TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo returns home after a month away from the Glass Bowl when it hosts Buffalo on Halloween night, Tuesday, Oct. 31 (7:30 p.m./ESPN2). The Rockets found life on the road to their liking, as they reeled off three wins in the last three weeks to move their winning streak to seven games.
Toledo (7-1, 4-0 MAC) is coming off a 21-17 victory at Miami that featured a battle between the last two teams with spotless conference records. With the win, the Rockets kept their lead over Northern Illinois (3-1) in the MAC West standings and remain two games up on Central Michigan (2-2).
Toledo led 21-3 at halftime before Miami scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to make it 21-17. The Rockets' offense was held scoreless in the second half, but the defense came up big in the fourth quarter with two three-and-outs and a crucial turnover in the final two minutes helped propel Toledo to a thrilling win.
Dequan Finn completed 16-of-28 passes for 160 yards and two scores while rushing for 34 yards and another touchdown. The secondary caused fits for the Miami passing attack all game long, combining for 10 pass breakups between six different players. Senior
Chris McDonald and junior
Quinyon Mitchell led the way with three pass breakups apiece. Senior defensive end
Adrian Woliver made his first start of the season on the defensive line and made it count, tallying two sacks and a crucial forced fumble late in the game.
Buffalo (3-5, 3-1 MAC) has won three of its last four games to move into a three-way tie for first in the MAC East Division with Miami and Ohio. The Bulls won at Kent State last week, 24-6, their second league win on the road this season.
Toledo vs. Buffalo
Tuesday, Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m.
The Glass Bowl, Toledo, Ohio
• TEAM RECORDS:
Toledo (7-1, 4-0 MAC)
Buffalo (3-5, 3-1 MAC)
• SERIES RECORD: Toledo leads, 7-6. The Bulls have won three straight, most recently in Buffalo last season, 34-27.
• THE COACHES:
Jason Candle, 61-33 (8th year) at Toledo, same overall. 0-3 vs. Buffalo.
Maurice Linguist, 14-19 (3rd year) at Buffalo, same overall. 1-0 vs. Toledo.
• TV/STREAMING: ESPN2
Play by Play: Clay Matvick
Analyst: Aaron Murray
Sideline: Dawn Davenport
• ROCKET RADIO NETWORK: Pregame begins at 6:00 p.m.
Play by Play: Mark Beier
Analyst: Jack Mewhort
Sidelines: Mike Robinson
• WEB-AUDIO:
Free live audio streaming of the UT Rocket Radio Network broadcast on UTRockets.com.
• X/TWITTER:
@ToledoFB: Regular updates on UT Football, live updates on Game Day.
• TICKETS:
Online at UTRockets.com/tix, by phone at 419-530-GOLD (4653) or at the Rocket Ticket Office in Savage Arena.
Notes From the Launch Pad
• Toledo is 7-1 for the first time since 2017 when it opened with an 8-1 mark. It is also the first time the Rockets have won seven straight games since the 2015 season when they began the season 7-0.
• Toledo begins the MAC season with a 4-0 mark for the first time since 2017 when it opened with a 5-0 league record.
• Toledo is in first place in the MAC West Division, with a one-game lead over Northern Illinois (3-1) in the MAC West standings and remain two games up on Central Michigan (2-2). The Rockets hold the head-to-head tie-breaker with NIU, and still must play CMU and EMU.
• Toledo is one of only 19 FBS schools with one loss or fewer, and one of only 10 one-loss schools that are undefeated in conference play.
• Toledo picked up three points in the latest AP poll, one point in the AFCA coaches poll.
• Toledo is bowl eligible for the 14th consecutive season, which is the eighth-longest streak in the FBS and the second-longest among "Group of Five" schools.
• Toledo's offensive line gave up a sack to Miami in the third quarter, the first sack allowed by the Rockets since the third quarter of the San Jose State game on Sept. 16, a streak of 19 quarters.The Rockets have allowed just three sacks this season, the fewest in the nation.
• Toledo leads the MAC in scoring offense (34.9), total offense (441.6) and rushing offense (232.5). The Rockets are No. 3 in the nation in rushing.
