Dec. 5. Kickoff is set for 12 noon ET (ESPN3).


Highlights from Toledo's game against Ball State.
 

Head Coach Jason Candle post-game. 


Sophomore Carter Bradley post-game. 


Sophomore Nate Bauer post-game.