Box Score OXFORD, Ohio - Tucker Gleason threw for two touchdown passes and the Toledo defense continued its dominating play to lead the Rockets to a critical 24-3 victory over Miami before a national TV audience at Yager Stadium in Oxford on Wednesday.
 
The victory moved Toledo (6-4, 4-2 MAC) into a five-way tie for second place in the Mid-American Conference and made the Rockets bowl-eligible for the 16^th-consecutive season, the sixth-longest streak in the nation.
 
A pair of early interceptions kept Miami (5-5, 4-2 MAC) in the game early but two Toledo touchdowns late in the second quarter gave the Rockets a 14-0 halftime lead. Toledo scored on its first two possessions of the second half and the Redhawks never seriously challenged after that.
 
Toledo's defense held Miami in check all night, holding the Redhawks to just 222 yards of total offense, with a season-high six sacks and three interceptions. Linebackers Chris D'Appolonia and K'Von Sherman lead the way with eight and seven tackles, respectively, while Nasir Bowers, Braden Awls and Avery Smith each picked off a pass.
 
Chip Trayanum led the way on the ground with 96 yards on 21 carries and a rushing touchdown. Junior Vandeross III caught six passes for 44 yards, while Ryder Treadway and Trayvon Rudolph each caught four passes for 55 and 40 yards, respectively. Treadway added a touchdown in the third quarter.

Comments from Head Coach Jason Candle

(on overall performance)
"Number one, it was a dominant defensive performance. Holding a college football team to three points is really hard to do, I don't care who you're playing or what the weather is like, it's extremely har to do. I thought we had some really good moments in the kicking game. The punt return at the end of the second quarter was huge. And we had some really good individual performances on offense, some key third-down conversions early on in the game that let us to stay ahead of the sticks and move drives. We turned it over a couple of times but we were ahead the entire game. We took our foot off the gas there a little in the second half but we were in control of the game."

(on becoming bowl eligible for the 16th stragiht season)
"The season's not over. Lots to play for. You want to put yourself in a postion to play meaningful games in November every year. We're doing that again. Sixteen straight years we're playing meaningful games in November."
 
First Quarter

• Miami stopped Toledo's first two drives with a pair of interceptions, the first one in the end zone, the second on the Miami 17-yard line.

Second Quarter

• Toledo took advantage of a short field following a stop on fourth-and-one to drive 46 yards in nine plays. Chip Trayanum ran it in from three yards out to give Toledo a 7-0 lead.
• Bryson Hammer returned a punt 54 yards to set up a six-yard TD pass from Tucker Gleason to tight end Jacob Peterson with 11 seconds left in the half, giving Toledo a 14-0 edge heading into the locker room.

Third Quarter

• Gleason hit Ryder Treadway over the middle for a 24-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half to increase the lead to 21-0.
• A Braden Awls' interception set up a 36-yard field goal by Dylan Cunanan to make it 24-0 with 8:31 left in the third quarter.
• Miami trimmed the lead to 24-3 with a 26-yard field goal.

Fourth Quarter

• Toledo's defense came up with another fourth-down stop and an interception in a scoreless quarter.

Up Next    
    The Rockets will host Ball State on Saturday, Nov. 22 (2:00 p.m./ESPN+).
 
Toledo Post-Game Notes

• Toledo is now 4-2 in MAC play, tied for second place with Miami and three other teams, one game behind conference leader Western Michigan (5-1).
• Toledo is bowl eligible for the 16^th consecutive season, the sixth-longest streak in the nation.
• Toledo held its opponent to 14 points or fewer for the fifth time this season. The Rockets have held back-to-back opponents to three points or fewer for the first time since 1983 (0 vs. Ohio, 3 at Bowling Green).
• Toledo's defense held Miami to 222 yards of total offense, including just 97 yards in the first half. It was the sixth time this season that the Rockets have held their opponents to fewer than 250 yards.
• The Rockets were credited with a season-high six sacks, their most since Nov. 25, 2022 against Western Michigan.
• Wide receiver Junior Vandeross III caught six passes for 44 yards. He now has 197 career receptions, moving past Bernard Reedy (195 from 2010-13) for seventh place all time at Toledo.
• Tucker Gleason's two touchdown passes gives him 53 for his career, moving him past Ryan Huzjak (52 from 1993-96) for fifth in the Toledo record book.
• Safety Braden Awls grabbed his fifth interception of the season, ninth of his career. Awls' five picks leads the MAC and is tied for the national lead. He is the first Rocket to have five interceptions in one season since Quinyon Mitchell had five in 2022. The Toledo record is nine, set by Mark Brandon in 1983.
• Defensive back Nasir Bowers grabbed his second interception of the season and fourth of his career.
• Sophomore Bryson Hammer's 54-yard punt return in the second quarter was a career long.
• Senior running back Chip Trayanum scored a rushing touchdown in his seventh straight game.