TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo Rockets will look to get back on the winning track when they travel to Northern Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 19 (3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 CT/ESPN+).

While it is very early in the conference season, a victory is vital for the Rockets if they hope to return to Detroit in December for a third straight trip to the MAC Championship. The top two teams in the 12-team Mid-American Conference earn rights to play for the league title. Tie-breakers could very well determine participants in the game so wins against teams at the top of the conference are especially important.

Toledo (4-2, 1-1 MAC) is coming off a 30-15 loss at Buffalo on Oct. 12. Buffalo scored 23 points in the second half to break open a close game. The loss put Toledo into a 1-1 logjam with five other schools in the middle of the MAC standings. Buffalo, Ohio and Western Michigan are on top with 2-0 league marks.

Sophomore quarterback John Alan Richter came off the bench to spark a late rally Toledo but it wasn't enough. Richter completed 16-of-23 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Jerjuan Newton led the receivers with seven receptions for a career-high 159 yards and two TDs. 

Toledo's defense held Buffalo to just one score in the first half before the Bulls' offense got going in the final 30 minutes. Toledo cut the lead to 30-15 with a TD pass from Richter to Newton and a two-point conversion. Buffalo recovered an on-side kick attempt but had to punt, setting up another Toledo drive which reached inside the Buffalo seven-yard line before a fourth-down sack ended the game. Senior safety Maxen Hook led the defense with a career-best 15 tackles.

Northern Illinois (3-2, 1-1 MAC) is coming off a 17-7 win at Bowling Green last week. The Huskies, who lost at home to Buffalo on Sept. 21, held the Falcons scoreless over the final 54 minutes to grind out the victory. BGSU scored on its first drive of the day but was held to 135 yards the rest of the way.

Toledo vs. Northern Illinois
Saturday, Oct. 19 - 3:30 p.m. ET
Huskie Stadium, DeKalb, Ill.

• TEAM RECORDS: 
    Toledo (4-2, 1-1 MAC)
    Northern Illinois (4-2, 1-1 MAC)

• SERIES RECORD: Toledo leads, 34-17. The Rockets won in Toledo last year, 35-33.

• THE COACHES: 
    Jason Candle, 69-37 (9th year) at Toledo, same overall. 5-3 vs. NIU.
    Thomas Hammock, 28-35 (6th year) at NIU same overall. 2-3 vs. Toledo.

• TV/STREAMING: ESPN+
    Play by Play: Mike Couzens 
    Analyst: Ryan Cavanaugh 

• ROCKET RADIO NETWORK: Pregame begins at 2:00 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.

Rocket Launches
    • Toledo leads the series with NIU, 34-17, and has won three of the last four meetings.
    • Jerjuan Newton caught his 27th and 28th career touchdowns in the Buffalo game. He needs two to tie and three to surpass Cody Thompson (30 from 2014-18) for Toledo's all-time mark.
    • The two touchdown catches marked Newton's sixth multi-receiving touchdown game of his career.
    • Newton also set a career high in receiving yards for the second-straight week with 159 on seven catches, and was one shy of his career high in receptions.
    • Junior Junior Vandeross III set a career high with eight receptions to go with 74 yards receiving.
    • Sophomore John Alan Richter entered the game in the second half, completing 16-of-23 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns, all career bests.
    • Senior Maxen Hook made 15 tackles to set a career high. Classmate Jackson Barrow tied his career high with nine stops on the afternoon.
    • Jason Candle's record as Toledo's head coach is 69-37. He needs five more wins to pass Gary Pinkel (73-37-3 from 1991-2000) as Toledo's all-time leader.