--- Fresh off our pounding of UAB, it was time for a break from conference action as we welcome the Toledo Rockets to town in our final non-conference game of the season. Toledo was sort of a mixed bag, coming in with the #48 passing offense, but also having the #94 rushing offense. On the other side of the ball, they were ranked #20 in the nation for rushing defense, but came in at #102 in pass defense. It would be a day of testing for our pass defense, as well as for our running game, going up against the #20 rush defense. Casey Bishop continued to be listed as questionable on the injury report with a pulled hamstring, giving Brad Stephens yet another start and notch on his belt in his young career. Turnovers would be a potential issue today, as the rain poured down. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.
A touchback on the opening kickoff gave Toledo the ball at their 25 yard line. Going to the air on first down, Randall Wallace completed a pass to Shaun Byrd for 9 yards, the drive off to a promising start, but two dropped passed would leave the Rockets stalled and the punt team coming out on fourth and one. A fair catch on the 48 yard punt got us started at our 18 yard line. It would be an extremely long day for the Rockets, as Brandon Price took the handoff on first down, ran through the hole up the middle, broke off a tackle by the middle linebacker, and with the near safety engaged in a block, was able to break out into the open and outrace the other safety and the cornerback down the field for the 82 yard touchdown run, breaking his old school record for longest run in a game of 81 yards. The extra point made our lead 7-0 with 8:16 to go in the first quarter.
Another touchback on the kickoff, and Toledo was again at their 25. Abraham Johnson took the ball on first down, gaining two yards, before dropped passes again plagued the Rockets, leaving them punting once more on fourth and 8.
A fair catch on the 52 yard punt got our offense started once again, this time at our 21 yard line. This time, the defense refused to let Price break loose into the open, forcing him back inside towards the middle of the field and tackling him a gain of only 6 yards. A 10 yard rush by Price picked up the first down at the 37 yard line, the defense not reacting to our run game and leaving huge holes for Price to exploit. Going on the ground on first down, it was a loss of two yards for Price as the defensive end blitzed around the corner and dove at his ankles, tripping him up in the backfield. Going through the air on second down, Brad Stephens led Eric Hayden perfectly, Hayden catching the pass in stride and able to turn up the field before the cornerback could tackle him, picking up 22 yards before being brought down by the safety at the Toledo 43 yard line. Another rush by Price picked up 9 yards, followed by a 12 yard rush up the middle to get the first down at the 23 yard line. Roy Smith took the ball on first down, giving Price a breather, and managed to fight forward for a 5 yard gain. Following his blocker up the middle, Price rode the ass of the left guard all the way down to the Toledo 8 yard line for a gain of 9 yards to set up first and goal. The defense was ready this time, tackling Price at the 7 yard line for a gain of one. Going with the play action, the pass to Price on the wheel route of the backfield was nearly intercepted, the cornerback jump in front of the ball and batting it down, the outside linebacker diving to the ground to try and grab the ball at the one yard line, but unable to catch it. The third down pass to Hayden was knocked incomplete, and left feeling the drive was completely wasted, Alphonso Pratt kicked a 24 yard field to extend our lead to 10-0 with 2:27 left in the first quarter.
A 19 yard kickoff return set Toledo up at their 24 yard line, looking for a response. They would find none, as three straight incomplete passes left the Rockets punting once again. A 26 yard return by Price on the 44 yard punt gave our offense the ball at the Toledo 43 yard line. Changing things up and going to the air on first down, Stephens connected with Chad Fisher for a 9 yard gain. Price took the ball on second down, able to get one yard but stood up at the line of scrimmage by the middle linebacker, leaving us facing third and inches at the 33. The defense was starting to prove tenacious, tackling Price again at the line of scrimmage for no gain, leaving fourth and inches. While debating whether to go for it on fourth down or attempt the 50 yard field goal, the final seconds ticked off the clock, bringing the first quarter to an end, our lead 10-0.
