Rockets silence Chippewas with 42-28 victory

Did you know that Toledo played without their leading running back Saturday night?

It’s ok if you didn’t notice.

Seven UT receivers caught the ball, and five rushers saw mileage during Toledo’s 42-28 victory over the Chippewas (2-3, 0-1 in MAC).

The Rockets’ (3-2, 2-0 in MAC) receiving corps finished with a combined 339 yards and two touchdowns, and Toledo’s running backs notched 204 yards and three scores, making Hunt’s absence a nonfactor for the home team.

“Next man up,” said UT head coach Matt Campbell. “You talk about injuries, we’ve had them, and we’re living them. That’s why you recruit here; we’ve recruited really hard to get good players to come in here.

“That’s the nature of the beast. Nobody feels sorry for you, you’ve got to get better each and every week.”

UT’s offensive assault on Central Michigan was lead by junior wide receiver Alonzo Russell, who finished with 120 yards and two touchdowns.

It was the fourth multi-touchdown game of his collegiate career, but his first scoring catch of the night was the one that really grabbed the Glass Bowl’s attention.

Rockets’ sophomore quarterback Logan Woodside flicked the ball behind Russell, but he twisted around and caught the pass on the fingertips of his right hand, running in for the touchdown to send UT into the locker room with a 20-7 advantage at halftime.

This is the second year in a row that Russell has made a highlight reel catch against Central Michigan. He caught a pass in the corner of the end zone last season in the Chippewas’ house that was good enough to be featured on ESPN.

“It’s just a catch, just another catch to me, another step on my legacy,” Russell explained. “Coach Campbell always talks about legacy, every play every down is your legacy.”

At least one person inside the Glass Bowl wasn’t surprised to see Russell record another jaw-dropping catch against Central Michigan.

“He made a great catch, I just had to put it somewhere where he could get a hand on it,” Woodside said. “[Alonzo] does that in practice all the time. [It was] nothing surprising.”

Toledo’s offense had no problem moving the ball from the start, but the Rockets were held to just a field goal after an almost five minute march across turf on their first drive of the night.

Central Michigan’s offense matched Toledo’s speed getting on the board, but the Chippewas didn’t settle for a field goal. Sophomore quarterback Cooper Rush threw a three-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Jesse Kroll with 6:03 left in the first quarter to give CMU a 7-3 lead.

Rush went 24-of-31 and he finished with 291 passing yards and two touchdowns.

“I’ve got to give it to the guy, he’s a real good quarterback,” said UT junior cornerback Christian Dukes. “Real poised in the pocket, he is an excellent quarterback and I feel like he will do an excellent job the rest of their season.”

Toledo’s offense found the end zone for their first touchdown of the night with 4:50 left in the half. Freshman running back Terry Swanson punched in his first collegiate TD from three yards out to put UT up 13-7 over CMU.

Swanson, along with sophomores Damion Jones-Moore and Marc Remy, recorded the majority of Toledo’s rushing yardage against Central Michigan. Swanson finished with 97 yards and the one score to lead the leaders.

“Kareem not being in there, obviously it hurt,” Woodside said. “I love having him back there by me, but you know three guys really stepped up tonight. It’s always good to have three more good guys to carry the ball.”

Woodside threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns with another 20 yards and a score on the ground, but he struggled with ball security against the Chippewas.

“I turned the ball over twice again,” Woodside said. “Obviously we can’t have that. Later on down the road, we can’t have those turnovers.”

Toledo’s defense kept Central Michigan out of the end zone for the rest of the first half while the Rockets managed another score ­– Russell’s acrobatic catch and run – before heading to the locker room.

The Chippewas came out quick in the third quarter. Rush found Kroll for the duo’s second touchdown of the night and Central Michigan’s first score of the second half.

Toledo senior safety Jordan Haden intercepted a pass from Rush to set up the Rockets’ first scoring drive of the second half, a 12-yard pass from Woodside to Russell that put UT up 27-14 over CMU.

UT succeeded in an onside kick attempt on the following kickoff, and Jones-Moore put his first touchdown run on the board during the resulting drive to put the Rockets up 34-14.

The Chippewas rumbled in a three-yard touchdown run with three seconds left in the third quarter, and Central Michigan’s defense intercepted Woodside one drive later, but none of it was enough to stop a Rockets’ offense firing on all cylinders.

“I thought all phases of the game contributed to the win,” Campbell said. “Our guys are tough, we keep working, we still got a lot of work to do, but I’m really proud of our kids and proud of the win.”

Toledo will hit the road next week to face Western Michigan. Kickoff is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. in Kalamazoo.