TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo's comeback bid fell just short against Eastern Michigan on Tuesday night, with the Rockets falling to the Eagles 52-49 at the Glass Bowl.
Toledo's defense stopped EMU on fourth down with less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter, taking over on its own 19-yard line. The Rockets advanced to their own 45-yard line, and on the final play of the game Devin Maddox took a lateral from Isaiah Winstead and sliced through the EMU defense before eventually being tackled at the 21-yard line to end the game.
The Rockets (4-5, 2-3 MAC) tallied 672 yards of offense, their most in a game since accumulating 679 yards of offense against Tulsa on Sept. 16, 2017. Redshirt freshman quarterback Dequan Finn had the most prolific night of his career, passing for a career-best 461 yards and three touchdowns. His 461 passing yards are tied for second-most ever by a Toledo quarterback with Bruce Gradkowski, who threw for 461 yards against Pittsburgh in 2003.
Junior Bryant Koback led the rushing attack with 180 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Junior wide receiver Matt Landers had a career night, hauling in five catches for 150 yards and two scores. Redshirt freshman Jerjuan Newton caught the other touchdown for the Rockets, one of his four catches.
Defensively, Toledo recorded four sacks and forced one turnover. Freshman Maxen Hook led UT in tackles for the fourth straight game, registering 12 stops. Senior Jonathan Jones (11 tackles) and junior Jamal Hines (10 tackles) both reached double-digits as well.
First Quarter
Toledo jumped out of the gate, moving 75 yards in just five plays to take a 7-0 lead. Bryant Koback finished off the drive with a 22-yard run to the left corner of the end zone. Eastern answered with an 18-yard TD pass from Ben Bryant to the corner to Tanner Knue that capped an eight-play drive. Forty nine seconds later, Koback did it again, bursting through for a 67-yard TD run to make it 14-7 Toledo just five minutes into the contest. The Eagles then took advantage of a Rocket miscue to tie the game, recovering a fumbled punt on the UT 13-yard line and scoring three plays later on a six-yard shovel pass from running back Samson Evans to Hassan Beydoun. Toledo missed a chance to regain the lead when Thomas Cluckey's 48-yard field-goal attempt hooked left.
Second Quarter
The Rockets ignited with another big play to take a 21-14 lead when Dequan Finn hit wide receiver Matt Landers for an 80-yard score, Landers' first TD as a Rocket. EMU responded with a nine-play drive that was capped by a 34-yard field goal by Chad Ryland. Later in the half, EMU put together a 90-yard drive that ended in the end zone, a two-yard run by Evans to give the Eagles a 24-21 edge. The lead didn't last long, though, as Jacquez Stuart returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for paydirt and a 28-24 Rocket lead. Toledo almost came up with a huge play on the last play of the half when Finn scrambled and hit freshman DeMeer Blankumsee for a 36-yard touchdown. On the replay, however, it was ruled that the snap came a fraction of a second after the clock ran out.
Third Quarter
The third quarter picked up where the first half left off as Eastern Michigan regained the lead, 31-28, on a 64-yard bomb from Bryant to Hassan Beydoun. The Rocket defense came through with a big stop, stuffing EMU on fourth down from the one-yard line. However, the Rockets could not move the ball, and the Eagles converted its field position on the UT 43-yard line into a six-play touchdown drive that gave them a 38-28 lead. EMU forced a fumble on a strip sack of Finn, recovering the ball on the UT 18-yard line. Two plays later, Bryant hit Dylan Drummond in the corner to increase the margin to 45-28. Toledo answered with a tremendous 26-yard TD grab by Landers with 32 second left in the quarter. A two-point conversion on a shovel pass to Koback made it 45-36.
Fourth Quarter
EMU widened the gap to 52-36 with a 32-yard touchdown run by Jawon Hamilton. Toledo would not quit, however, as Finn hit sophomore Jerjuan Newton for a five-yard TD. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the score at 52-42. After forcing an Eastern Michigan punt, Toledo drove down the field and Micah Kelly capped a 10 play, 73-yard drive with a 10-yard rushing TD to make it 52-49 with 2:14 to go. The Eagles recovered the onside kick and took as much time off the clock as they could, but were stopped by the UT defense on fourth and two. Toledo's last drive ended with a pass to Winstead, who lateraled to Maddox, who made his way to the 21-yard line before being stopped to end the game.
Up Next
The Rockets travel to Bowling Green for the Battle of I-75 on Wednesday, Nov. 10. The game time will be announced on Thursday.
Head Coach Jason Candle post-game.