Opening up the second quarter, we decided to take a chance on the field goal, Pratt drilling the 50 yard kick down the middle of the uprights to give us a 13-0 lead with 8:56 to go in the first half. No return on the kickoff left Toledo starting at the now familiar 25 yard line. The Rockets still were unable to find any momentum. Wallace started the drive with a two yard rush, before Julius Anderson caught a two yard pass from Wallace. The pass on third and 6 was dropped by Byrd, and the Rockets again were forced to punt. An 8 yard return on the 46 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 32 yard line. Price took the first down handoff up the middle for a three yard gain, before Stephens called his own number, rushing around the right tackle, the defensive line and linebackers sealed, and a block by the fullback that took the cornerback out of the play, allowing Stephens to race down the field for a 37 yard gain before being tripped up by the safety at the Toledo 28 yard line. Price took the ball on first down, bouncing outside the left tackle, picking up 14 yards to the Toledo 13. Stephens kept the ball again on the next play, running up the middle on a delayed rush, picking up 10 yards to the three yard line for first and goal. The drive would end in disaster there on the three, as attempting an option left, the pitch from Stephens to Price was grabbed out of midair, cornerback Mike Bozeman taking the fumble 95 yards to the house for the Rockets touchdown. The extra point cut our lead to 13-7 with 6:42 to go in the half.
A touchback on the kickoff left us starting at our 25 yard line, our lead now cut in half. Smith came in to start the drive at halfback, taking a pair of handoffs for 5 and 14 yards to give us a first down at the 44 yard line. Price received the handoff on the next play, fighting his way through the pile for a 6 yard gain. Going back on the ground, Price was stood up at the line for no gain, leaving us third and four. Forced to scramble on the third down pass, Stephens was stopped at the Toledo 46 yard line, leaving fourth and inches. Taking a chance on fourth down, Stevens never had a chance, the defense tackling him for a loss of four yards, Toledo taking over on the turnover on downs at the 50 yard line. The Rockets offense chose a great time to come to life, as Wallace threw a pair of passes to Larry Johnson, for gains of 5 and 28 yards to give Toledo a first down at the 16 yard line. The defense put up a fight, tackling Eric Lester for a loss of three yards, before an incomplete pass left Toledo with third and 13. Toledo would find the end zone on the next play, as A. Johnson hauled in a 19 yard pass from Wallace for the touchdown, the PAT giving Toledo a 14-13 lead with 2:54 remaining in the half.
A touchback got our offense started from the 25. Price took the first down carry up the middle for a 12 yard gain to the 37 yard line. Another rush went for a gain of 8 yards, before Price was tackled for a two yard gain to leave third and one at the 46. The defense was more than ready for us on third down, the defensive end breaking through and tackling Smith for a loss of one yard, leaving us punting on fourth and two. The punt ended up extending our drive, as Toledo was flagged for roughing the punter, the 15 free yards giving us a first down at the Toledo 40 yard line and our offense scrambling back out onto the field. A 10 yard gain by Price set up second and inches, a gain of four yards picking up the first down at the 25 yard line. Our first timeout stopped the clock with 1:09 remaining in the half. The first down pass attempt sailed incomplete, leaving second down. Antoine Banks hauled in a pass from Stephens for a 9 yard gain, Price converting third down with a 6 yard rush to give us a first down at the 10 yard line. We would find the end zone on the next play, Fisher pulling down a pass from Stephens for the 10 yard touchdown and a 20-14 lead with 29 seconds to play.
An 18 yard kickoff return started Toledo on their 21 yard line, 19 seconds remaining. The Rockets would head for locker room, as Lester took the ball on first down for a gain of two yards, the final 16 seconds running off the clock. We headed into halftime with the 20-14 lead.
Opening up the second half, Fisher took the kickoff back for 24 yards, giving our offense the ball at our 22 yard line to start. A pair of rushes by Price for gains of two and 5 yards left us looking at third and three. A pitch right resulted in a gain of four yards by Price to get the first down at the 33 yard line. Price never had a chance on first down, swarmed by three defenders for no gain. Taking another chance on the triple option, Stephens pitched the ball to Price, who was able to break up the left sideline for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 46 yard line. Breaking loose from an ankle tackle, Price was able to push forward for a gain of four yards on the next play. Going play action on second down, the pass intended for Price was nearly intercepted, leaving third and 6. Stephens was forced to scramble from the instant pressure, only able to pick up two yards, leaving fourth and four at midfield.
No return on the 38 yard punt set Toledo up at their 8 yard line. After rushing for no gain on first down, Wallace went into the air, finding Lester down the right sideline for a 17 yard gain and a first down at the 26. Wallace was forced from the pocket on the next play, scrambling for a gain of only one yard, before a pair of incomplete passes left the Rockets stalled out and punting on fourth and 9. It would get even worse for the Rockets, as the punt was blocked, outside linebacker A.J. Walton recovered the fumbled ball at the Toledo three yard line to give us first and goal. The defense wasn't about to let us score easy, Price tackled for a two yard loss on the first down carry, leaving second and goal at the 5. A toss to the right resulted in a four yard gain, Price driven out of bounds just outside the goal line. Price never had a chance on third down, a diving linebacker pushing Price backwards and into the arms of the cornerback and safety, Price ending up tackled for a 7 yard loss at the 7 yard line. The 24 yard field goal by Pratt was good, giving us a 23-14 lead with 2:24 to play in the third quarter.
