MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Junior Peny Boone rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 23 Toledo to a 32-17 victory over Central Michigan at Kelly/Shorts Stadium in Mount Pleasant, Mich. on Friday.
It was the Rockets' 11th consecutive victory, their longest winning streak in a season since going 12-0 in 1971 (the final season in Toledo's famous 35-0 streak). Toledo (11-1, 8-0 MAC) completed its regular season with its first perfect league mark since going 5-0 in three straight seasons from 1969 through 1971.
Toledo, the MAC's West Division champion, will next face East Division champion Miami in the 2023 MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 2.
"I'm proud of our football team to come on the road and get a win against a team that was playing for a bowl game on their Senior Day," said Head Coach Jason Candle, who became just the second Toledo coach ever to reach the 11-win mark twice in his career (Frank Lauterbur 1969, 1970). "On Thanksgiving week, there are lots of things to be thankful for. I'm really grateful for this football team and the position they've put themselves in. They've done everything they said they were going to do back in January. That is really difficult to do. Man oh man, I'm just really happy for them and proud of them. We've put ourselves in a position where we wanted to be."
On a cold and windy day, it was Toledo's defense that dominated the contest until relinquishing two late touchdowns after the outcome had been decided. The Rockets held CMU to just 64 yards of total offense in the first half as Toledo held a 10-0 halftime lead. The game had been scoreless until the Rockets broke through with a touchdown and a field goal in the final 1:22 of the first half.
Boone then broke the game open with a 64-yard run that set up his own two-yard score to give Toledo a 17-0 lead in the third quarter. Jacquez Stuart added an 11-yard rushing touchdown and, Toledo's defense controlled the Chippewas until late in the game. The Rockets rushed for 261 yards on the day, the most allowed by CMU this season.
Linebackers Dallas Gant (12 tackles) and Daniel Bolden (10 tackles) paced the defense, with Bolden adding a key forced fumble that stopped CMU inside the UT 10-yard line on its opening drive of the second half. Defensive tackle Judge Culpepper added a career-best 2.5 sacks
First Quarter
· CMU missed a chance to get on the scoreboard when Tristan Mattson hooked a 54-yard field goal attempt wide left at the 4:56 mark.
Second Quarter
· Toledo finally broke through on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Dequan Finn to Jaden Dottin with 1:22 remaining in the half.
· The Rockets used their timeouts and forced a CMU punt to set up a 38-yard field goal by Luke Pawlak with three seconds left to take a 10-0 lead into the locker room.
Third Quarter
· Toledo stopped CMU's opening drive of the half when Dan Bolden forced a fumble that was recovered by Zachary Ford on the UT seven-yard line.
· Peny Boone bolted 64 yards to the CMU two-yard line and then took it in himself on third-and-two to extend Toledo's lead to 17-0.
· CMU got on the board with a 26-yard field goal with 1:01 left in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
· Jacquez Stuart made it 24-3 with an 11-yard TD run with 11:44 left in the game.
· CMU scored a touchdown and converted a two-point conversion with 8:46 left to cut the lead to 24-11.
· Toledo made it 32-11 on a five-yard TD run by Boone and a two-point conversion.
· The Chippewas cut the lead to 32-17 on a seven-yard TD pass with 2:05 left.
Up Next
The Rockets will play Miami in the MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 2 (noon/ESPN).
Post-Game Notes
- Toledo has 11 wins for the first time since going 11-3 in 2017. It is the sixth time in school history Toledo has won 11 or more games. The school record is 12 (1970 and 1971).
- Toledo is 11-1 for the first time in Jason Candle's eight years at Toledo and has won 11 of their first 12 games in a season for the first time since going 11-0-1 in 1995.
- The Rockets have now won 11 straight games in a single season for the first time since 1971. That team went 12-0 in the third and final year of the famous 35-0 run from 1969-71 (Toledo won 12 straight games over two seasons in 2000 and 2001).
- Toledo is 8-0 in MAC play for the first time in school history, though it was also undefeated in MAC play in 1969, 1970, and 1971 (5-0 each year) and 1995 (7-0-1).
- Toledo is the first MAC school to undefeated in league play in a full season since WMU went 8-0 in 2016 (Buffalo went 5-0 in the COVID-shortened season in 2020.
- Jason Candle became the second Toledo coach with 11 or more wins in multiple seasons. Candle also won 11 games in 2017. Frank Lauterbur won 11 games in 1969 and 12 in 1970.
- Toledo held CMU to 335 yards of total offense, including just 64 in the first half.
- Peny Boone rushed for 186 yards, the second-highest output of the season and his eighth 100-yard game of the season. He is the first Rocket to break the 100-yard mark eight times in a season since Kareem Hunt did it in 2016. The school record is 12 by Wasean Tait in 1995.
- Boone now has 1,359 for the season, which ranks 11th for the most yards in a single season for a Rocket. He needs five yards to pass Terry Swanson (1,363 yards in 2017) for 10th place.
- Junior quarterback Dequan Finn completed 9-of-17 passes, for 97 yards. He now has 6,704 career passing yards, the seventh-most in Toledo history.
- Jaden Dottin caught his first touchdown pass of the season, a 23-yard grab in the second quarter that gave Toledo a 7-0 lead.
- Senior defensive tackle Judge Culpepper had a career-high 2.5 sacks on his 24th birthday.
