Rockets Fall Short at Washington State, 28-7

Saturday, October 25

Pullman, Wash.

3:30 p.m. ET

University of Toledo

4-4 , 2-2

Washington State

4-4 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Toledo

Washington St.

Safety Braden Awls had his first multi-interception game of his career at Washington State on Saturday.

Photo by: Bree Bee

10/25/2025 7:08:00 PM | Football

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)

Toledo unable to rally from first-half deficit

PULLMAN, Wash. - Senior quarterback Tucker Gleason threw for 238 yards but it wasn't enough as Toledo lost a non-conference battle at Washington State, 28-7.

The Rockets (4-4, 2-2 MAC) trailed 21-0 but a Gleason touchdown pass to Junior Vandeross III late in the second quarter trimmed the lead to 21-7 heading into the locker room. Toledo had chances to cut into the Cougars' lead in the second half but was not able to capitalize.

Gleason completed 26-of-41 passes on the day. His top receiver was Vandeross, who caught seven passes for 52 yards and one TD. Senior tight end Jacob Petersen added five catches for 58 yards, while senior Kenji Christian add three catches for 47 yards.

The defense had another solid outing, holding Washington State to 323 total yards of offense and forcing two turnovers. Junior safety Braden Awls had a career-best two interceptions in the second half while senior safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren led the Rockets with 12 tackles.

Quoting Head Coach Jason Candle
"Hats off to Washington State for a physical game. They played really well down the stretch and made some key stops on defense, and made some plays in the first half to get some touchdowns. At the end of the day, we've got to play better in critical moments and figure out how to get our team to do a better job in those moments and situations. Third down and fourth down conversions need to be better and we need to step up and make some plays. We've got to figure out how to play better offensively and help support our defense better than what we did today."

First Quarter

No scoring

Second Quarter

Washington State opened the scoring on a seven-yard run by quarterback Zevi Eckhaus. The drive was set up by a 40-yard flea-flicker from Eckhaus to Joshua Meredith.
The Cougars made it 14-0 on a 15-yard pass on third-and-15 to the back of the end zone from Eckhaus to Tony Freeman with 4:00 left in the half.
WSU scored its third touchdown of the quarter on a 35-yard pass from Eckhaus to Carter Pabst with 51 seconds remaining.
Toledo quickly countered with a 24-yard TD pass from Tucker Gleason to Junior Vandeross III with 13 second left to trim the lead to 21-7.

Third Quarter

Toledo had an opportunity to score following an interception by safety Braden Awls on the WSU 43-yard line. The Rockets advanced to the Cougars' 22-yard line but was forced to punt following a sack.

Fourth Quarter

Awls picked off his second pass of the day but Toledo's ensuing drive was stopped on fourth-and-five on the WSU 19-yard line.
After a Washington State interception, the Cougars drove 65 yards in 12 plays, capped by a Kirby Vorhees six-yard touchdown for a 28-7 edge.

Up Next
The Rockets are off next Saturday and will resume action on Wednesday, Nov. 5 when they host Northern Illinois in the Glass Bowl (TV and game time TBA).

Toledo Post-Game Notes

Tucker Gleason completed 26-of-41 passes for 238 yards and one touchdown, the fifth game this season he has thrown for at least 200 yards.
Junior Vandeross III caught seven passes for 52 yards and one TD. He now has 185 career receptions, moving him past Cody Thompson (181 from 2014-18) and Nick Moore (182 from 2005-08) for 10^th place on Toledo's all-time list. He also moved up to 10^th place in receiving yards with 2,247, surpassing Jon'Vea Johnson (2,224 from 2015-18) and Corey Jones (2,236 from 2013-16).
Senior safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren led the Rockets with 12 tackles, a season high.
Junior safety Braden Awls grabbed his third and fourth interceptions of the season, his first career game with two picks. He now has eight interceptions over the past two seasons and has interceptions over his last three games.
Defensive end Malachi Davis was credited with three quarterback hurries while defensive tackle Martez Poynter had two.
Senior cornerback Andre Fuller broke up two passes on the afternoon.