A touchback left Toledo starting from their 25 yard line. This time the Rockets weren't about to go quietly, as Wallace hit David Matthews for an 11 yard gain, before connecting with Byrd for a pickup of 17 yards to give the Rockets first down at our 47 yard line. After throwing the ball away on first down and a 6 yard rush by Lester, Wallace converted the third and four with a 17 yard pass to A. Johnson to give the Rockets first down at our 24. After an incomplete pass on first down another pass to A. Johnson for 17 yards set Toledo up with first and goal from our 7 yard line. Wallace scrambled on first down for four yards, before Lester punched it in on second down for the four yard touchdown rush, the extra point cutting our lead to 23-21 with 30 seconds to go in the third quarter. Price returned the ensuing kickoff 19 yards to the 23 yard line. Taking the handoff on first down, Price picked up three yards, and that would be the end of the third quarter, the final seconds ticking off with us holding on to a 23-21 lead.
Opening up the fourth quarter with second and 7, a pitch left to Price ended up going backwards, as Price was overrun by four defenders for a loss of three yards to leave third and 10. The third down pass intended for Fisher was nearly intercepted by the safety, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, as it fell to the ground incomplete. A shanked punt went for only 27 yards and unreturned, giving Toledo the ball at our 49 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Toledo was flagged for holding, leaving the Rockets with second and 20. After another incomplete pass left third and very long, Wallace heaved deep, finding A. Johnson over the middle for a 39 yard gain, keeping the drive alive and giving Toledo a first down at our 20 yard line. A three yard rush by Byrd and an 8 yard pass to Anderson gave Toledo first and goal at our 9 yard line. Lester would finish the job on the next play, rushing around the right end for the 9 yard touchdown. Toledo then went for the two-point conversion, Lester diving into the end zone for the successful conversion to give Toledo a 29-23 lead with 7:12 to go.
A touchback on the kickoff left our offense at the 25 yard line and down by 6. A pair of three yard rushes by Price left us with third and 6. The third down pass intended for Hayden sailed too far in front, out of the reach of Hayden and dropping incomplete. A three yard return on the 47 yard punt gave Toledo the ball at their 24 yard line. The defense came out firing on first down, tackling Lester for a loss of two yards. Lester was able to pick up 5 yards on the next play, but an incomplete pass on third down left the Rockets punting the ball back on fourth and 7 with 5:37 to go. A 7 yard return on the 49 yard punt set us up at our 30 yard line. Going to the air, Stephens was just able to get the ball off before getting laid out, completing the pass to Max Thompson for a gain of 12 yards to the 42 yard line. Throwing to Price on the smash route, Stephens completed the pass on Price’s outside shoulder for a 23 yard gain along the right sideline to give us first down at the 35 yard line. A first down pass to Hayden brought our drive crashing to an end, as middle linebacker Chaz Mirvil stood up in front of the pass and intercepted it to give Toledo possession at their 28 yard line, 4:55 to go.
The drive started poorly for the Rockets, who were again flagged for holding, pushing Toledo back to their 18 yard line with first and 20. An 8 yard rush by Lester erased most of the penalty, followed by a four yard rush to leave third and 8. The defense forced Wallace to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, and Toledo once again brought out the punt team on fourth down. A 10 yard return by Price on the 47 yard punt gave us the ball at our 33 yard line, 4:09 now left in the game. A pass over the middle to Randy Newman went for a quick gain of 19 yards, giving us first down at the Toledo 48. Taking a shot down the right sideline, Stephens was able to toss the ball in over three defenders to Hayden for a 19 yard gain to give us a first down at the 29 yard line. We would find the end zone on the next play, as Fisher was able to get behind both the cornerback and safety, hauling in a pass from Stephens around the 5 yard line, and then actually being helped as the safety attempted to tackle him from behind, instead pushing him forward into the end zone for the 29 yard touchdown pass. Pratt’s PAT gave us a 30-29 lead with 3:34 to go.
