STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Toledo Rockets defeated SEC opponent Mississippi State, 41-17, dominating both sides of the ball in Starkville, Miss. on Saturday.

The victory was Toledo's first win against a "Power Four" opponent in nine years and just its second ever vs. an SEC opponent. The last  Rocket victory over an SEC foe was a 16-12 triumph over No. 18 Arkansas in 2015. But unlike that nail-biter, this victory was a one-sided affair, as Toledo was never seriously challenged.

The Rockets held a 7-0 first-quarter lead and upped the margin to 28-3 by halftime. The Rockets led 35-10 headed into the fourth quarter, then played ball control in the final 15 minutes.

"I'm very proud of our football team," said Head Coach Jason Candle. "These games are not easy to win on the road. That was a good team that we just played. I'm really proud of our execution from start to finish. All we did all week long was ask the team to respond to adverse moments. I thought there would be more adversity in the first half than what we were dealt with. We did have a little bit in the second half and the response was really, really good."

Junior quarterback Tucker Gleason was brilliant, putting together perhaps his best overall game as a collegian. He connected on 23-of-28 passes for 285 yards and three TDs. He completed passes to nine receivers, did not throw an interception and also kept MSU off balance by running for 44 yards. Junior Vandeross III led the Rockets with seven receptions, 73 yards and one touchdown, while senior Jerjuan Newton added two touchdown grabs.

Toledo's defense was stellar for all 60 minutes. The Rockets held Mississippi State to 385 yards of total offense, much of it coming after Toledo held a 35-3 second-half lead. Toledo, which racked up five sacks and forced two turnovers on the evening, set the tone early by holding MSU to just eight yards of offense in the first quarter. Senior safety Maxen Hook led Toledo with a season-high 12 tackles, senior linebacker Dan Bolden added 1.5 sacks and junior safety Avery Smith grabbed a key interception in the end zone on the final play of the first half.

How It Happened

First Quarter

• Toledo jumped out to a 7-0 lead on its first possession when Junior Vandeross III leaped to pull down a touchdown on fourth down from the four-yard line.

Second Quarter

• The Rockets made it 14-0 on a six-yard roll-out pass from Tucker Gleason to Jerjuan Newton early in the second quarter.
• Toledo stopped a Bulldog drive and forced a 23-yard field goal that cut its lead to 14-3 with 9:35 left in the half.
• The Rockets responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by a one-yard plunge by Connor Walendzak to make the score 21-3.
• Willie Shaw made it 28-3 with a 10-yard TD rush with 1:09 left in the half.
• Avery Smith picked off a pass in the end zone on the final play of the first half.

• Toledo stopped the Bulldogs on downs on their first possession of the second half, then scored on a 15-yard pass from Gleason to a wide-open Newton to make the score 35-3.
• Mississippi State found the end zone on its eighth drive of the day, a nine-yard TD reception by Mario Craver to cut Toledo's lead to 35-10.

• Toledo made it 38-10 on a 41-yard field goal by freshman Dylan Cunanan.
• Mississippi State scored its final touchdown of the game to cut the lead to 38-17 with 6:11 to play.
• Cunanan tacked on a 23-yard field goal to close out the scoring.

Up Next

      The Rockets travel to Western Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 21, their final non-conference game of the season.

Post Game Notes

• Toledo's win over Mississippi State was its second against an SEC team. The Rockets, who defeated No. 18 Arkansas in 2015, move to 2-4 all-time vs. the SEC.
• It was also Toledo's first win over a "Power 4/5" team since a 30-23 win over Iowa State in 2015, a week after the Arkansas win. Toledo did defeat Brigham Young in 2019, which was an independent at the time.
• The Rockets sent Mississippi State to its first defeat against a "Group of 5" school since 2021, when the Bulldogs were defeated by Memphis. Saturday was also MSU's first double-digit defeat to a Group of 5 opponent since Oct. 22, 2005, when the Bulldogs fell 28-16 to Houston, then of Conference USA.
• The 24-margin of victory is the largest for Toledo against a "Power 4/5" team.
• Toledo outgained Mississippi State 305-151 in the first half. MSU had just eight yards of total offense in the first quarter.
• Tucker Gleason completed 23-of-28 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns. Saturday was his third straight three-TD game and fifth time Gleason has thrown three touchdown tosses.
• Jerjuan Newton's two touchdown receptions gives him 25 for his career, moving him into a tie with Lance Moore (2001-04) and Eric Page (2009-11) for second on Toledo's all-time list. The all-time leader is Cody Thompson, who caught 30 scoring passes from 2014-18)
• Newton's 62 receiving yards gives him 2,094 for this career, moving him past Nick Moore (2,045 from 2005-08) into 13th place on Toledo all-time list.
• Newton and Junior Vandeross III have each caught at least one touchdown pass for the third consecutive game. Newton also marked his fifth multi-receiving touchdown game of his career.
• Junior safety Avery Smith's interception on the final play of the first half was the first of his career.
• Freshman Dylan Cunanan's 41-yard field goal was his longest kick of the season.
• Head Coach Jason Candle moves his all-time record to 68-35. He needs six more wins to pass Gary Pinkel (73-37-3 from 1991-2000) as Toledo's all-time leader.