SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Toledo's fourth quarter comeback bid fell just short against San Diego State on Saturday, with the Rockets (2-2) falling to the Aztecs (2-2) 17-14 at Snapdragon Stadium.

Toledo trailed 10-0 entering the fourth quarter, but scored two touchdowns in the closing minutes to take a 14-10 lead with 2:56 to play. San Diego State put together one final drive, however, and scored the game-winning touchdown with 41 seconds remaining. An interception on their final play squashed any possibility of the Rockets completing the comeback.

"We put a major emphasis on finishing after losing some close games last year," said Head Coach Jason Candle. "It's painful. You have to be resilient and keep battling and coming back. Credit to San Diego State's defensive front, it was excellent at disrupting some of our plays early. The quarterback made some tough plays in that last drive when they needed it. They made a couple more plays than we did to win it, but we will just have to get back to work next week."

Sophomore quarterback Dequan Finn threw for 240 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 44 yards and one score. His 11-yard touchdown toss to tight end Jamal Turner got the Rockets on the scoreboard with 7:54 to go, and his 1-yard TD plunge with 2:56 to go put them ahead late in the game. Wide receivers DeMeer Blankumsee (eight catches, 112 yards) and Devin Maddox (six catches, 43 yards) were Finn's favorite targets.

Sophomore safety Maxen Hook tallied a game-high 10 tackles, including two TFL and one sack. Senior sefensive tackle Desjuan Johnson and sophomore cornerback Quinyon Mitchell both added six tackles and one TFL, while junior cornerback Chris McDonald collected his first-career interception,

First Quarter

      The two teams exchanged punts throughout the quarter, with Toledo moving into scoring position as the quarter came to an end. The Rockets held San Diego State to just 39 yards of offense in three possessions.

Second Quarter

      Toledo missed an opportunity to get on the board when Thomas Cluckey's 36-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right. San Diego State then struck quickly on runs of 37 and 43 yards by Jordan Byrd, the second run going the distance to give the Aztecs a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. Toledo had a pair of drives stopped by turnovers, an interception on the SDSU 39-yard line and a fumble recovery on the Aztec 16-yard line.

Third Quarter

      Neither team could put together a scoring drive until late in the quarter when SDSU's Jack Browning nailed a 50-yard field goal with 12 seconds left to give the Aztecs a 10-0 lead.

Fourth Quarter

      Toledo cut the lead to 10-7 on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Dequan Finn to tight end Jamal Turner with 7:54 to play. After forcing an SDSU three-and-out, the Rockets marched down the field on their next drive for the go-ahead score. Finn completed a 36-yard pass to Blankumsee to get into the red zone, then ran it in for a 1-yard touchdown two plays layer to make it 14-10 with 2:56 to play. The Aztecs were able to put together one final scoring drive to take the lead for good, with Byrd's second rushing touchdown of the game giving his team a 17-14 lead. SDSU picked off Finn on the first play of Toledo's final drive to seal the deal.

Up Next

      The Rockets return home next weekend to host Central Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 1. The Homecoming matchup will kick off at 3:30 p.m. on NFL Network


Head Coach Jason Candle, sophomore Dequan Finn, sophomore Maxen Hook post-game comments following game against San Diego State.