TOLEDO, Ohio – After opening the season with a pair of home victories, the Toledo Rockets (2-0) will hit the road when they travel to Mississippi State (1-1) on Saturday, Sept. 14 (7:30 p.m./ESPNU).

Toledo used four big plays to overcome UMass in a hard-fought 38-23 victory before 21,668 fans at the Glass Bowl on Saturday.

The Rockets held a 17-16 lead in the third quarter when sophomore safety Braden Awls made a diving interception to stop a UMass drive. On the very next play, quarterback Tucker Gleason connected with wide receiver Junior Vandeross over the middle for a 73-yard touchdown for the score to increase Toledo's lead to 24-16. Toledo tacked on two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and recovered an on-side kick late in the game to seal the victory.

Toledo held a narrow 17-13 lead at halftime thanks to a 40-yard touchdown reception by senior Jerjuan Newton and a 98-yard kickoff return by senior Jacquez Stuart.

Toledo's defense came through with its second straight solid performance, holding UMass to just 4.4 yards per play, breaking up six passes and sacking quarterback Taison Phommachanh five times.

Mississippi State opened its season with a 56-7 pounding of Eastern Kentucky before falling at Arizona State 30-23 last Saturday. The Bulldogs trailed 30-3 late in the third quarter but scored a trio of late touchdowns to make it a one-possession game. Quarterback Blake Shapen threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns.

Toledo vs. Mississippi State
Saturday, Sept. 14 - 7:30 p.m. ET
Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Miss.

• TEAM RECORDS: 
    Toledo (2-0, 0-0 MAC)
    Mississippi State (1-1, 0-0 SEC)

• SERIES RECORD: First meeting.

• THE COACHES: 
    Jason Candle, 67-35 (9th year) at Toledo, same overall. 0-0 vs. Mississippi State.
    Jeff Lebby, 1-1 at Mississippi State, same overall. 0-0 vs. Toledo.

• TV/STREAMING: ESPNU
    Play by Play: Jay Alter
    Analyst: Rocky Boiman 

• 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.

Rocket Launches
     • Toledo looks to start the season 3-0 for the first time since 2017.
    • This is the first meeting between Toledo and Mississippi State. Toledo is 1-4 all time vs. SEC schools. The lone Toledo win was a 16-12 victory at Arkansas in 2015. 
    • Through two games, Toledo leads in the MAC in scoring offense (43.5) and is third in scoring defense (16.5).
    • Junior safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren is tied for second in the MAC with 21 tackles. He had a career-high 14 stops vs. UMass on Sept. 7.
    • Jerjuan Newton, Junior Vandeross and Anthony Torres have each caught one touchdown pass in Toledo's first two games.
    • With the win vs. UMass, Head Coach Jason Candle moves his all-time record to 67-35. He needs seven more wins to pass Gary Pinkel (73-37-3 from 1991-2000) as Toledo's all-time leader. 
    • Since the start of the 2016 season when Candle took over as Toledo's head coach, the Rockets have won 66 games, the most in the MAC.
    • Toledo has not had a losing season since 2009, the fifth-longest streak in the FBS behind Boise State, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and Alabama.