A touchback left Toledo starting at their 25 yard line and down by one. The Rockets were unable to produce any offense, three straight incomplete passes forcing a punt and hoping the defense would respond. A fair catch on the 49 yard punt left us at our 25 yard line. Price never had a chance, swarmed for a two yard loss. Keeping the clock moving, the defense continued to fight back, tackling Newman for a loss of three yards, leaving us with third and 15 at the 20 yard line, the clock nearing two minutes to play. Bringing the house, Stephens was forced to instantly scramble, but before he could even try to throw the ball away, the linebacker dove at his ankles, tripping him up for the sack and a 12 yard loss, leaving us punting on fourth and 27 from our 8 yard line, Toledo’s first timeout stopping the clock with 2:09 remaining. No return on the 50 yard punt gave Toledo the ball at their 42 yard line with 1:59 to play. After an incomplete pass on first down, Wallace found A. Johnson for a 6 yard gain. A rush by Lester resulted in a loss of two yards, leaving Toledo with fourth and 6. The Rockets would turn the ball over on downs as Wallace was sacked for a loss of three yards, giving us possession at the Toledo 44 yard line with 1:33 to go, but Toledo still with two timeouts.
A 6 yard run by Price got us to the 38 yard line, Toledo’s second timeout stopping the clock with 1:30 to go. The defense came pouring through the line on second down, tackling Price for a loss of four yards to leave third and 8, Toledo’s final timeout stopping the clock with 1:27 left. Price took the ball on third down, getting met at the line of scrimmage by the middle linebacker and fumbling the ball backwards. left guard Dennis Moody jumped on the ball to recover it for our offense, the play ultimately going down as an 8 yard loss, leaving us fourth and 15 at midfield. Just when things couldn't get any worse, Toledo managed to break through and block the punt on fourth down, left outside linebacker Maurice Broussard recovering the fumble for Toledo at our 29 yard line with 1:04 remaining. After an incomplete pass on first down, Wallace found L. Johnson for a 9 yard gain. An incomplete pass left Toledo with fourth and one at the 21 yard line. The 38 yard field goal by W. Wade was good, and Toledo took a 32-30 lead with 37 seconds left in the game.
A touchback on the kickoff left us starting at our 25 yard line, losing by two points, 29 seconds on the clock, and all three timeouts still left. Thankfully a touchdown was not necessary, only needing to get into field goal range. The first down pass to Thompson nearly ended in disaster, as the outside linebacker jumped the route and nearly intercepted the pass, the ball going through his hands and incomplete. The second down pass was also nearly intercepted, as the safety come across, cutting in front of Nicholas Roberts, but dropped the ball incomplete, leaving third down, 22 seconds to go. Stephens finally managed to complete a pass on third down, connecting with Thompson for a 15 yard gain, giving us first down at the 40 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 17 seconds to go. The first down pass intended for Fisher was knocked down incomplete, nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker. Stephens was just barely able to throw the ball in the ground on second down to avoid the sack, releasing the ball as he was going down to leave third down and 12 seconds left. Getting the ball off as he was hit, Stephens was able to lob up a pass to Thompson for a gain of 14 yards before being driven out of bounds, giving us a first down at the 46 yard line, stopping the clock with 8 seconds to go. A quick pass to Fisher went for a gain of 6 yards, leaving us second and four at the 40 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with four seconds to go, as the field goal team came out to attempt to kick for the win. The 57 yard field goal attempt by Pratt was no good, well short of the post. A Toledo player was sitting back in the end zone, catching the ball and returning the missed field goal all the way out to the Toledo 40 yard line before being tackled and ending the game, as we go down in agonizing defeat, 32-30.
With the loss, we fall to 4-3, 2-1 in C-USA action. With the win, Toledo improves to 4-1, 1-1 in MAC play. Up next, we get a bye week to reorganize before hosting Southern Miss. Southern Miss will also be coming into the game off a bye week. The Golden Eagles enter the game at 5-1, 2-0 in C-USA action. USM started the year with a 45-20 win over FCS East, before losing 30-27 at Air Force. Southern Miss since then has reeled off four straight wins, 35-14 at South Florida, 55-21 over Connecticut, 26-7 at North Texas and 34-7 against Rice.
Final Score
32,
30
Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A decent day for Stevens, ending 12-23 for 187 yards and two touchdowns, though he did throw one interception that screwed one of our drives. Stephens also ended the day with 44 yards rushing on 7 carries. Price was the player of the game for Tulsa, ending with 219 yards rushing and one touchdown on 37 carries, and setting a new school record with the longest run in school history of 82 yards, breaking his own old record of 81 yards. 6 receivers caught a ball today, Fisher by far was the leading receiver, ending the game with 54 yards receiving and two touchdowns on four receptions.
