Rockets fall out of MAC title contention, lose 31-24 to Huskies

DEKALB, Ill. — It was a possibility - maybe even a certainty for a few weeks - but Toledo’s season-long goal of capturing their first Mid-American Conference crown since 2004 is no more.

The Rockets were outscored 24-10 in the second half and 21-0 in the third quarter as the MAC West slipped away at the hands of Northern Illinois for the third straight year.

“That certainly was our goal and unfortunately, we’re going to come up a hair short,” Campbell said. “At the end of the day, it comes down to winning critical situations and we came up on the short end of that”

After holding the explosive Huskies offense to just 151 yards of offense and seven points in the first half, the UT defense was shredded repeatedly in the second.

NIU did not face a single third down in the third quarter and racked up 14 first downs. They totaled 347 yards, 296 of them from the arm of junior Jordan Lynch. He completed 13 of his 15 third quarter throws, two of them for touchdowns.

 “I thought they did a great job schematically,” Campbell said. “They made some really good adjustments in the second half. I don’t know if we made the adjustments we needed to be successful as a coaching staff. They opened it up, spread it out and got it to their athletes in space.”

Whatever was said in the Huskie locker room at halftime worked as they scored a 73-yard touchdown on the first play of the third quarter to quickly tie the game at 14.

Martel Moore hauled in a wide receiver screen, was tripped up, but never allowed his knees or elbows to touch the ground.

He cupped the ball with his left hand to maintain his balance, rose up and sprinted 73 yards for a touchdown to tie the game and make Huskie Stadium the loudest it had been all night.

The Toledo defense reacted as if they thought he was down despite no whistle being blown.

“That’s why you play to the whistle and that’s why you finish plays,” Campbell said. “That’s a heartbreaker because we had a guy there, we had him down.”

A problem that haunted the Rockets throughout was giving the ball away in situations when it appeared they would answer with a key score.

Tied at 14, Toledo was primed for a response until junior Bernard Reedy fell down on his route at the NIU two, leading to Owens’ second pick of the night and his fourth in as many games.

The Huskies took their first lead of the contest less than three minutes later with a 99-yard touchdown drive.

Rocket corners were playing a ways off the ball on the series and the Huskies took advantage, throwing several screens to the outside on the drive, ending with a six-yard screen to senior Perez Ashford with 9:26 remaining in the quarter.

 “I think it was their staff’s adjustment to get the ball on the perimeter and get it in space to some of their speed guys,” Campbell said. “I think that’s what changed the pace of the game and certainly forced our hand.”

On the ensuing drive, Toledo moved down to the NIU 29 but was stopped on a 4th-and-three on a failed option pitch to junior David Fluellen.

Northern Illinois took over and moved right down the field again, but senior linebacker Dan Molls made a leaping interception at the UT three on an attempted jump pass. He returned it 63 yards and UT was in position to tie the game on a potential game-changing play.

“We needed a big play and there was a good opportunity for it,” Molls said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t make as many plays as we needed to on defense.”

Two plays later, Owens forced a pass to Fluellen in the end zone and was intercepted for the third time.

NIU blew it open with yet another touchdown and took a commanding 28-14 lead heading to the fourth.

After an NIU field goal made it 31-14, the Rockets fought back and got back within 10 when sophomore Cassius McDowell finished off a nine-play, 61-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run with 10:06 left.

“The one thing you can say about our Toledo Rockets is they’ve never quit,” Campbell said. “That is a tribute to the 18 seniors that we have on our football team.”

After the UT defense finally forced a stop, sophomore Jeremiah Detmer converted on a 34-yard field goal with 5:57 left to make it a 31-24 game.

However, UT could not stop the Huskies on third down and failed to see the ball again.

“It hurts,” Molls said. “This is what we’ve been working for since back in December when last year’s season ended. But this Rocket football team is not done. There’s still a lot of things we can accomplish this season. We’re not quitting.”

Lynch finished the night with 407 yards on 25-of-36 passing and three touchdowns. He ran for 166 more yards on the ground, 110 of those coming in the second half.

Owens had an excellent first half, completing 15-of-17 for 162 yards with one touchdown and one pick. His numbers dropped off significantly in the second, completing just seven of his 15 throws and threw two more picks, both in crucial situations.

The Rockets will take on the Akron Zips next Tuesday to conclude the regular season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Glass Bowl.