Rockets remain undefeated in MAC with 42-35 Homecoming victory over UMass

The University of Toledo football team’s 42-35 Homecoming victory Saturday over UMass can be labeled a shootout, a close shave or even a chess match.

Whatever you want to call it, the Rockets’ fourth-straight Mid-American Conference win was definitely entertaining.

“Wild football game,” said UT head coach Matt Campbell. “A lot of twists and turns in that football game. I’m proud of our kids staying the course. We never lost our cool when we had the opportunity to several times in that football game.”

UMass’ (2-7, 2-3 in MAC) pass-happy offense had no trouble moving the ball down the field early and often against Toledo’s (5-3, 4-0 in MAC) defense. The Minutemen’s top-ranked pass offense compiled 445 total yards through the air against a Rockets’ secondary that couldn’t get it together.

UMass scored on their first drive off a 15-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Blake Frohnapfel to junior wide receiver Jalen Williams. Frohnapfel finished the day 28-of-55 for 438 yards and five scores.

“He made good throws and just made great decisions,” said senior linebacker Junior Sylvestre. “We were trying to get home, we had a couple blitzes we were trying to get home on him. We got some hits on him but he was still standing in there and making good throws.”

To combat the Minutemen’s aerial antics, the Rockets turned to their deadly two-headed ground game.

Freshman running back Terry Swanson put Toledo on the board with a 14-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Swanson and sophomore running back Kareem Hunt paced the Rockets’ rushing attack, combining for 295 yards and three scores against UMass.

This was Hunt’s first game since hurting his ankle in September against Ball State. Hunt’s first scoring play of the game was a 36-yard dash to the end zone, which put him over 100 yards rushing for the 10th time in his collegiate career and padded a second-half Toledo lead.

The sophomore tailback finished with a season-high 26 carries for a career-high 198 yards and the score.

“I felt like I had the freshest legs pretty much,” Hunt said. “I hadn’t played in three weeks. I felt like I just needed to keep running the ball.”

The Minutemen failed to score on the drive after Swanson’s first score, but UT sophomore quarterback Logan Woodside’s first interception of the game gave UMass a short field, and Frohnapfel’s 15-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Shakur Nesmith put Toledo into a 20-7 hole with 13:05 left in the half.

Woodside nailed sophomore tight end Michael Roberts for a 14-yard touchdown pass to bring the Rockets within six of the Minutemen with 6:26 left in the half. Woodside’s second interception of the game kept Toledo from a first-half lead.

“Hopefully those are learning experiences for Logan as we continue to move forward,” Campbell said of the interceptions. “But on the reverse side of it Logan made some plays in that football game.”

Woodside did make a play on the first drive of the second half, finding sophomore wide receiver Corey Jones, who spun his way out of trouble and dashed down the sideline into the end zone, allowing Toledo to take a 21-20 lead over UMass.

Woodside finished 20-of-34 for 225 yards and three scores.

Frohnapfel kept the Minutemen in contention, finding junior wide out Tajae Sharpe for a 36-yard touchdown pass and then nailing junior tight end Rodney Mills for a successful two-point conversion to tie things up with 11:57 left on the clock.

Woodside pulled Toledo ahead once again with a six-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Dwight Macon, but a 76-yard touchdown catch-and-run from Frohnapfel to junior tight end Jean Sifrin tied things up with 5:57 left in the game.

The Rockets plowed their way down the field, and with 34 seconds remaining Swanson walked 19 yards forward for the deciding touchdown, a score gifted to Toledo by the opposing defense.

UMass head coach Mark Whipple admitted afterward that he allowed the score in an attempt to stop UT from running the clock out and kicking a winning field goal.

“I think that was our only chance to win,” he said. “They have the best kicker in the league and there’s nothing else you can do if you don’t have the ball.”

Frohnapfel and the Minutemen got the ball back, but Toledo’s defense came up with an interception on a deep throw with five seconds remaining.

It was a fitting end to a game that was back and forth from the beginning.

“[UMass] was 2-0 in their last two games,” said senior center Greg Mancz. “I don’t think we were surprised by that. They did a lot of good things; they are an extremely talented team. There is a reason they have been close every other week. We just had to figure some things out and work through it.”

Toledo hits the road for a two-game stretch away from the Glass Bowl, starting Tuesday, Nov. 4, at Kent State and then finishing the following Tuesday at Northern Illinois. The Rockets then will return home for the last time this season for the annual rivalry matchup with Bowling Green State University.