- Tulsa Defense – Great first quarter, decent second quarter, only being accountable for one touchdown that quarter. Still did pretty well in the third quarter, but sucked it up at times in the fourth quarter, letting Toledo drive down for those 11 points.
- Tulsa Kicking – A damn good day in all respects for Pratt. Did end up 3-4 in field goals, but made kicks of 24, 24 and 50 yards, only missing that 57 yard attempt at the end of the game. Also went 3-3 in PATs. Punting, gonna have to work on that. We ended up losing because our punt team let the ball get blocked there at the very end, giving Toledo the ball at our 29 yard line and a minute left, instead of potentially pinning them back inside their 20 or 30 yard line and forcing them to drive the field. That blocked punt was basically the top play that caused our loss today. Other plays contributed, but that blocked punt led directly to it, by giving Toledo prime field position to kick the game winning field goal and retake the lead.
Scoring Summary
| Team |
1st Quarter |
2nd Quarter |
3rd Quarter |
4th Quarter |
Final Score |
|
0 |
14 |
7 |
11 |
32 |
|
10 |
10 |
3 |
7 |
30 |
| Time |
Team |
Result |
Play |
Score |
| First Quarter |
| 8:16 |
|
Touchdown |
B. Price, 82 yard run (A. Pratt kick) |
7-0 |
| 2:27 |
|
Field Goal |
A. Pratt, 24 yard field goal |
10-0 |
|
| Second Quarter |
| 8:56 |
|
Field Goal |
A. Pratt, 50 yard field goal |
13-0 |
| 6:42 |
|
Touchdown |
M. Bozeman, returned fumble 95 yards (W. Wade kick) |
13-7 |
| 2:54 |
|
Touchdown |
A. Johnson, 19 yard pass from R. Wallace (W. Wade kick) |
14-13 |
| 0:29 |
|
Touchdown |
C. Fisher, 10 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick) |
20-14 |
|
| Third Quarter |
| 2:24 |
|
Field Goal |
A. Pratt, 24 yard field goal |
23-14 |
| 0:30 |
|
Touchdown |
E. Lester, 3 yard run (W. Wade kick) |
23-21 |
|
| Fourth Quarter |
| 7:12 |
|
Touchdown |
E. Lester, 9 yard run (2-pt conversion good) |
29-23 |
| 3:34 |
|
Touchdown |
C. Fisher, 29 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick) |
30-29 |
| 0:37 |
|
Field Goal |
W. Wade, 38 yard field goal |
32-30 |
| Toledo |
Stat |
Tulsa |
| 32 |
Score |
30 |
| 9 |
First Downs |
20 |
| 246 |
Total Offense |
470 |
| 16 - 42 - 2 |
Rushes - Yards - TD |
49 - 283 - 1 |
| 14 - 37 - 1 |
Comp - Att - TD |
12 - 23 - 2 |
| 204 |
Passing Yards |
187 |
| 1 |
Times Sacked |
1 |
| 3 - 13 (23%) |
3rd Down Conversion |
4 - 14 (28%) |
| 0 - 1 (0%) |
4th Down Conversion |
0 - 1 (0%) |
| 1 - 1 (100%) |
2-Point Conv |
0 - 0 (0%) |
| 4 - 3 - 0 (75%) |
Red Zone - TD - FG |
5 - 1 - 2 (60%) |
| 1 |
Turnovers |
3 |
| 1 |
Fumbles Lost |
2 |
| 0 |
Intercepted |
1 |
| 8 |
Punt Return Yards |
51 |
| 37 |
Kick Return Yards |
43 |
| 291 |
Total Yards |
564 |
| 7 – 48.3 |
Punts - Average |
4 - 45.3 |
| 3 - 35 |
Penalties |
1 - 15 |
| 14:14 |
Time of Possession |
21:46 |
| Fail Impact |
Goal |
Progress |
Pass Impact |
 |
21+ points per game in each season |
27 |
 |
|
Win 10 games in one season |
4 |
|
|
3300+ passing yards each season |
1539 |
 |
|
65% pass completions over the entire contract |
59% |
|
 |
Win 6 games in one season |
4 |
|
|
15+ rushing TD in each season |
13 |
|
 |
3200+ total offensive yards each season |
2872 |
 |
|
3400+ total offensive yards each season |
2872 |
 |
|
| Penalty |
 |
Lost to a lower ranked team |
|
|
42%
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Originally Posted by morsdraconis
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