Rockets beat rival Bowling Green

The University of Toledo football team defeated rival Bowling Green last Saturday 42-35 in the 2016 edition of the Battle of I-75, The win on UT’s homecoming came off a three-yard run from senior running back Kareem Hunt with 18 seconds left in the game.

“I was impressed by our guys’ effort for 60 minutes to win a tough football game,” said head coach Jason Candle. “I thought it was an awesome environment tonight and the Glass City stood up and represented who they are and packed the stadium tonight, which was outstanding.”

Third-year quarterback Logan Woodside threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns in the game. Fourth-year tight end Michael Roberts led all Rocket receivers with three touchdowns and a career-high six catches for 94 yards.

“We work hard together as a receiving corps to perform well at a high rate,” Roberts said.

Other notable receivers in the game were junior Cody Thompson, who had six receptions for 74 yards, and senior Corey Jones, who had six grabs for 90 yards and a touchdown.

Junior running back Terry Swanson paced the UT running game with 112 yards on 12 yards with a touchdown.

“Up front, our guys did a great job pushing the linebackers and D-line away from line and just saw a crease and was able to hit it,” Swanson said.

BG opened up the scoring by marching down the field with a 70-yard drive, concluding with a 10-yard pass from first-year quarterback James Morgan to second-year wide receiver Scott Miller, making the score 7-0 with a little less than nine minutes.

Toledo answered with two touchdowns from the connection of Woodside to Roberts, with passes of 41 and 22 yards, respectively, to wrap up the first half, making the score 14-7 in favor of the Rockets.

Both offenses exploded in the second half, with the scoring being kicked off with a BG touchdown off of a 15-yard pass from Morgan to Miller, tying the score at 14.

The Rockets countered with two touchdown passes from Woodside to Roberts and Jones. Roberts scored his second, a 5-yard touchdown, and Jones’s touchdown was a 64-yard dash to the end zone.

The two scores gave UT a 27-14 lead to end the third quarter.

On the next drive, Bowling Green answered with a touchdown of their own, a 57-yard TD pass from Morgan to Miller, their third TD connection of the day. The Falcons then cut the score to 27-21 with 14:26 left in the game.

“We expected a fight; it’s a rivalry,” third-year cornerback Trevon Mathis said. “For the most part, they pretty much ran what we saw on film, and we did a great job of adjusting and sticking to our game plan when they did change.”

Not to be outdone, Toledo put the pressure back on with a 64-yard rushing charge from Swanson, resulting in a touchdown that made the score 35-21 for Toledo.

BG stormed back with two touchdowns later in the fourth quarter to tie the game up at 35. The scores came off of touchdowns from Morgan to second-year wide receiver Marquis Zimmerman and fourth-year, redshirt wide receiver Teo Redding.

UT’s response was a seven-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown run from Hunt.

That’s what you expect in a big rivalry game,” Woodside said. “You don’t want anything given to you and we went out, we earned it, and we got the win like we were supposed to do.”

The Rockets will play next at home against Central Michigan University at noon on Saturday, Oct. 29, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.